Chapter 2 - THE SECRET PHONE
I didn't sleep.
At sunrise, I walked into the kitchen as if nothing had happened.
Diane was already there.
She smiled.
"Good morning."
"Morning."
Chloe sat at the table, scrolling through her phone.
Natalie wasn't there.
That was the first thing I noticed.
"Where's my wife?"
Diane didn't look up.
"She's working."
"Since when?"
"Since always."
I stared at her.
"Where?"
"The backyard."
My hands curled into fists.
I walked outside.
Natalie was washing dishes again.
The same sink.
The same thin arms.
The same scarf.
She looked up when she saw me.
I smiled.
It was the hardest smile I had ever forced.
"Morning, sweetheart."
She stared at me.
Then she lowered her eyes.
"Morning."
I walked close enough that Diane couldn't hear.
"Are you okay?"
Natalie nodded.
I whispered, "Don't react."
Her eyes flickered toward mine.
"What?"
"Trust me."
She swallowed.
Then continued washing dishes.
I turned around.
Diane stood in the doorway.
Watching us.
"Everything okay?"
I smiled.
"Perfect."
She nodded.
"Good."
Then she walked away.
I waited until she disappeared.
"Tonight," I whispered.
Natalie didn't answer.
But her fingers stopped moving.
That evening, I found her alone in the laundry room.
I closed the door.
"Tell me everything."
She stared at me.
"I already did."
"No."
I lowered my voice.
"There's more."
Her face changed.
"What did you find?"
"Medical payments."
She looked terrified.
"Diane told me the insurance lapsed."
"I know."
"But there were payments made to a billing company."
Natalie looked down.
"My biopsy wasn't paid for by Diane."
"Who paid?"
She hesitated.
"I did."
"You sold your hair."
She nodded.
"I had $400."
My chest tightened.
"Then what were those payments?"
"I don't know."
I pulled out my phone and showed her the transaction.
She stared at it.
Then whispered:
"That's not a hospital."
"I know."
She shook her head.
"Then why was my name attached?"
"I don't know."
Silence.
Then Natalie reached beneath the sink.
She pulled out a small plastic bag.
Inside was an old phone.
I stared at it.
"Where did you get that?"
"Chloe."
"What?"
"She dropped it three weeks ago."
Natalie handed it to me.
"I found it before Diane could."
The screen was cracked.
The battery was nearly dead.
I turned it on.
There were hundreds of messages.
Most were ordinary.
Then I opened a conversation with an unknown number.
The first message was dated five months ago.
Is the husband still overseas?
Reply:
Yes.
How long?
At least six months.
Another message.
And the wife?
She's weak. No one will believe her.
My stomach turned.
I scrolled.
Then I saw a message that made my blood freeze.
Once the cancer diagnosis becomes public, he won't want the house anymore.
I looked at Natalie.
"What does this mean?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
Another message.
We need the signature before he returns.
"Signature for what?"
Natalie whispered:
"I don't know."
I kept scrolling.
Then I saw an image.
It was a document.
My name was on it.
My signature was at the bottom.
But I had never signed it.
I zoomed in.
The document transferred ownership of one of my investment properties.
To Diane.
I felt the room tilt.
"When was this?"
Natalie looked at the timestamp.
"Three months ago."
I stared at the signature.
It looked exactly like mine.
Almost.
Then I noticed something.
The last letter was wrong.
A tiny difference.
But I knew my own signature.
Someone had forged it.
"How many documents?"
Natalie swallowed.
"Five."
My blood ran cold.
"Five?"
She nodded.
"One for the house."
"Another for your investment account."
"Another for the business."
She looked at me.
"And one for your life insurance."
I couldn't breathe.
"My life insurance?"
Natalie nodded.
"Diane wanted the beneficiary changed."
"To who?"
She looked terrified.
"Chloe."
I stared at her.
Suddenly, every strange thing made sense.
The retirement package.
The fake medical payments.
The forged documents.
The stolen money.
And now—
my life insurance.
This wasn't just financial abuse.
Someone had been preparing for me to disappear.
I looked at Natalie.
"Did Diane ever say what would happen if I came home early?"
Natalie's face went pale.
"Yes."
"When?"
"Yesterday."
"What did she say?"
Natalie whispered:
"She said if you came home before everything was signed, we'd both have a problem."
A sound came from outside.
The doorknob moved.
Natalie grabbed my arm.
We froze.
The door opened.
Diane stood there.
Her eyes moved from Natalie to the phone in my hand.
For the first time since I came home—
she wasn't smiling.
"What," she whispered, "are you doing with Chloe's phone?"
I looked at her.
And smiled.
"Just checking the time."
Diane stared at me.
Then she slowly smiled back.
"Of course."
She closed the door.
But before it shut completely, she said:
"Tomorrow, we'll discuss the retirement papers."
I waited until her footsteps disappeared.
Then I looked at Natalie.
"Tomorrow isn't about the retirement papers."
"What is it?"
May you like
I locked the phone.
"Tomorrow, we're going to find out who Diane is really working for."
