Chapter 6 - TWO TRACKERS
The second tracker was inside Lily’s diaper bag.
I stared at it in Marcus’s hand.
Small.
Black.
Easy to hide.
I had carried that bag everywhere.
Doctor appointments.
Daycare.
The grocery store.
Rachel’s apartment.
Everywhere.
“Who put it there?” I asked.
Marcus shook his head.
“Can’t know yet.”
I did.
Or at least I had a strong guess.
Diane had given us that diaper bag.
A “replacement” after complaining mine looked cheap.
Caroline had both devices bagged as evidence.
Then she called the police.
This time, I didn’t argue.
By evening, Jason was calling nonstop.
I blocked him.
Then another number started calling.
Robert.
I answered once.
“Emily.”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“You need to stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Making this worse.”
I looked at Caroline.
She signaled for me to keep him talking.
“You mean finding the trackers?”
Silence.
Then Robert sighed.
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
“Explain it.”
“This family has protected you for years.”
I almost laughed.
“Protected me?”
“You married into a level of life you never would’ve had otherwise.”
There it was.
The Bennett worldview.
Money meant permission.
“You mean debt in my name?”
His silence lasted too long.
I smiled.
“Got you.”
“You need to be careful what you accuse people of.”
“Did you notarize a power of attorney I signed in the hospital?”
“I notarize hundreds of documents.”
“You weren’t there.”
“Emily.”
His voice hardened.
“Walk away.”
“I already did.”
“No.”
“You walked away from Jason.”
A pause.
“You haven’t walked away from this.”
I looked at Caroline.
She was writing furiously.
“What happens if I don’t?”
Robert laughed softly.
“You’ll find out.”
The call ended.
Caroline immediately said, “That was useful.”
“He threatened me.”
“More than that.”
“What?”
“He knows about the debt.”
“How can you tell?”
“Because he didn’t ask what you were talking about.”
Marcus nodded.
Caroline looked at me.
“Now we pull everything.”
Company records.
Loans.
Credit reports.
Tax filings.
Jason’s business accounts.
Robert’s companies.
It took hours.
What emerged made no sense at first.
Then Marcus drew a line across a whiteboard.
“Here.”
He pointed to a company called Bennett Logistics Consulting.
Jason had never mentioned it.
The company had received payments from Robert’s medical supply business.
Monthly.
Large ones.
“What did Jason do for them?” I asked.
Marcus shook his head.
“Nothing I can find.”
“Then why was he paid?”
“That’s the question.”
Another company appeared.
Then another.
All connected.
Somehow, one of the fraudulent loans in my name had been transferred into an account tied to Jason’s consulting company.
I felt physically ill.
“My debt financed his company.”
“Looks that way,” Marcus said.
Caroline leaned back.
“Emily, your divorce just became the least interesting part of this.”
I stared at the whiteboard.
“What are they doing?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Then Rachel came into the office carrying Lily.
“She asked for you.”
I took my daughter.
Lily rested her head against my shoulder.
For the first time since the birthday dinner, the swelling had gone down.
But when someone dropped a folder behind us, she jumped.
My heart broke.
Caroline watched her.
Then her phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She stood.
“When?”
Another pause.
“Send me everything.”
She hung up.
I asked, “What happened?”
Caroline looked at Marcus.
Then me.
“The police just went to Diane’s condo.”
“Why?”
“Someone reported a break-in.”
My stomach dropped.
“What was taken?”
Caroline’s eyes stayed on mine.
“Only one thing.”
“What?”
May you like
“Brooke’s phone.”
The phone that had recorded the livestream.
