Chapter 5
Detective Lewis met me that afternoon.
Not at my house.
At the police station.
I had expected a bored officer behind a desk.
Instead, Lewis brought me into a small interview room with a folder thick enough to make my stomach turn.
He was in his forties.
Calm.
Direct.
“Before we start,” he said, “you’re reporting that these accounts were opened without your permission?”
“Yes.”
“And you believe your wife opened them?”
“She admitted some.”
“Some?”
That word mattered.
Lewis opened the folder.
“There are seven.”
My chest tightened.
“She said maybe four.”
“Seven accounts connected to your information.”
He slid a paper toward me.
Three retail cards.
Two online credit lines.
A personal loan.
And something that made me stare.
A business account.
Carter Luxe Holdings.
“What is that?”
“You tell me.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
Lewis watched my expression.
“Your name appears as co-owner.”
I felt cold.
“What?”
“The business was registered eleven months ago.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Your electronic signature is attached.”
“I didn’t sign anything.”
“We believe that.”
The fact he said we made my heart pound.
“Why?”
“Because the IP records don’t match locations associated with you.”
He turned another page.
“They appear connected to your wife’s devices.”
I rubbed both hands over my face.
“What did she do?”
“We’re still determining that.”
Then he mentioned Derek Hale.
I recognized the name immediately.
“You know him?”
Lewis gave me a careful look.
“We do.”
That wasn’t comforting.
“What is he?”
“Someone we’ve encountered in fraud investigations.”
My stomach sank.
“Is Melissa working with him?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“She says he scammed her.”
“That may be true.”
“May?”
Lewis leaned forward.
“Victims can also commit crimes while trying to recover losses. Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”
I understood.
Melissa might have been manipulated.
But she had still stolen from Sophie.
Forged my name.
Taken Dad’s cash.
Lied repeatedly.
Lewis asked me for every message, receipt, bank record, and financial document I could find.
I agreed.
Then I asked the question that mattered most.
“Is my daughter in danger?”
Lewis’s face became serious.
“Has Derek threatened your family directly?”
I showed him the messages.
His expression tightened.
“I would take reasonable precautions.”
That answer scared me more than if he had said yes.
I stayed at Rachel’s another night.
Melissa called eighteen times.
I answered once.
“Where’s Sophie?”
“Safe.”
“I want to talk to her.”
“She’s sleeping.”
“You can’t keep her from me.”
“I’m not trying to.”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing.”
I stayed quiet.
Then she changed tactics.
Her voice softened.
“Adam, please come home.”
“I can’t.”
“We’re married.”
“I know.”
“We’re supposed to deal with things together.”
I almost laughed.
“Together?”
She started crying.
“I made mistakes.”
“You forged my signature.”
“I panicked.”
“You stole from our daughter.”
“I was going to replace it.”
“You stole my father’s money.”
Silence.
“You slapped me in front of Sophie.”
Another silence.
Then she whispered,
“I’m sorry.”
For the first time, it sounded real.
That almost made it harder.
I closed my eyes.
“I believe you’re sorry.”
She breathed shakily.
“But sorry doesn’t put trust back.”
“I can change.”
“Maybe.”
“Then give me the chance.”
“I hope you change, Melissa.”
Her breathing stopped.
“But I can’t make Sophie responsible for waiting to see whether you do.”
She started sobbing.
I ended the call.
The next morning, Mom arrived.
Rachel had told her enough that she knew something serious was happening.
She walked through the door, hugged Sophie, then hugged me.
And immediately said,
“I should have told you sooner.”
I pulled away.
“Told me what?”
Mom looked toward Sophie.
Rachel understood.
She took Sophie outside to the backyard.
Mom sat down.
“Melissa has asked me for money before.”
I stared at her.
“How many times?”
“Five.”
My head began pounding.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“She always said you knew.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Mom looked ashamed.
“The first time was last Christmas. She said your water heater broke.”
“It didn’t.”
“I know that now.”
“How much?”
“Eight hundred.”
Another request came for Sophie’s school supplies.
Six hundred.
Then a supposed dental bill.
Nine hundred.
Then money for a summer camp Sophie never attended.
Seven hundred.
Then the three hundred for art.
“That’s thirty-three hundred dollars.”
Mom nodded.
“And the birthday money.”
Another fifteen hundred.
Nearly five thousand dollars from my mother alone.
“Why did you keep giving it?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because she always connected it to Sophie.”
That was exactly why Melissa had done it.
She knew Mom would do anything for her granddaughter.
I held Mom’s hand.
“This isn’t your fault.”
“I should have called you.”
“Yes.”
I hated saying it.
But it was true.
“We can’t keep secrets like this anymore.”
Mom nodded.
“No more.”
That afternoon, I met an attorney named Rebecca Shaw.
She specialized in family law and financial abuse.
I didn’t want to say the word divorce.
Rebecca didn’t force me to.
Instead, she focused on protecting Sophie.
“Document everything.”
“I am.”
“Do not clean up your wife’s debt.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Do not sign agreements with creditors without legal review.”
“Okay.”
“And until the threats are resolved, consider keeping Sophie somewhere Derek doesn’t expect.”
Rachel’s house no longer felt safe enough.
Derek already knew my phone number.
He knew our address.
What else did he know?
My mother offered her house.
She lived thirty minutes outside town behind a gated entrance.
We agreed.
That evening, I drove Sophie there.
She seemed excited about sleeping at Grandma’s.
That helped.
Before bed, she pulled me aside.
“Daddy?”
“What is it?”
“I have another secret.”
My stomach dropped.
“You can tell me.”
“Mommy has another phone.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“She keeps it in the laundry room.”
“Where?”
“Inside the blue detergent box.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw her hide it.”
Then Sophie whispered,
“She told me never to touch it because bad people would find us.”
I felt every hair on my arms rise.
The next morning, accompanied by Detective Lewis, I returned home.
Melissa wasn’t there.
The laundry room looked normal.
I found the blue detergent box.
Inside was a phone.
Locked.
Lewis took it as evidence.
As he placed it into a bag, the screen lit up.
A message preview appeared.
DEREK:
Your husband went to the police.
Then another.
We need to move the money tonight.
Lewis and I looked at each other.
“The money?” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
A third message appeared.
This one was from Melissa.
May you like
Already done.
Adam still thinks I lost everything.
