Chapter 2 - The Call He Forgot to End
"Did you get her to sign it, Grant?" A woman's voice. Crisp. All business.
Marlene. My mother-in-law-to-be. I'd know that voice anywhere.
Grant laughed low. "Almost. She's jumpy about paperwork. But once the ring's on? She'll do whatever I tell her. Especially dragging those freak kids around. She's starving for stability — that's the leash I've got on her."
I didn't move.
He kept going.
"Soon as we're married, the house and the savings come to me. She ends up with nothing. Clean. I can't wait to dump her — I'm sick of pretending to love those kids."
They laughed. Loose, comfortable laughter. Like my whole life was a math problem they'd already solved.
My hands went numb around the phone.
I didn't scream. I didn't throw anything. I pressed the red button and set the phone face-down on the dryer.
Then my feet just walked. Out of the laundry room, down the hall.
In the living room, all three kids had crashed on the couch. Cody stretched across two cushions, mouth open. Bella was curled into Nora, one foot twitching like she was running somewhere in a dream.
I stood in the doorway a long time.
"Okay," I breathed.
I didn't cry. There wasn't room for it yet. I went back to my room, opened the laptop, and started building something Grant and Marlene would be explaining for the rest of their lives.
It wasn't only revenge. It was going to be proof — in their own voices, in front of every person they'd invited to watch them win.
"You're not marrying that man, Diane," I said to the dark. "You're stepping out of a trap."
My phone buzzed. A text from a number I'd saved at Christmas.
"Hi Aunt Diane. It's Kayla — Derek's daughter. I'm so sorry. I heard Grant and Grandma talking. I got most of it on my phone. I didn't know who else to send it to."
An audio file sat under the message.
I called her.
Kayla picked up whispering, like she didn't want anyone in the house to hear.
"I wasn't spying, I swear. I was in the next room. He didn't know I was there."
"You're not in any trouble, sweetheart," I said gently. "And I will never tell a single person this came from you."
She let out a shaky breath. "I told my mom. She said to let it go. She said, 'That's just how men talk when women aren't in the room.' But it wasn't just talk. It was about your money. Your house. Your kids. The kid part made me feel sick."
I shut my eyes. There it was. The proof I needed.
"You've known my kids three years, Kayla. Tonight you protected them better than he ever did."
May you like
She hung up without another word.
I played the recording one more time. I wanted to hear exactly how little we meant to him.
