Chapter 4 - The Missing Hour
"Two fourteen this morning," Asha said. "And it came from your company account."
I stared at the closed dressing-room door. At two fourteen I'd been asleep at home, while Owen was in the next bedroom. Our front-porch camera could prove it. But I knew what a digital approval under my name could do to a small engineering firm.
"Freeze that project folder," I said. "Save the version history. Call our lawyer."
"Already doing both. Don't delete a thing."
There was a soft knock. My ex-wife, Tara Bennett, had driven over from Charlotte for the wedding and was waiting in the hall. We had divorced three years earlier, but we had never made Owen choose sides. She came in, took one look at his face, and hugged him without asking for a story first.
"I saw the video," she said to me over his shoulder. "Tell me he's safe."
"He is now."
"That's not the same as 'he was.'"
It hurt because it was true.
Detective Renee Brooks, called by a guest worried about the pin, met us by the terrace. She listened while I explained the false pregnancy and played the recording. She didn't promise an arrest or declare anyone guilty. Instead she asked Owen to send the original file without trimming it, then recorded where the phone had been and who had handled it.
Brielle emerged wearing a wrap over her gown. "I'm pregnant," she told Renee. "I used padding because the dress didn't fit right."
"Then we'll make sure you have access to medical care," Renee replied. "Did the pin touch your skin?"
"No." Brielle's answer came too quickly. "But it could have."
"That matters," the detective said. "So does the rest."
Brielle handed me a glossy ultrasound print. "Daniel, look. You know we were expecting."
Every supposed prenatal appointment had been canceled. I'd trusted her, and trust had become an excuse not to ask simple questions.
"We'll verify it through the proper channels," I said.
Her face hardened. "You're choosing him over me."
May you like
"I'm choosing the truth."
She leaned close enough that only I could hear. "Be careful, Daniel. Your name is on more than one piece of paper."
