"Ryan and I have been discussing something."
"Discussing what?"
"Something that involves money."
Daniel stared at her.
For a moment, he thought he had misunderstood.
"Money?"
She nodded.
"What money?"
Clara took a shaky breath.
"About three months ago, I started having some financial difficulties."
Daniel frowned.
"What difficulties?"
"I didn't tell you because I thought I could handle them myself."
"Clara, we've always shared our finances. What could possibly have been so difficult that you couldn't talk to me?"
She hesitated.
"I borrowed some money."
"From whom?"
"Ryan."
Daniel's expression changed.
"How much?"
Clara did not answer immediately.
"How much, Clara?"
"Twenty thousand dollars."
Daniel stared at her.
The amount was significant, but it was not the money itself that shocked him. It was the realization that his wife had borrowed a substantial amount from another man without telling him.
"Why?"
"I had some expenses."
"What expenses?"
She looked away.
"Personal expenses."
Daniel gave a humorless laugh.
"Personal expenses? You're giving me the same vague answers you gave me upstairs."
"I know."
"Then stop doing that."
Clara began crying again.
"I made some bad decisions."
"What kind of decisions?"
She took a deep breath.
"I invested in something."
Daniel waited.
"An online business," she continued. "Someone introduced me to an investment opportunity. They promised that I could make a lot of money in a short time."
"And you believed them?"
"I thought it was legitimate."
"How much did you invest?"
Clara's silence was answer enough.
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"How much?"
"Almost thirty thousand dollars."
He closed his eyes.
Thirty thousand dollars.
The amount represented years of careful planning, saving, and working overtime. It was money he and Clara had intended to use for their future.
"Where did you get that money?"
"Some of it came from my savings."
"And the rest?"
She looked at him.
"I used money from our joint account."
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
"How much did you take from our account?"
"Fifteen thousand."
He stepped backward.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
He remembered checking their joint account a few weeks earlier and noticing that the balance was lower than expected. Clara had explained that several household expenses had been paid earlier than usual.
He had accepted the explanation.
He had trusted her.
Now he understood that the money had disappeared into an investment he knew nothing about.
"Did you lose it?"
Clara nodded.
"All of it?"
"Most of it."
"How much is left?"
"Almost nothing."
Daniel sat down slowly.
He felt as though the room had become smaller.
"So you lost our money, borrowed another twenty thousand dollars from Ryan, and then started an affair with him?"
Clara shook her head quickly.
"It wasn't like that."
"Then explain it to me."
"Ryan offered to help me recover the money. He said he knew people who could help."
Daniel looked at her.
"And that's when you became involved with him?"
Clara lowered her eyes.
"It happened gradually."
Daniel leaned back.
He could not believe what he was hearing.
The situation was no longer simply about an unfaithful wife and a man who had entered their home.
It was about money, lies, and a series of decisions that had continued long after the first mistake.
"Did Ryan know about the investment before you lost the money?"
"Yes."
"Did he introduce you to it?"
Clara hesitated.
"Yes."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"Wait. Are you telling me Ryan was the person who persuaded you to invest?"
"He told me about it."
"And you gave him money?"
"Not directly. I transferred it to the company."
"Which company?"
Clara reached for her phone.
"I can show you."
Daniel did not take it.
"Not yet."
He stood up and walked toward the window.
The pieces were beginning to form a picture, but it was a picture he did not want to see.
He turned around.
"Why didn't you tell me when you lost the money?"
"I was ashamed."
"Why didn't you tell me when you borrowed from Ryan?"
"I thought I could repay him."
"And why did you start seeing him?"
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know."
Daniel looked at her for a long moment.
"That is the first honest answer you've given me tonight."
***
Margaret had been standing in the kitchen doorway.
She had heard enough to understand that the situation was far more complicated than she had originally imagined.
When Daniel turned toward her, she stepped into the room.
"Daniel, is everything all right?"
He shook his head.
"No, Mom. Nothing is all right."
Margaret looked at Clara.
"How much money did you say?"
Clara lowered her head.
"Thirty thousand dollars."
Margaret sat down.
"Dear God."
"I know," Clara whispered.
Margaret looked at her with disappointment.
"Why would you risk your marriage and your family's money for an investment you didn't understand?"
"I thought I was doing something good for us."
"For us?"
Clara nodded.
"I wanted to contribute more. Daniel works so hard, and I wanted to make more money so we could have a better future."
Daniel turned toward her.
"Don't use our future to justify what you did."
Clara covered her face.
Margaret remained silent for a moment.
Then she asked a question that neither Daniel nor Clara had expected.
"Did Ryan ask you to keep the investment secret?"