Chapter 5 - THE BUSINESS WITHOUT CUSTOMERS
Monroe Mobile Maintenance had a post-office box in Wyoming, Michigan, a basic website that no longer loaded, and a state registration listing Travis as its sole member.
Its stated purpose was industrial-equipment repair.
For the first time, the expensive tools, weekend absences, and unexplained purchases appeared to fit together.
Travis had not been spending every Saturday with friends. He had been operating a business and keeping it from me.
Rebecca warned me not to access accounts or devices that were not mine.
“Public records, shared records, and documents voluntarily given to you are fine,” she said. “Do not guess his password. Do not open mail addressed only to him. We can request financial disclosure through the divorce.”
“I haven’t filed yet.”
“Are you ready to?”
I looked through the hotel window. Sophie was doing homework at the small kitchen table, erasing the same math problem until the paper thinned.
“Yes.”
The complaint Rebecca filed sought divorce, an equitable division of property, temporary financial restraints, and a parenting arrangement that protected Sophie from adult conflict. It did not accuse Travis of crimes we could not prove.
He was served at the processing plant two days later.
His response arrived before dinner.
**You embarrassed me at work. Now I’m going to make sure everyone knows what you’ve hidden.**
I replied once.
**Communicate through the attorneys about finances. Contact me directly only about Sophie.**
The first financial disclosures arrived incomplete. Travis listed the LLC but valued it at zero. He described it as a failed side business with no remaining assets and $26,000 in debt.
He did not include statements.
Rebecca requested them.
Meanwhile, I contacted the county clerk and obtained lien filings attached to the company. A lender called Great Lakes Industrial Finance had once held a security interest in tools, diagnostic equipment, and a used service van.
The lien had been released fourteen months earlier.
If Travis’s company still owed $26,000, it was not to that lender.
On Sunday, Darlene asked to meet me again.
She chose a bench inside the downtown skywalk, away from both our homes. For once, she wore no makeup. The deep lines around her mouth made her look older than her sixty-eight years.
“Travis said you found the company.”
“He disclosed it after I filed.”
“He tried to build something for himself.”
“Why was our insurance money sent there?”
“He needed cash flow.”
“Was that your explanation or his?”
Her lips pressed together.
I placed a list of the diverted household payments between us.
“He took money intended for Sophie’s tuition, our insurance, and our taxes. Then he gave you his entire bonus. If you know where it went, tell me.”
“I never asked him to hurt Sophie.”
“But you accepted the money.”
She looked toward the street below.
“Travis said the business would replace everything.”
“Replace what?”
Darlene stood.
“I shouldn’t have come.”
I caught her sleeve, then immediately released it.
“Your December statement showed Ridgeway Recovery Services. Travis says the LLC failed. You say it was going to replace something. Which story is true?”
She faced me.
“The company was real in the beginning. He repaired equipment for two small plants and a bakery. But it wasn’t bringing in enough.”
“Enough for what?”
Her eyes filled, but no tears fell.
“To get back what was lost.”
Before she could explain, Travis appeared at the far entrance of the skywalk.
He must have followed her.
“Mom,” he said. “Get away from her.”
Darlene flinched.
Travis walked toward us, keeping his voice low because families were passing nearby.
“You’re stalking my mother now?”
“She contacted me.”
He looked at Darlene. “Did you give her anything?”
“No.”
“Did you tell her about Ridgeway?”
Darlene’s silence answered for her.
Travis turned to me.
“My business failed. Ridgeway collects what I owe. That’s all there is.”
“Your industrial lender released its lien fourteen months ago.”
His face went still.
“Then Ridgeway bought another debt.”
“Show me.”
“You don’t get to audit me anymore.”
“You used my income to keep our household running while you moved money into a company you hid.”
“You hid thirty-one thousand dollars.”
“I’ll disclose every dollar in court. Will you?”
He took Darlene by the elbow.
As they walked away, she pulled free of his hand.
It was the first time I had ever seen her openly resist him.
That night, an envelope was pushed under my hotel-room door.
Inside was a key and a handwritten address for a storage unit.
May you like
The note contained six words.
**Before Travis empties it. Go tomorrow.**
