Chapter 9 - THE LIE REACHED HIS FAMILY
The answer began arriving from people Michael had spent years keeping separate.
Derek called Mary.
Mary called me.
I almost didn't answer because I wanted no part of negotiating Michael's gambling debt.
But what she told me changed the situation.
Derek wasn't a bookmaker.
He was Michael's coworker and, until recently, his closest friend.
Michael had borrowed money from him repeatedly after losing bets through an illegal local betting operation run by someone Derek knew.
The $15,000 transfer had been repayment.
Partial repayment.
“How much?” I asked.
Mary hesitated.
“Derek says Michael still owes him twelve.”
“Thousand?”
“Yes.”
“And that's just Derek?”
“Yes.”
Michael had also borrowed from his older brother, Kevin.
Seven thousand.
He'd told Kevin it was for wedding expenses.
He'd taken five thousand from Mary's emergency savings in April, claiming my contractor had gone over budget.
My contractor had never met Mary.
The financial pressure wasn't one debt.
It was a network of lies designed so nobody compared stories.
Until now.
Michael blamed me for that too.
He sent a message to the Davis family group:
Rebecca is contacting people from my job and spreading private financial information because I won't let her control me.
I hadn't contacted anyone from his job.
Susan responded before I could.
That's not what happened.
Michael immediately called her.
According to Susan, he spent ten minutes screaming.
Then he made one mistake.
He accused her of “ruining the plan.”
Susan sent me screenshots thirty minutes later.
They were from a sibling group chat dated the night before the wedding.
Michael:
Tomorrow Mom does the bucket thing. Keep it light.
Susan:
Rebecca knows about this, right?
Michael:
Basically.
Susan:
What does basically mean?
Michael:
She'll be pissed. Just keep filming if she loses it.
Susan:
Why?
Michael:
Because I'm tired of everybody acting like I'm crazy when I say she gets physical and controlling.
Susan:
Has she hit you before?
Michael never answered that question.
Instead he wrote:
Just don't stop recording.
I read the exchange three times.
Then I noticed the timestamp.
11:42 p.m.
At 11:43, Michael had kissed me on the dance floor at our reception and whispered that marrying me was the best decision he'd ever made.
May you like
The next message in the sibling chat had come four minutes later.
Michael:
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