Chapter 2 - The Buried Secret
I stared at the forged document until the words blurred together.
My hands trembled so violently that I nearly dropped the metal box.
Daniel had never taken off his wedding ring, not even when he was sick in the hospital.
The nurses told me it must have slipped off his finger when his weight dropped.
Now I knew the horrifying truth that Monica had stolen it right off his hand.
Suddenly, Monica’s front door violently flew open.
She stormed out onto the porch, clutching a robe to her chest and pinching her nose.
She shrieked in absolute horror as the skunk scent hit her.
"What is wrong with you, you crazy bitch?" she screamed.
I quickly shoved the metal box deep into my heavy jacket pocket.
I looked her dead in the eye and smiled a cold, empty smile.
"I have no idea what you mean, Monica," I replied calmly.
"Maybe your roses are just rotting, exactly like your conscience."
I turned my back on her and walked slowly toward my own house.
She screamed that she was going to call the police and have me arrested for vandalism.
I didn't care about the police anymore.
I walked straight into my kitchen and locked the doors behind me.
I laid the document flat on the kitchen table and grabbed a magnifying glass.
I closely examined the signature that was supposed to be my husband's.
It wasn't just a clever forgery.
It was a perfectly printed digital scan lifted directly from Daniel's life insurance policy.
Someone at the insurance company had to be helping her.
My phone suddenly buzzed with a new text message.
May you like
It was an unknown number, and it contained a picture of my son Ben sleeping in his bed.
The text below it read, "You should have just let me have the apples."
