Chapter 8 - The Petition
Evelyn moved faster than fear.
By four o’clock she had filed an objection, demanded an emergency hearing, and attached proof that I was at work every day David claimed I was “unable to manage ordinary affairs.”
The petition was ugly.
It described panic episodes.
Confusion.
Impulsive spending.
Paranoia about my husband.
One paragraph said I had recently fabricated a belief that David and Angela were having an affair.
I read that sentence three times.
“They knew I’d find out,” I said.
Evelyn nodded.
“So they built the answer first.”
The hearing was set for Monday.
That gave us four days.
I checked into a hotel under my maiden name.
At 8:12 p.m., David called.
“Where are you?”
“With a friend.”
“You left without saying anything.”
“So did you. For fifteen days.”
Silence.
Then his voice softened.
“Rebecca, Angela told me you’ve been saying strange things.”
There it was.
The script.
“What strange things?”
“That people are trying to steal from you.”
I looked at the forged guardianship petition on my laptop.
“Are they?”
He exhaled.
“I think you need help.”
“I agree.”
He paused.
“Good.”
“I hired a lawyer.”
The call went dead.
Thirty seconds later Angela called.
Then David again.
Then an unknown number.
I answered the unknown one.
A man said, “Mrs. Collins?”
“Yes?”
“This is Leonard Greaves from the trust company. Someone tried to access the Hale trust portal ten minutes ago using your credentials.”
I stood up.
“Did they get in?”
“No. Your attorney’s freeze stopped them.”
“Can you see where the login came from?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
He gave me the IP location.
It was my house.
Then my security app sent a motion alert from the home office.
I opened the camera.
May you like
David and Angela were standing over my desk.
And Angela was feeding pages into my shredder.
