Chapter 5 - THE NIGHT SHIFT TRAP
I didn't sleep that night.
I sat at my mother's dining table with every document spread around me.
At 3:00 a.m., I noticed something strange.
One of the bank statements wasn't from Gideon's company.
It was from mine.
My small online consulting business.
I'd started it years earlier before Roger was born.
It wasn't worth much.
At least, that's what I'd thought.
But the statement showed a transfer of $62,000.
I didn't recognize the recipient.
I called the bank.
They couldn't discuss the account without additional verification.
So I asked a different question.
“Was the transfer made online or in person?”
The representative checked.
“Online.”
“When?”
She gave me the date.
It was the same night Roger had been left downstairs.
I hung up.
Someone had accessed my account while I was working.
I changed every password.
Then I noticed another thing.
The recovery email had been changed.
I hadn't changed it.
Gideon had.
I stared at the screen.
He hadn't just betrayed me emotionally.
He had been inside my financial life.
Then I remembered the questions he'd asked.
The casual ones.
The harmless ones.
He hadn't been curious.
He'd been collecting information.
At 6:00 a.m., I called a lawyer.
Her name was Evelyn Harper.
She had represented a friend of mine during a divorce.
I told her everything.
She listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she said:
“Do not go back to that house.”
“I won't.”
“Do not confront your husband alone.”
“I won't.”
“Do not tell him what evidence you have.”
“I already told him I knew.”
“That doesn't matter. What matters is what he doesn't know.”
I looked at the flash drive.
“He knows I saw something.”
“He doesn't know what.”
That distinction suddenly felt important.
Evelyn asked me to send copies of everything.
Then she said:
“Bernice, I need to ask you something difficult.”
“What?”
“Has your husband ever talked about taking out a life insurance policy on you?”
My blood ran cold.
“Yes.”
“How recently?”
“About three months ago.”
“Did you sign anything?”
“No.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
She paused.
“Good.”
I felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because I found a similar case recently.”
“What happened?”
“A spouse discovered fraudulent paperwork after a supposed accident.”
I couldn't speak.
“Are you saying Gideon wants to kill me?”
“No.”
“But—”
“I'm saying we don't know what he wants. Don't make assumptions. We deal in evidence.”
She was right.
Evidence.
Not fear.
Not guesses.
Evidence.
That afternoon, I met Evelyn at her office.
She reviewed everything.
When she reached the camera footage, her expression hardened.
“This is valuable.”
“Because he left Roger alone?”
“Because it establishes a pattern.”
She looked at me.
“And because your husband lied about it.”
She watched the recording again.
Then she asked:
“Who is the woman?”
“My sister.”
“Does she admit it?”
“Yes.”
“Get that admission in writing.”
I texted Celina.
She agreed to meet.
We chose a coffee shop across town.
Celina arrived twenty minutes late.
She looked exhausted.
She sat down.
“I'll tell you everything.”
“Start with the money.”
“I don't know enough.”
“Then start with Gideon.”
She looked around.
“He told me he needed you out of the house.”
“Why?”
“He said there were people watching the house.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You've been sleeping with him for months and you don't know?”
“I wasn't sleeping with him because I loved him.”
I stared at her.
She looked ashamed.
“He promised me he'd leave you.”
Of course.
The oldest lie.
“He said the house would be mine?”
“No.”
“Then what did he promise?”
“He said he'd help me open my own salon.”
I almost laughed.
“So he bought your loyalty.”
“I know.”
“And what did you give him?”
“Information.”
“About me.”
“Yes.”
“What information?”
“My schedule.”
“My finances.”
“My mother.”
“Roger's routine.”
That last one hit differently.
“You gave him Roger's routine?”
“I didn't know why he wanted it.”
“You never asked?”
“I did.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he was trying to protect Roger.”
I leaned forward.
“Celina, look at me.”
She did.
“Did Gideon ever tell you he was going to hurt Roger?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
“Did he ever threaten him?”
“No.”
“Did he ever use Roger to manipulate you?”
She nodded.
“How?”
“He said if I stopped cooperating, you'd take Roger away from me forever.”
I stared at her.
He had manipulated both of us.
Different lies.
Same purpose.
Control.
Then Celina reached into her purse.
She placed a phone on the table.
“This is the phone he gave me.”
I looked at it.
“What is it?”
“Read the messages.”
I picked it up.
There were hundreds.
Gideon had been sending instructions.
When to come.
Where to park.
What to say.
What not to say.
Then I found something dated two weeks earlier.
GIDEON: Keep Bernice working nights.
CELINA: How?
GIDEON: Tell her the hospital needs coverage.
CELINA: She already works nights.
GIDEON: Make sure she doesn't switch shifts.
My heart stopped.
My schedule hadn't been random.
Someone had been making sure I stayed away.
Then I saw another message.
GIDEON: Once the papers are signed, everything changes.
I looked at Celina.
“What papers?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear.”
She pointed to another message.
“There's something else.”
I opened it.
A photo.
A document.
My signature.
Under it:
AUTHORIZATION FOR MEDICAL DECISION-MAKING
I stared.
My name was on it.
My signature was almost perfect.
But not quite.
I recognized the difference.
My capital B had a particular loop.
This signature didn't.
Someone had forged it.
I looked at Celina.
“Why would he need this?”
She whispered:
“I think Gideon was planning to make everyone believe you were unstable.”
My stomach turned.
“Why?”
“So if something happened to you, he could control everything.”
The coffee shop suddenly felt too loud.
Too bright.
Too crowded.
I stood.
“We're going to the police.”
Celina grabbed my wrist.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because there's someone inside the police department helping him.”
I stared at her.
“How do you know?”
May you like
She looked terrified.
“Because Gideon once told me exactly who it was.”
