Chapter 8 - THE PRICE OF HIS SILENCE
"You traded me for a mortgage?"
Mark shook his head fast. "No. That's not what happened."
"Then explain it without lying."
He couldn't.
The flowers drooped in his hand.
"I thought temporary guardianship would just calm her down. A few weeks. Maybe a month."
"A month of my newborn being legally controlled by your mother?"
"I wasn't going to let her keep the baby."
I laughed once, sharp and ugly. "You already let her take my privacy, my medical records, my reputation, and my marriage. Why would the baby be different?"
He started crying.
Three weeks ago, I would have reached for him.
I didn't.
"Tell Maya everything," I said. "In writing."
His face snapped up. "Mom will ruin me."
"Then you're still choosing her."
I walked away.
At 1:00 a.m., my phone rang.
It was Mark.
"She knows about the nursery footage."
I sat up. "How?"
"I told her I was done. She checked the camera account."
"Where are you?"
A crash sounded through the phone.
Mark cursed.
"She's destroying the house."
"Call the police."
"Rachel, there's a safe in her room. I saw files. She has copies of your signature. Your driver's license. Insurance forms. Everything."
My pulse kicked.
Then Diane's voice came through, distant but clear.
"Who are you talking to?"
Mark whispered, "I have to go."
The call ended.
Ten minutes later, I received an email from an unknown address.
Subject: YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOUR HUSBAND DID.
Attached was a PDF.
It wasn't from Diane.
It was a life insurance policy.
Insured person: Rachel Morgan.
Benefit: $750,000.
Beneficiary: Mark Morgan.
May you like
Policy date: four months earlier.
And the electronic authorization used my signature.
