Chapter 2 - She Can Protect Herself
Officer Maya Chen photographed my shoulder while I sat at the kitchen table holding an ice pack against it.
"Does your husband have access to the security system?" she asked.
"He has the password. We both do."
My voice sounded flat. I hated that I could still hear Ryan asking me to apologize.
Jonah Pike, the neighborhood security supervisor, checked the alarm panel. "The camera has a battery and local storage," he said. "Internet goes out, it keeps recording. When the network returns, it uploads."
Jonah let Officer Chen view a brief preview through the security app. She watched Diane strike first, noted the timestamp, and asked him not to alter or export the original files. A technician could preserve them properly in the morning. She took my statement and issued an incident number. Diane was already on the sidewalk telling anyone who would listen that I had attacked a defenseless widow.
Ryan came back as the patrol car prepared to leave. He stopped at the threshold.
"Mom has a heart condition," he said. "Please don't do this to her."
"She had enough strength to swing that handle twice."
"You know what I mean. Protect her. Tell them it was a misunderstanding."
Officer Chen turned. "Sir, step away from the door."
Ryan didn't move. "Lena, I love you."
I slid off my wedding ring and dropped it at his feet. It made a small, disappointing sound on the stone.
"She can protect herself in court."
He stared at the ring. I waited for him to say he was sorry. He bent and picked it up instead.
At midnight, after everyone had gone, my phone lit up with an email from a company called Ashbrook Private Credit.
SUBJECT: FINAL NOTICE — 18 ROWAN STREET.
I opened it. A $640,000 business loan had been secured against my house, and the lender was demanding confirmation of my personal guaranty before the first payment came due. According to the papers, I had signed the mortgage eleven days earlier.
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I had never heard of Ashbrook.
And I had never signed any mortgage.
