Chapter 1 - The Hidden Documents
"Is someone threatening you?" the locksmith asked over the phone.
"No," I replied smoothly.
"I just experienced a sudden shift in my marital status, and I need new locks before the sun comes up."
Mike arrived twenty minutes later in an unmarked white van.
He was a broad-shouldered man with quiet eyes who did not ask any unnecessary questions while he worked.
I tipped him double his emergency rate and locked the deadbolt the second his truck pulled away.
The house was finally entirely mine.
I walked into the master bedroom and pulled a heavy suitcase from the top shelf of the closet.
I began throwing Eric's expensive tailored suits, silk ties, and leather shoes into the bag without folding a single item.
I did not shed a single tear as I emptied his nightstand and threw his expensive watches into a cardboard box.
When I reached for his heavy leather golf bag in the corner, it tipped over and spilled onto the hardwood floor.
A secret zippered compartment on the bottom of the bag caught my eye.
I pulled the zipper back and found a thick manila folder hidden perfectly out of sight.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I opened the folder and flipped through the dense legal documents.
It was a second mortgage taken out on my house just three weeks ago.
The signature at the bottom of the loan agreement was supposed to be mine.
It was a flawless, terrifyingly accurate forgery.
Eric had somehow managed to borrow four hundred thousand dollars against the house I owned before we were even married.
But that was not the piece of paper that made my blood run cold.
Tucked behind the forged mortgage was a brand new life insurance policy.
May you like
Eric had taken out a two million dollar policy on my life.
And the primary beneficiary was my newlywed sister, Vanessa.
