Chapter 5 - Breakfast Was Over
Emma and I left the cottage through a rear door and followed the tree line toward the east wing of the mansion.
The house looked different now.
Yesterday, I had thought it was beautiful.
Stone walls.
Black shutters.
White columns.
A house designed to suggest permanence.
Now it looked like a fortress.
We entered through the laundry room.
Voices carried from the kitchen.
"She can't have gone far."
That was Brenda.
Derek answered.
"I should've taken her phone."
"You should've handled her last night."
My feet stopped.
Emma touched my arm.
We moved closer to the pantry door.
Brenda continued.
"Women like Chloe test boundaries."
"You don't reward that."
"I know."
"Do you?"
There was a hard edge in Brenda's voice.
"Because you spent six months pretending to be some gentle little prince, and fourteen hours after the ceremony, she still thinks she has choices."
Something inside me went completely still.
Derek laughed.
"She'll learn."
"Allison learned."
Silence.
Then Derek said, "Don't say her name."
Emma covered her mouth.
Brenda lowered her voice, but I could still hear her.
"We need the check."
"I'll get it."
"And the investment authorization."
"Tonight."
My skin prickled.
Investment authorization?
I had never agreed to invest in anything.
Emma leaned close to my ear.
"Office."
I nodded.
We slipped backward through the laundry room.
Then Brenda spoke again.
"What did Chloe bring upstairs?"
"Her purse."
"Anything else?"
"No."
"Her passport?"
A pause.
"I don't know."
Brenda's chair scraped.
"Find her before she gets off this property."
Emma pulled me away.
We took the servants' staircase two steps at a time.
At the second-floor landing, voices echoed from the main hallway.
We continued upward.
The third floor was almost silent.
Derek's office stood at the far end.
Emma removed a key.
"How do you have that?"
"Grandpa's desk used to be in there."
The key turned.
We stepped inside.
The office smelled of leather and cedar.
A large safe stood behind a painting.
A laptop rested on the desk.
Two file cabinets filled the wall.
I opened the first drawer.
Invoices.
Tax statements.
Loan documents.
Nothing.
Emma opened the second cabinet.
Her face went pale.
"Chloe."
I crossed the room.
Inside were six folders.
Each folder had a woman's name.
Allison.
Rebecca.
Marissa.
Lauren.
Tessa.
And me.
I reached for mine.
Inside was a copy of my passport.
My driver's license.
A statement from my investment account.
A photograph of my parents' house.
And a document I had never seen before.
At the top were four words.
SPOUSAL ASSET TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION.
May you like
At the bottom was my signature.
Except I had never signed it.
