Chapter 10 - CHLOE CALLED ME AT MIDNIGHT
Jennifer expected the first night at her mother’s house to feel like freedom.
It did not.
It felt like silence.
Lily woke at 11:18.
Then 12:43.
Then 2:06.
Jennifer fed her in the dim guest room while rain tapped softly against the windows.
At 2:31, her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
Jennifer almost ignored it.
Then the message appeared.
It’s Chloe.
I need to tell you something Daniel doesn’t know I found.
Jennifer stared at the screen.
She should have blocked her.
She should have handed everything to Rachel.
Instead, she typed.
What?
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Finally.
Can I call?
Jennifer looked at Lily sleeping against her chest.
She answered.
Chloe sounded like she had been crying.
Not loudly.
Just exhausted.
“I’m sorry.”
Jennifer closed her eyes.
“Don’t start there.”
Chloe went quiet.
“Tell me what you found.”
“A storage unit.”
Jennifer frowned.
“What storage unit?”
“Daniel rented it under Redwood.”
“What’s inside?”
“I don’t know.”
“He gave me a key months ago.”
“He said it held furniture for the townhouse.”
Jennifer waited.
Chloe continued.
“I went there tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because after what happened at the baptism, I stopped believing anything he told me.”
Jennifer understood that feeling.
“What did you find?”
“Boxes.”
“Documents.”
“Mail.”
“Some of it has your name on it.”
Jennifer sat straighter.
“My name?”
“Yes.”
“Bank mail.”
“Insurance statements.”
“Copies of your tax returns.”
Jennifer felt cold.
“Anything else?”
Chloe hesitated.
“There was a life insurance folder.”
Jennifer stopped breathing for a second.
“Whose?”
“Yours.”
Lily shifted in her arms.
Jennifer carefully placed the baby in the crib.
“How much?”
“I only saw the front page.”
“Two million dollars.”
Jennifer stared into the darkness.
She knew about one policy.
Two hundred fifty thousand dollars through Daniel’s employer.
Not two million.
“When was it opened?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you take pictures?”
“Yes.”
“Send them.”
Her phone buzzed.
The first photograph showed a policy application.
Insured.
Jennifer Reynolds.
Beneficiary.
Daniel Reynolds.
Policy amount.
$2,000,000.
Jennifer’s signature appeared near the bottom.
Her stomach dropped.
She had never signed it.
Chloe whispered.
“Jennifer?”
“I’m here.”
“There’s more.”
Another photo arrived.
A medical questionnaire.
Another signature.
Another document.
Then a handwritten note.
Increase after childbirth if approved.
Jennifer felt suddenly nauseous.
“Who wrote that?”
“I think Daniel.”
Jennifer stared at the handwriting.
It was his.
Chloe spoke carefully.
“I don’t know what this means.”
Jennifer did.
At least part of it.
Daniel had forged her name again.
Or someone had.
She said.
“Leave the storage unit.”
“What?”
“Don’t touch anything else.”
“Call me when you’re outside.”
Chloe’s breathing changed.
“You think I’m in danger?”
Jennifer looked at sleeping Lily.
“I think neither of us knows what Daniel is capable of when money is involved.”
Five seconds of silence passed.
Then Chloe whispered.
“Jennifer.”
“Yes?”
“There’s a photograph in here too.”
“Of what?”
Chloe’s voice trembled.
“You.”
May you like
“Leaving your office.”
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