“We have to go to the bank on Lake Street tomorrow afternoon and straighten out the house accounts.”

“I know we do,” I said.

I watched them climb the stairs together, their footsteps fading until the bedroom doors shut at the far end of the upstairs hall.

I waited six minutes in the dark kitchen until the house sank into total silence, broken only by the low hum of the refrigerator compressor.

I reached into the deep pocket of my wool robe, took out my personal smartphone, and turned the screen brightness all the way down.

I opened my main banking app, confirmed my identity with my thumbprint, and went straight to the linked corporate payroll and personal reserve menus.