The balance was approximately $650,000. Most of that money came from the inheritance my parents left me after they d/ie/d in a car accident on a highway near Madison years earlier. Matthew had once insisted that we combine our finances into one joint account because, as he said at the time, married couples should operate with complete transparency.
At that moment everything suddenly made sense. His plan was simple and cruel at the same time. He would pretend to build a life in Seattle while gradually transferring money from our joint account to support his new partner and their child without me ever suspecting anything.
The day of the airport departure arrived quickly.
At O’Hare International Airport he hugged me tightly in front of the departure gates.
“This is for us,” he whispered softly.
I cried while holding him. But I was not crying because I would miss him. I was crying because I already knew the truth.
When I watched him walk through the security checkpoint, I knew he would not be boarding a flight to Seattle. I was certain that he would exit the terminal through another door and call a ride to Oak Brook where his secret apartment was waiting.