Chapter 4 - THE CONTRACTORS WHO DIDN’T EXIST
The morning after the confrontation, Catherine sat at her dining table with her attorney, Grace Levin, and went line by line through the renovation account.
Benjamin had left the house at 10:43 the previous night.
Margot left fifteen minutes later with both children.
Catherine did not physically remove anyone.
She called a locksmith after they were gone and changed the access code because Benjamin had taken a spare house key despite being told not to return without arranging access through counsel.
Whether he had any temporary occupancy rights had to be handled legally.
Catherine was not interested in turning a property dispute into a dramatic self-help eviction.
Grace agreed.
“Documents first. Anger second.”
The transactions were worse than Catherine expected.
MH Services did not exist as a registered contractor.
The tax identification number attached to the invoices belonged to a dissolved cleaning business Margot had opened years earlier.
Several invoices described work supposedly performed at Catherine’s home.
Custom millwork.
Electrical upgrades.
Stonework.
HVAC balancing.
None existed.
Catherine compared the invoices against actual contractors she had hired.
Benjamin had doubled several project descriptions.
A real electrician billed $2,200.
Benjamin’s spreadsheet showed another $3,800 to MH Services for “electrical project support.”
A cabinet company billed $8,400.
Another $4,500 went to Margot for “finish coordination.”
It looked believable unless someone compared every invoice.
Grace looked up.
“He was paying her through your house.”
“Yes.”
“What for?”
Catherine thought about the newborn.
The toddler.
The suitcases.
“I think I know.”
She did not want to say it yet.
Knowing emotionally and proving factually were different things.
Then Grace found a hospital payment.
$6,250.
The description said:
Specialty fixtures deposit.
The recipient account was linked to a women’s health center in Arlington.
Catherine stared at the date.
May you like
Seven months earlier.
Around the beginning of Margot’s pregnancy.
