credit cards, separating normal spending—fuel, groceries, legitimate business lunches—from purchases we could connect directly with Rachel. Those included hotels, restaurants corroborated by messages and dates, a Cincinnati weekend Daniel had described as a supplier conference, flowers delivered to her workplace, concert tickets, an aquarium excursion, and a furniture deposit for Rachel’s apartment made after he moved in but before the temporary agreement.
Melissa’s assistant compiled $18,420 in documented spending. It wasn’t millions or some sensational hidden fortune. But that money represented our postponed roof repair, the holiday we never
