Chapter 13 - THE SECOND PHONE
Lauren had been using the same burner number for five years.
That fact turned old family drama into evidence.
The investigator traced the number through payment records. The account had been renewed repeatedly with prepaid cards, but one recharge had been purchased online using Lauren's business debit card.
She had used that number to message James before our wedding.
She had used it to contact Dad's attorney.
And according to the investigator, it had contacted someone else on Christmas Eve.
A man named Trevor Cole.
I knew the name.
Trevor had worked for Dad's company before it was sold. He'd been fired after inventory disappeared from a warehouse.
Dad went quiet when the investigator mentioned him.
"Lauren dated Trevor for a while," he admitted.
"How long?"
"A few months. Years ago."
Mom looked confused. "She told us he was just a friend."
Dad gave her a tired look. "Apparently we believed a lot of things."
Police interviewed Trevor the next day.
At first he denied everything.
Then they showed him the call records.
His story changed.
Lauren had asked him to impersonate Dad on the phone with the attorney. She promised him ten thousand dollars if the transfer cleared.
"Did he know the money belonged to Emma?" I asked.
The investigator paused. "He says he thought it was your father's business account."
But Trevor gave them something bigger.
Screenshots.
Lauren had texted him instructions, account details, and one message that made my stomach twist.
IF THIS WORKS, THE BABY PROBLEM TAKES CARE OF ITSELF.
I read it again.
"What does that mean?"
The investigator didn't speculate.
James did.
"It means she didn't see Emma as a person," he said quietly. "She saw her as a change in the math."
That evening Mom called and asked to come over.
When she arrived, she carried a shoebox.
"I found this in Lauren's old room."
Inside were letters, photographs, receipts, and notebooks dating back almost twenty years.
On top was a photograph of me as a toddler.
Someone had scratched my face out with a black pen.
May you like
On the back, in Lauren's teenage handwriting, were four words:
SHE TOOK MY LIFE.
