Chapter 6 - THE MISSING FOLDER
I ran to my office before anyone could stop me.
The desk drawers looked normal.
The filing cabinet looked normal.
My laptop was still there.
Then I saw the empty space on the second shelf.
A black accordion folder was gone.
Inside were property records, trust documents, insurance papers, and our signed prenup.
My attorney, Naomi Park, was still on speakerphone.
"Claire?"
"The folder is missing."
"Do not let Ryan leave with any bags, briefcases, or devices until officers know what you're reporting."
I turned.
Ryan stood in the doorway.
His face had changed.
Calculation.
"What are you accusing me of now?"
I held up the phone. "Where is my legal folder?"
"I don't know."
"You were in here."
"It's my house too."
"That wasn't the question."
Officer Ortiz appeared behind him.
"Mr. Mercer, step into the hall."
Ryan didn't move.
"This is insane. She's turning a family argument into some criminal conspiracy."
Naomi's voice came through the phone.
"Officer, this is Naomi Park, Ms. Bennett's attorney. The missing folder contains original and copied legal documents relevant to separate property. I strongly recommend documenting the room and preserving any security footage covering this hallway."
Ryan swore under his breath.
That was when I remembered the second camera.
The one disguised inside the smoke detector outside my office.
Ryan had mocked me for installing redundant security.
"You think someone is going to steal your spreadsheets?" he'd joked.
Marcus pulled up the hallway feed.
At 6:42 p.m., twenty minutes before Diane arrived, Ryan walked into my office carrying nothing.
At 6:49, he walked out holding the black accordion folder beneath his jacket.
My stomach dropped.
Officer Ortiz froze the frame.
"Mr. Mercer, where is that folder now?"
Ryan stared at the image.
Then he said the dumbest thing I had heard all night.
"I was protecting it."
"From whom?" I asked.
He looked at me.
"From you."
And somewhere behind us, Diane started crying.
May you like
Not because she was sorry.
Because their plan had started falling apart.
