At my mother’s funeral, my husband’s mistress slapped me and announced she was carrying his child. He stood beside her and ordered me to leave. Then the funeral director handed me a sealed letter my mother had written about that woman.

I stumbled backward as Ashley raised the gleaming blade.

"What do you want from me?" I demanded while trying to keep my voice from shaking.

Ashley laughed and kicked a pile of shredded documents out of her way.

"I want the biometric security key your mother used for her offshore accounts."

"Ryan told me you have no idea it even exists, but I think you are lying."

I genuinely had no idea what she was talking about, but I knew I had to bluff to survive.

"If you kill me, you will never find out where she hid it," I said confidently.

Ashley paused, her eyes narrowing as she weighed her options.

In that brief moment of hesitation, I grabbed a heavy brass lamp from the hallway table.

I hurled it directly at her chest and sprinted toward the back door.

The lamp struck her shoulder, causing her to drop the knife with a loud curse.

I bolted out the kitchen door and ran through the backyard until I reached the dense woods behind the property.

I hid behind a massive oak tree and waited until I heard her angry footsteps fading away.

Once the coast was clear, I sneaked back into the house through the basement window.

My mother had once told me a secret when I was a little girl playing hide-and-seek.

I crawled under the old wooden staircase and pressed my fingers against the fourth floorboard.

The wood popped loose, revealing a small, dust-covered metal lockbox.

I smashed the rusty lock with a brick and opened the lid.

Inside was a single USB drive and a birth certificate belonging to a woman named Evelyn Vance.

The photograph attached to the certificate was a picture of Ashley.

When my newborn 'passed away,' my mother-in-law leaned in and said

My Husband Left Me Alone in My Car While I Was in Labor

“You’re Dead When We Get Home,” He Snapped

The document proved that Ashley was not Ryan's mistress at all.

Ashley and Ryan were legally registered as brother and sister.

Chapter 3 - The Hidden Floorboard