Chapter 10 - The ClinicDiane was arrested in the clinic parking lot.
Fraud-related charges.
Attempted unauthorized access to medical records.
Possession of documents police believed were forged.
Not kidnapping.
Not yet.
Harris was careful.
So was Ethan.
He had learned that anger was strongest when it stayed attached to facts.
Diane asked for a lawyer.
Then asked to speak to Olivia.
Olivia said no.
First no.
Clean no.
No explanation.
Ethan almost cried.
The next morning, Dr. Patel discharged Olivia under strict instructions.
Bed rest.
Medication resumed.
Blood pressure monitoring.
No stress.
Ethan laughed when he heard that last one.
Dr. Patel did not.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Ethan took Olivia to a hotel suite instead of home.
She resisted.
“I want my bed.”
“I know.”
“Why are we hiding?”
“We’re not. The house is evidence.”
That helped.
Then Ethan did something he should have done months earlier.
He took leave from work.
His boss asked:
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
That answer terrified him.
He was the person who always knew.
Deadlines.
Budgets.
Schedules.
But fatherhood was not a project plan.
Neither was marriage.
That afternoon, Olivia woke from a nap and found Ethan sitting with her bank statements.
“What are you doing?”
“Learning.”
He showed her the household account.
Diane’s spending over five months:
$38,000.
Vanessa:
$14,000.
Courtney:
$9,000.
Madison:
$6,000.
Olivia stared.
“I didn’t know.”
“I didn’t either.”
Then he opened his own credit report.
A new personal loan appeared.
$75,000.
Borrower:
Ethan Carter.
Co-signer:
Olivia Carter.
Lender:
North Texas Private Finance.
May you like
Neither of them had applied.
The contact email belonged to Diane.
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