Chapter 17 - The Last Conversation
I found Derek sitting in the upstairs hallway outside the bedroom.
His attorney was downstairs speaking with Detective Martinez.
Two officers were nearby.
I stopped ten feet away.
Derek looked exhausted.
Good.
"Chloe."
I said nothing.
"Can we talk?"
"That's why I'm here."
His eyes lifted.
"For real?"
"For real."
I pointed toward the bedroom.
"Inside."
He hesitated.
The irony wasn't lost on either of us.
Then he stood.
One officer watched us.
I told him I would keep the door open.
Derek entered first.
I remained beside the doorway.
The room looked exactly as it had that morning.
My wedding dress hung beside the closet.
White fabric.
Pearls.
Hope from a different lifetime.
Derek looked at it.
"I loved you."
"No."
"I did."
"You researched me."
"My mother did."
"You sent her information about my money."
"She pressured me."
"You forged my signature."
"I didn't."
"You knew someone did."
He looked away.
"Derek."
"What?"
"Why me?"
His answer came after a long silence.
"Because you were safe."
I almost smiled.
"Safe?"
"You had money."
"Good parents."
"A stable job."
"No drama."
"You were loyal."
He looked at me.
"You were the kind of person who would keep trying to fix a marriage instead of walking away."
There it was.
Not love.
Risk assessment.
He had chosen me because he believed kindness made me easy to trap.
"I almost feel sorry for you."
His jaw tightened.
"Don't."
"Your mother taught you that control is the same thing as strength."
"You don't know anything about my mother."
"I know enough."
He stepped toward me.
"You think Allison is innocent?"
"Stay where you are."
"She's manipulating you."
"Stay where you are."
He took another step.
I moved into the hallway.
Derek followed.
Then stopped.
Because I was smiling.
The same eight-tooth smile I had given him downstairs that morning.
"What?"
I reached for the door.
His eyes widened.
"Chloe."
I pulled it shut.
Click.
The old exterior deadbolt slid into place.
For one perfect second, neither of us spoke.
Then Derek struck the door.
"Open it."
I stood on the other side.
"Remember this sound?"
"Chloe!"
"Fourteen hours ago, you thought it meant you owned me."
He hit the door again.
"Open the damn door."
I stepped closer.
"You wanted me to learn the rules."
His fist struck the wood.
I smiled.
"So here's mine."
I turned away.
"If a door has to be locked to keep someone with you, you've already lost them."
An officer approached.
I handed him the key.
Then I walked downstairs.
May you like
Derek kept shouting behind me.
For the first time all day, I didn't look back.
