Chapter 3
Nobody moved.
Rachel's voice remained cheerful.
Casual.
Like she hadn't just spoken about me as if I were a problem that would soon disappear.
Charles looked at the phone.
"Rachel, what exactly do you mean?"
There was a pause.
"Dad?"
"Yes."
"You sound strange."
"I'm tired."
Another pause.
Then Rachel laughed.
"You worry too much. I'm handling it."
My fists clenched.
Charles continued carefully.
"What happens after Marcus signs?"
"You know what happens."
"No. Explain it."
Her voice sharpened.
"Why?"
Andre leaned closer.
Mom looked terrified.
Charles swallowed.
"I want to make sure we're talking about the same thing."
Rachel sighed.
"The policy."
My stomach twisted.
"What policy?" Charles asked.
"The military supplemental life insurance."
I stared at him.
Rachel continued.
"Evan found another company willing to cover Marcus privately too."
I felt nauseous.
"Rachel—"
"Two million total."
Mom nearly collapsed.
Andre caught her.
Charles' face lost all color.
"Two million dollars?"
"Yes."
"And Marcus knows?"
Rachel laughed.
Actually laughed.
"He doesn't read anything I send him."
My jaw tightened.
"He's always exhausted when we video chat. I tell him it's deployment paperwork and he signs electronically."
I remembered.
Forms.
Documents Rachel had emailed.
I had trusted my wife.
Sometimes I barely looked at them.
Charles glanced at me.
His expression said everything.
He had realized exactly how dangerous this was.
"So what do you mean when you say he won't be a problem?"
Rachel went silent.
Too silent.
Then her tone changed.
"Dad, what is this?"
Charles didn't respond.
"Who is there?"
Nobody breathed.
Rachel repeated,
"Who is there?"
Then the call ended.
For three seconds we stared at the phone.
Andre spoke first.
"She knows."
I grabbed my own phone.
"I'm calling the police."
Charles caught my wrist.
"Wait."
I jerked away.
"Don't touch me."
"If you call without understanding what we're dealing with, she could destroy evidence."
"My wife just talked about insuring my life for two million dollars!"
"I heard her."
"And you want me to wait?"
"I want you to protect yourself."
Andre stepped between us.
"He's right about one thing."
I glared at him.
"Which thing?"
"Rachel isn't stupid."
Mom shook her head.
"Marcus, please listen."
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I forced myself to breathe.
Army training teaches you something strange.
You can be terrified and still function.
You can be furious and still think.
So I looked at the room.
The papers.
The laptops.
The phone.
"What exactly have you found?"
Charles sat at the desk.
"Rachel and Evan started a consulting company five months after you deployed."
"So?"
"So the company isn't real."
He opened a laptop.
"At least not in the way they claim."
Invoices appeared.
Government contracts.
Equipment purchases.
My name.
Again.
"Why am I listed?"
"Because you're the majority owner."
I almost laughed.
"I've never heard of this company."
Charles nodded.
"Exactly."
Andre pointed toward the screen.
"They used your military status to qualify for veteran-owned business programs."
That hit differently.
My anger became colder.
"They used my service?"
"Yes."
I stared at the fake signatures.
"How much money?"
Charles hesitated.
"More than four hundred thousand has passed through the accounts."
Mom whispered,
"Oh God."
"Where is it?"
"Mostly gone."
"For what?"
Andre answered.
"Apartment. Cars. Gambling."
I turned.
"Gambling?"
"Evan."
That didn't surprise me.
Evan had always liked betting.
Football.
Cards.
Anything.
I just never knew it had become serious.
Charles continued.
"They also owe people."
"What people?"
He didn't answer.
I stared at him.
"What people?"
"Private lenders."
That sounded worse than banks.
"How much?"
"At least one hundred fifty thousand."
I stepped back.
"And they put all of this in my name?"
"Most of it."
Mom sat beside me.
"Baby..."
I couldn't look at her.
I felt humiliated.
Not because Rachel cheated.
Not only because she stole.
Because I had trusted her so completely that she had built an entire criminal life using my name while I was serving thousands of miles away.
"I need to know why you were involved."
I looked at Charles.
His eyes lowered.
"I wasn't at first."
"That's not an answer."
He nodded.
"I discovered the business three months ago."
"And?"
"Rachel asked me for help."
My voice hardened.
"What kind of help?"
"Money."
"Did you give it to her?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
"Seventy-five thousand."
Andre cursed under his breath.
I stared at Charles.
"So you knew."
"I knew about the debt."
"But not the fraud?"
"Not then."
"When did you learn?"
"Last week."
I stood.
"And you didn't call me."
Charles looked ashamed.
"Rachel begged me not to."
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course she did."
"I thought I could fix it."
"By hiding it?"
"By paying the debts and forcing her to end things with Evan."
I stepped closer.
"You thought money could fix my wife stealing my identity?"
"No."
"Cheating on me?"
"No."
"Using my military status to commit fraud?"
"No."
"Then what exactly were you fixing?"
He couldn't answer.
My phone vibrated.
Rachel.
Everyone froze.
The screen showed her name.
Mom whispered,
"Don't answer."
I stared at it.
Then I accepted.
"Hey."
For half a second, there was silence.
Then Rachel spoke brightly.
"Baby!"
The sound of her pretending everything was normal nearly broke me.
"You're awake early."
"Couldn't sleep."
"Are you okay?"
I looked at Andre.
At Mom.
At her father.
"Yeah."
"Good."
She hesitated.
"Where are you?"
My eyes narrowed.
"Where do you think I am?"
"Base."
"Exactly."
Another pause.
"Marcus?"
"Yeah?"
"My dad called me."
Charles stiffened.
"He sounded strange."
I said nothing.
Rachel continued.
"Did you talk to your mom today?"
"No."
She exhaled slowly.
"Okay."
I could hear traffic behind her.
She wasn't inside.
"Baby?"
"What?"
"I love you."
The words felt poisonous.
I closed my eyes.
"I know."
She waited.
I didn't say it back.
Her voice changed.
"Marcus."
"What?"
"Say it."
I opened my eyes.
"No."
Silence.
Then she whispered,
"You're home."
Everyone looked at me.
I said nothing.
Rachel's breathing became faster.
"Marcus, are you at the house?"
I ended the call.
Andre immediately looked toward the window.
"We need to move."
Mom asked,
"Why?"
Because outside, tires screamed against pavement.
A black SUV stopped hard in front of the house.
I recognized it.
Rachel's.
But she wasn't driving.
May you like
Evan was.
And before the engine even stopped, both doors opened.
