Chapter 3 - THE PAPERS IN THE GARAGE
I had spent eight years believing the worst thing that could happen to a marriage was betrayal.
I was wrong.
Sometimes betrayal had paperwork.
Detective Park froze the video.
Jason held the folder beneath his arm.
“What was inside?” I asked.
Taylor shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
“I am thinking.”
“Your mother nearly killed our daughter.”
“Mark—”
“And now she’s secretly meeting your brother in our garage.”
Taylor looked toward Lily.
“Please lower your voice.”
I laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“That’s what you’re worried about?”
Lily squeezed my hand.
“Daddy.”
I immediately stopped.
“Sorry, sweetheart.”
Park closed the tablet.
“We searched the garage after getting your consent.”
“And?”
“We found a loose panel behind the shelving.”
Taylor frowned.
“What panel?”
Park removed a sealed evidence bag from her coat.
Inside was a small brass key.
“I’ve never seen that,” Taylor said.
I had.
My stomach sank.
“I have.”
Park looked at me.
“Where?”
“My home office.”
Taylor turned.
“What?”
“That key opens the fireproof document box under my desk.”
Taylor stared at me.
“I thought you lost that key.”
“So did I.”
Park’s eyes narrowed.
“When did it disappear?”
“About three months ago.”
Exactly when Evelyn’s visits became more frequent.
The hospital room suddenly felt smaller.
“What’s in the box?” Park asked.
“Property records. Insurance documents. Investment accounts. Lily’s trust paperwork.”
Taylor’s face drained.
“Her trust?”
My father had left Lily a substantial education trust before he died.
Evelyn knew about it.
Everyone in the family did.
But Evelyn had always complained about the terms.
She believed Taylor should control the money.
My father disagreed.
The trust was structured so neither Taylor nor I could withdraw the principal.
Only an independent trustee could approve expenses for Lily.
Park stood.
“We need to check that box.”
I looked at Lily.
A nurse entered.
“I’ll stay with her.”
Taylor stepped forward.
“I’m coming too.”
I stared at my wife.
Part of me wanted to tell her no.
But I needed answers more than anger.
Forty minutes later, we entered our house with two officers.
My office looked normal.
Too normal.
I knelt beside the desk.
The fireproof box was there.
The lock showed scratches.
I inserted the recovered key.
Click.
Inside were my files.
Property deed.
Insurance policies.
Trust documents.
Except one folder was missing.
Lily’s trust.
Taylor whispered, “Oh my God.”
Then Park noticed something beneath the remaining documents.
A photocopy.
She lifted it carefully.
At the top were the words:
PETITION FOR TEMPORARY GUARDIANSHIP.
My eyes moved down the page.
Proposed guardian:
EVELYN MARSHALL.
Reason:
PARENTAL INSTABILITY AND UNSAFE HOME ENVIRONMENT.
I felt sick.
“They were trying to take Lily.”
Taylor shook her head.
“No.”
Park continued reading.
Then she stopped.
“What?”
I asked.
She looked at Taylor.
“This petition includes a supporting statement.”
“From who?”
Park turned the page around.
At the bottom was a signature.
Taylor Carter.
My wife.
The room went silent.
I looked at Taylor.
She stared at her own name.
May you like
Then she whispered something I never expected.
“I never signed that.”
