Chapter 7 - MY BIRTHDAY WAS PART OF THE PLAN
Daniel forwarded the email.
I opened it with Rebecca beside me.
From: Lorraine Parker.
To: Andrew Parker.
Subject: FINAL PUSH — AUGUST 10.
The message was short.
“She’ll be exhausted after Friday’s shift. I’ll start first thing. If she reacts badly, we document it. You stay at the cottage. Melissa can confirm you weren’t here. By evening, we’ll have enough to show she’s unstable.”
I read it twice.
Rebecca whispered,
“My God.”
There was more.
Andrew had replied:
“Don’t overdo it. I just need her angry enough to send texts or threaten you.”
Lorraine answered:
“Trust me.”
I thought about the cast-iron pot.
Had she intended to miss?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Either possibility made me sick.
They wanted a reaction.
A screaming voicemail.
A threat.
Maybe a shove.
Anything they could use.
Instead, I photographed the damage.
I filed a report.
I stayed calm.
Their plan had failed because they had underestimated the woman whose job was staying calm during emergencies.
Rebecca leaned toward me.
“Claire, we’re past ordinary divorce territory.”
“I know.”
“We may be looking at attempted financial fraud, conspiracy, harassment, possibly more.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered cautiously.
“Claire Morgan?”
“Yes.”
“This is Detective Hannah Reyes with Monroe County.”
My pulse jumped.
She asked me to come in.
The bank had flagged activity tied to an IP address.
Andrew’s work laptop.
And another device.
Lorraine’s tablet.
By late afternoon, Detective Reyes had copies of everything.
The recordings.
Photos.
Messages.
Loan application.
Video.
Email chain.
She listened carefully.
Then asked,
“Has your husband ever threatened your physical safety?”
“No.”
“Has his mother?”
“Only indirectly.”
“Any weapons?”
“No.”
“Any life insurance?”
That question chilled me.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
I hesitated.
“Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
Reyes wrote it down.
“Who is beneficiary?”
“Andrew.”
She looked up.
“Change it.”
I did that evening.
I also changed my will.
My emergency contacts.
My passwords.
My locks.
By midnight, I felt like I had dismantled my entire married life in twelve hours.
Then my phone buzzed.
A text from Lorraine.
YOU’LL REGRET HUMILIATING MY SON.
I blocked her.
Thirty seconds later, another message arrived from an unknown number.
YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE HINT THIS MORNING.
Attached was a photograph.
My blood went cold.
May you like
It showed me leaving Rebecca’s office earlier that day.
Someone was following me.
