Arthur clenched his fists. This was the moment. Everyone broke eventually, and he was about to catch her red-handed.
Clara walked slowly toward the safe. Her eyes were fixed on the money, but she didn’t touch it. Instead, she reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a worn envelope.
She whispered, “This could fix everything…”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
Then, gently, she took a stack of bills—not stuffing them into her apron, but placing them inside the envelope. She wrote something on the front with a shaky hand, then placed it carefully on the desk.
She looked up at the empty room and said aloud, “I can’t do it. Not like this.”
Arthur’s breath caught.
“I just needed a loan,” she whispered, wiping tears from her cheeks. “Just for my brother’s surgery. I’d repay it. I swear I would.”
She stood there a moment longer, trembling, then turned and left the study, leaving the envelope behind.
