Chapter 4
Diane had called the police.
Of course she had.
The officer introduced himself as Officer Bennett.
Another officer waited near the driveway.
“May we come in?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t hide anything.
I showed him Lily’s dress.
I showed him the security recording.
His expression changed before the first minute ended.
“Can you send me a copy?”
“Absolutely.”
Carla stood beside me.
Mark stayed near the stairs.
When the video showed Diane grabbing Ethan’s wrist, Officer Bennett leaned closer.
When she raised the plate, his jaw tightened.
“So you struck her after witnessing this?”
“Yes.”
“Did you continue attacking her after the threat stopped?”
“No.”
“I pushed her away, got my children safe, packed her things, and made her leave.”
He nodded.
Then he asked to speak with Ethan.
I stayed close but let him answer.
Ethan told the truth.
Every ugly piece.
The missed meals.
The insults.
The threat that Lily would sleep in the garage if she complained.
The way Diane told him his mother would soon “be gone.”
I felt cold.
Officer Bennett asked, “What did she mean?”
Ethan shrugged.
“She said Dad would fix everything.”
Afterward, the officer gave me a case number.
“I strongly recommend you preserve all recordings.”
“I will.”
“And if Mrs. Carter’s mother-in-law returns, call us rather than opening the door.”
“She has a key.”
“Not anymore,” Mark said.
The officer almost smiled.
After they left, I called Ryan.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Then a text.
Landing tomorrow at 9:40 a.m. We’ll talk at home.
I replied.
We will talk. But your mother is not entering this house.
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
No response.
I spent the rest of the night searching.
Bank records.
Property documents.
Insurance.
Anything.
At 2:17 a.m., I found something strange.
Our mortgage payment hadn’t come from our joint account in almost eighteen months.
I had never noticed because Ryan handled the automatic payments.
I logged into the property tax website.
The deed listed two owners.
Emily Carter.
And—
I stared.
Not Ryan.
Thomas Carter.
Ryan’s father.
My late father-in-law.
That was impossible.
Thomas had died three years earlier.
I searched our documents until sunrise.
Then I found an envelope in Ryan’s desk.
My name was written across the front.
Not in Ryan’s handwriting.
Thomas’s.
I opened it.
Emily,
If you are reading this, Ryan has finally done what I was afraid he would do.
My hands started shaking.
I kept reading.
The house was never meant for Ryan.
It was purchased partly with money inherited by you after your grandmother’s death. Ryan convinced you to transfer those funds while you were pregnant with Ethan.
I remembered.
Ryan had said we were “investing in our future.”
Thomas continued.
I corrected the ownership documents when I discovered what happened. My share transfers to you upon my death.
I covered my mouth.
That meant—
The house was mine.
Completely mine.
There was another page.
Diane knows.
Do not trust her if she tells you she is protecting Ryan. She is protecting herself.
Attached was a bank statement.
A transfer.
$140,000.
From our home equity line.
To Diane Carter.
I heard footsteps.
Ethan stood in the doorway.
“Mom?”
I quickly folded the papers.
“Why are you awake?”
He looked scared.
“Lily had a nightmare.”
I followed him upstairs.
Lily was sitting in my bed, crying.
I hugged her.
Then she whispered something against my shoulder.
“Grandma said when Daddy comes home, he’s taking us to her new house.”
I pulled back.
“What new house?”
May you like
“The one Daddy bought her.”
And suddenly I knew exactly where my missing $140,000 had gone.
