Chapter 2 - The Burner Phone
The backyard suddenly felt entirely silent despite the splashing children and playing music.
Guests were beginning to stare at us, sensing the heavy tension radiating from the lounge chairs.
I grabbed Glen by the arm the moment he rushed over to intervene.
I dragged him violently into the kitchen, slamming the sliding glass door behind us.
Glen stammered, claiming Clara had just thought his new tattoo was cute and copied it to be eccentric.
I stared at the man I had loved for six years, realizing I was looking at a complete stranger.
I left him rambling in the kitchen and marched straight to the guest bedroom where Clara had left her designer handbag.
I dumped the contents of her purse onto the bed, searching for anything that would prove my terrible suspicion.
Lipstick, a wallet, and a set of car keys tumbled onto the floral quilt.
Then, a heavy black phone with a cracked screen slid out from a zippered pocket.
It was a cheap prepaid model, nothing like the expensive smartphone Clara usually flaunted.
As I stared at it, the screen suddenly lit up with an incoming text message.
The sender was saved under the name "G".
I opened the message, my hands trembling so violently I could barely hold the device.
The text read, "Did she see it? Tell me she didn't figure it out."
I typed back a simple "No" and waited for the next reply.
May you like
Three dots appeared on the screen, followed by a message that made my blood run entirely cold.
"Good, because if she finds out about the baby before we transfer the trust fund tonight, we lose everything."
