Chapter 2 - THE FOURTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS
David did not answer Mark.
He ended the call.
Then froze every card, shared wallet, travel account, and authorized-user line connected to his mother and brother.
Not as revenge.
As damage control.
Maya watched from the table, pale and exhausted.
“David…”
He crouched in front of her.
“I need to ask you something, and I need the truth even if you think it’ll upset me.”
She nodded.
“Did they leave you alone the whole three days?”
Maya looked away.
“Most of it.”
“What does that mean?”
“Your mother came back once.”
“When?”
“Yesterday morning.”
“For what?”
Maya’s voice dropped.
“To get the stroller.”
David stared.
“The stroller?”
“She said Mark’s friend in Miami had a baby and needed one for the trip.”
David stood so fast the chair moved.
Maya flinched.
He immediately softened.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“No. It isn’t.”
He called Claire Donnelly, their postpartum nurse.
Claire had visited Maya twice before David left.
She arrived forty-five minutes later carrying groceries, formula, and the kind of controlled fury only a nurse can produce while remaining clinically useful.
She examined Maya.
Dehydrated.
Undereating.
Pain poorly controlled.
Incision intact.
Blood pressure elevated but not emergent.
“You need calories,” Claire said. “And sleep.”
Maya started crying.
“I tried.”
Claire looked at David.
“Who was supposed to be here?”
“My mother.”
Claire’s jaw tightened.
Then:
“She canceled my home visit.”
David stared.
“What?”
“Two days ago. Said family had everything handled.”
Maya looked up.
“I didn’t know you were coming.”
Claire pulled out her phone.
There was the message.
From Eleanor.
Maya’s doing great. We don’t need the extra visit. I’ll call if anything changes.
David’s face went cold.
His mother had not merely left.
She had removed help.
That distinction mattered.
Then David opened the bank transfer records.
Fourteen thousand dollars had gone into Eleanor’s account labeled:
MAYA & LIAM CARE.
Within twenty-four hours:
$2,940 airline tickets.
$3,200 resort deposit.
$1,860 designer retail.
$1,400 restaurant and beach club charges.
$950 cash withdrawal.
$740 rideshare and entertainment.
The rest split across smaller charges.
Actual spending on Maya and Liam?
$611.47.
Claire looked at the screen.
“Your mother financed Miami with postpartum-care money.”
May you like
David said nothing.
He was too angry to trust his voice.
