He wanted to confirm that his report had reached Patricia and ask whether I needed anything else documented. There's one thing, I said. I don't want you contacting Colin or confronting either of them. Everything goes through the attorney from here. Understood, Liam replied.
The report covers what I was able to verify. If your attorney needs clarification, she can contact me. After we hung up, I returned to the house records and financial documents Patricia had asked me to organize. Then my phone rang again. This time it was Natalie.
Dad. Mom called me. I leaned back in my chair. What did she say? She said you were divorcing her because she went away for a few days.
She said you hired someone to follow her and that you're trying to take all her money. I closed my eyes briefly. That's not what happened. I figured there was more to it, but she sounded really upset. Your mother and I have problems that you shouldn't have to solve.
I won't ask you to choose sides. Did she cheat on you? The question was direct, and I wasn't going to insult my daughter by pretending not to understand it. I have evidence that she was meeting another man and arranging an apartment with him while we were still married. I also found transfers from our joint savings that she never explained.
"Honestly?" Natalie was silent for several seconds. How long has this been going on? I don't know everything yet. Are you okay?
That question nearly broke through the control I'd maintained since Julia returned. "I'm going to be—" "I'm sorry, Dad." Thank you. But listen to me. Whatever happens between your mother and me, you don't have to carry it.
We talked for another few minutes before she ended the call. That afternoon, Patricia contacted me with an update. Julia had apparently begun looking for legal representation of her own. Patricia expected her attorney to respond once the initial paperwork had been reviewed. There was nothing surprising about that.
Julia had every right to obtain advice and protect her interests. What surprised me was the message that arrived later that evening. It came from an unknown number. This is Colin Price. Julia says you filed for divorce.
"I think we need to talk." I read it twice. Then I placed the phone on the table without replying. Colin had finally decided to contact me. And for the first time since this began, I was curious about what he thought he knew.
I didn't answer Colin that night. I had no interest in meeting the man my wife had been seeing behind my back, and I certainly wasn't going to let him drag me into an emotional confrontation. If he had something to say, he could say it in writing. The next morning, I found another message on my phone. I'm not trying to cause more problems.