Chapter 1 - THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED.
The police arrived seven minutes later
By then, I was sitting in the passenger seat of my father's SUV, wrapped in his military coat.
My hands were still shaking.
Not because of the cold anymore.
Because I could still hear the metal latch clicking behind me.
I could still see Damon walking away.
And I could still see Lacey standing in my bedroom wearing my robe as though she already owned my life.
My father stood on the patio while two officers approached him.
One of them spoke first.
“Sir, we received a report of a disturbance.”
Arthur pointed toward the kennel.
“My pregnant daughter was locked inside that structure.”
The officer looked at me through the window.
Then at the kennel.
Then at Damon.
Damon was standing beside the patio table.
His face had gone pale.
“This is a misunderstanding,” he said.
My father turned.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“That is not what happened.”
Damon looked toward me.
“She has been emotionally unstable.”
My father's expression changed.
“Careful.”
Damon swallowed.
“I didn't hurt her.”
“You locked her outside.”
“I needed space.”
“You gave my eight-month-pregnant daughter a dog kennel.”
Damon looked away.
Lacey stepped forward.
“She wasn't supposed to stay there long.”
The officer looked at her.
“You were inside the house?”
“Yes.”
“Were you wearing the homeowner's clothing?”
Lacey froze.
My father looked at her.
“That's my daughter's robe.”
She lowered her eyes.
The officer asked:
“Were you in a relationship with Mr. Hayes?”
“No.”
Damon immediately said:
“Lacey and I are friends.”
My father laughed once.
It wasn't a pleasant sound.
“Friends don't usually sleep in another woman's bedroom.”
Lacey's face turned red.
The second officer walked toward the kennel.
He photographed the latch.
Then the floor.
Then the keys lying on the patio table.
“Who locked it?”
Damon remained silent.
The officer looked at him.
“Mr. Hayes?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
Damon sighed.
“She was accusing me of cheating.”
I stared through the window.
He said it so casually.
As if the problem was my accusation.
Not the woman in my bedroom.
Not the kennel.
Not the fact that I was eight months pregnant.
My father opened the SUV door.
“Don't listen to him.”
I looked at him.
“Dad…”
He crouched beside me.
“You're going to the hospital.”
“I don't think I need to.”
“Your back hurts.”
“Yes.”
“You've been outside in the cold.”
“Yes.”
“Then we're going.”
I nodded.
Before he closed the door, he looked at me.
“Your baby comes first.”
I touched my stomach.
The baby moved beneath my palm.
For the first time that night, I allowed myself to cry.
At the hospital, the doctor checked the baby's heartbeat.
Strong.
Normal.
I nearly collapsed with relief.
My father stood near the window.
He hadn't sat down once.
The nurse finally smiled.
“Your baby looks healthy.”
I closed my eyes.
“Thank you.”
My father turned.
“Can I talk to her privately?”
The nurse nodded.
After she left, he sat beside my bed.
“Emily.”
I looked at him.
“You said the bank statements were real?”
He nodded.
“I brought them because I didn't know what I would find when I came home.”
“What do you mean?”
“My investigator noticed unusual activity around your accounts.”
I frowned.
“What kind?”
“Loans.”
I stared at him.
“I didn't take any loans.”
“I know.”
He opened the folder.
“These applications were filed using your identity.”
I looked at the documents.
There were my name, address, date of birth, and signature.
Everything looked real.
But I knew I had never signed them.
“Almost half a million dollars.”
My voice broke.
“Why would Damon do this?”
My father didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he turned to another page.
“Because someone needed your name.”
I looked at him.
“Who?”
He pointed to the account holder.
Lacey.
My stomach tightened.
“She's been using my identity?”
“Not alone.”
He placed another page beside it.
The second name was Damon's mother.
I stared.
“His mother?”
“Yes.”
The woman who had called me every morning.
The woman who always asked how the baby was doing.
The woman who told me I was lucky to have Damon.
She was involved.
My father continued.
“There is one more thing.”
He turned the page.
A transfer had been scheduled for the next morning.
The amount was $480,000.
Destination:
A private investment account.
The account holder was a company called Hayes Legacy Holdings.
I looked at my father.
“That sounds like your family.”
“It is.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
He nodded.
“That's why I came home.”
I stared at him.
“I don't understand.”
“Neither do I.”
He leaned forward.
“But someone is trying to move your assets into a company connected to our family.”
“Why?”
My father looked toward the window.
“I think Damon married you for more than love.”
The door opened.
A police officer stepped inside.
“Ms. Hayes?”
“Yes?”
“We found something in your house.”
My father stood.
“What?”
The officer held up a small plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a key.
I recognized it immediately.
It was the key to the locked cabinet in my father's old study.
The officer looked at me.
“Your husband had it.”
My father went completely still.
“That cabinet hasn't been opened in fifteen years.”
May you like
The officer nodded.
“Then you should probably see what's inside.”
