Chapter 3 - WHAT THE HOUSE HID
I left the hospital three days later.
The baby was stable.
I was not.
Physically, I was bruised and exhausted.
Emotionally, I felt as though someone had taken the walls of my life apart and left me standing in the middle of the wreckage.
Alex drove me to his house.
It was small compared with Trent's mansion.
That was the first thing I loved about it.
Nothing echoed.
Nothing felt watched.
There was a blue couch in the living room, a stack of old Marine photographs on a bookshelf, and a kitchen table covered with mail.
Nobody cared if I left a cup beside the sink.
Nobody cared if I cried.
Nobody cared if I needed to sleep until noon.
On the fourth morning, Alex brought me breakfast.
“Eat.”
“I've been eating.”
“You had crackers.”
“They were good crackers.”
He gave me a look.
I smiled.
It was the first real smile I'd managed in weeks.
Then my phone rang.
Detective Ellis.
“We have a warrant for the Bennett residence.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“We found evidence that financial abuse may have been occurring.”
I looked at Alex.
“What does that mean?”
“Your husband opened accounts using your information. He also transferred money from a savings account you believed was closed.”
“I didn't have savings.”
Alex frowned.
“Exactly.”
The detective continued.
“Your father-in-law appears to have been moving money through several accounts connected to a construction company.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“We're not certain yet.”
Two hours later, Alex and I sat in Detective Ellis's office.
A large monitor displayed spreadsheets.
My name appeared repeatedly.
I stared.
“I don't understand.”
“These are payroll records.”
“For what?”
“A consulting company.”
“I've never worked for them.”
“We know.”
The detective changed screens.
My signature appeared on several documents.
Except it wasn't my signature.
It was close.
Too close.
Someone had copied it.
Alex leaned forward.
“Why would anyone do that?”
Detective Ellis looked at me.
“Because your credit history was clean.”
I felt sick.
“They used me as a front.”
“Possibly.”
“Who?”
“We're still tracing it.”
Then she showed me another file.
A bank transfer.
The amount was enormous.
I couldn't comprehend the number.
“What is that?”
“Money transferred into an account connected to your husband.”
“When?”
“Eight months ago.”
I looked at the date.
It was the month I discovered I was pregnant.
I remembered Trent celebrating that night.
He had kissed my forehead.
He had said we were going to be a family.
I suddenly realized he had not asked me how I felt.
He had asked whether I'd told anyone.
Detective Ellis noticed my expression.
“You remember something?”
“Yes.”
I told her.
She wrote it down.
Then she leaned back.
“We believe your pregnancy may have changed the financial plan.”
My heart stopped.
“What plan?”
“We don't know yet.”
Alex stood.
“Then find out.”
The detective's eyes hardened.
“We are.”
That evening, Nicole contacted me again.
Can I see you?
I showed Alex.
He wanted to say no.
I asked him to let me decide.
We met at a coffee shop near the courthouse.
Nicole arrived wearing sunglasses despite the cloudy weather.
She looked exhausted.
“I didn't know he'd hurt you that badly.”
“You filmed it.”
She looked down.
“I know.”
“Why?”
She started crying.
“Because Dad told me to.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“Dad said Trent needed proof you were difficult. He said if Trent ever needed to divorce you, the videos would prove you were unstable.”
My hands went numb.
“They wanted to make me look crazy.”
Nicole nodded.
“And then Trent got angry. He started drinking more. He said you were embarrassing the family.”
“Why?”
She swallowed.
“Because of the baby.”
I stared at her.
“What about the baby?”
Nicole looked around the café.
“Dad didn't want Trent to have another child.”
“Why?”
“I don't know everything.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
She wiped her eyes.
“Your husband owes money.”
“I knew about gambling.”
“This is bigger.”
“How much?”
She whispered a number.
I almost dropped my cup.
“That can't be real.”
“It is.”
“Who does he owe?”
“People Dad refuses to name.”
“And what does that have to do with my baby?”
Nicole looked directly at me.
“Your husband took out a life insurance policy on you.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I couldn't breathe.
“How much?”
She told me.
It was enough to erase every doubt.
Enough to explain why Trent had recently asked about my doctor's appointments.
Enough to explain why Richard had become interested in whether I was carrying a boy or a girl.
Enough to explain why Helen had laughed.
I stood.
“I'm done.”
Nicole grabbed my sleeve.
“Wait.”
I looked at her hand.
She released me.
“There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“Dad has a locked office at the house.”
“Everyone knows that.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“There is a second room behind it.”
I stared.
“What room?”
“A room with no windows.”
“What's inside?”
Nicole's voice dropped.
“Files.”
“About what?”
“People.”
May you like
She looked frightened.
“And I think your name is in there.”
