Chapter 5 - Nine Months of Lies
Before deployment, I had prepared an envelope for Ethan.
Every service member who has ever left home for months understands why.
You prepare for things you don't want to imagine.
Insurance.
Emergency contacts.
Account information.
Medical directives.
Copies of important documents.
I had trusted my husband with everything necessary to protect our life if something happened to me.
He had used that trust to finance someone else's.
I carried the Thanksgiving photograph downstairs.
“Where's the envelope?”
Ethan followed me.
“Laura.”
“Where is it?”
“I don't know.”
“You opened it.”
“Yes.”
“Where is it now?”
“Probably in the desk.”
I went into the office.
The desk drawers contained Diane's paperwork.
Coupons.
Receipts.
Church newsletters.
Medical statements.
Then I opened the bottom drawer.
There it was.
The envelope had been resealed with tape.
I opened it.
Most documents remained.
One was missing.
A copy of the limited power of attorney I had signed before deployment.
My stomach tightened.
“Where is it?”
Ethan looked confused.
“What?”
“The authorization.”
“I don't know.”
Rebecca stepped closer.
“What authorization?”
I explained.
Her expression sharpened.
“What powers did it grant?”
“Limited emergency financial transactions related to the house.”
“And duration?”
“Deployment period.”
“Do you have a copy?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Diane suddenly became interested in the floor.
I noticed.
“Diane.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“Where is it?”
“I have no idea.”
“You're lying.”
“How dare you.”
“I've watched people lie under pressure, Diane. You're not particularly good at it.”
She crossed her arms.
“I don't have your paperwork.”
Megan whispered, “Mom.”
Diane snapped around.
“Enough.”
Megan stared at her.
Then she said something that changed everything.
“Check the kitchen drawer.”
Diane lunged verbally before she could move physically.
“Megan!”
I walked into the kitchen.
The junk drawer contained batteries, scissors, pens, takeout menus.
Underneath them was an envelope.
Inside was a photocopy of my limited authorization.
And several documents I had never seen.
One was an application for a home-equity line.
My house.
My signature.
Except I had never signed it.
The application hadn't been approved.
There was a note attached.
Additional owner verification required.
My knees nearly gave out.
Rebecca took the papers.
“Do not say anything else,” she told everyone.
Diane started protesting.
Rebecca raised one hand.
“I strongly recommend you stop.”
Ethan looked genuinely horrified.
“Mom, what is that?”
Diane said nothing.
He grabbed the counter.
“You tried to borrow against Laura's house?”
“It wasn't completed.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I was exploring options.”
“With my house?” I asked.
“For family.”
There was that word again.
Family.
A word Diane used whenever she wanted someone else to pay.
“How much?”
Rebecca looked at the application.
“Seventy-five thousand.”
Ethan turned white.
“Jesus Christ.”
Diane glared at him.
“Don't act innocent.”
“I didn't know about this.”
I watched him carefully.
For once, I believed him.
That didn't absolve him.
But it changed the shape of the betrayal.
Ethan had stolen from me.
Diane had been preparing to go much further.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Something made me answer.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice.
“Is this Laura Bennett?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“My name is Rachel Monroe.”
Everyone in the kitchen froze.
I looked at Ethan.
His eyes widened.
“How did you get my number?”
“Megan gave it to me.”
Megan looked down.
Rachel continued.
“I think you need to know what happened while you were gone.”
Diane stepped toward me.
I moved away.
“I'm listening.”
“Not over the phone.”
“Why?”
“Because I have messages.”
My heart started pounding.
“Between you and Ethan?”
“No.”
A pause.
“Between Diane and me.”
I looked directly at my mother-in-law.
For the first time, she looked frightened.
Rachel continued.
“She told me your marriage was ending.”
I said nothing.
“She told me you weren't coming back to Ethan.”
Diane whispered, “Hang up.”
I ignored her.
Rachel's voice trembled.
“And Laura?”
“Yes?”
“She told me you had already agreed to give Ethan the house.”
I stared at Diane.
Rachel took a breath.
“But that's not the worst part.”
I waited.
“She also told me you were seeing someone overseas.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“What?”
“I didn't believe her eventually. That's why I stopped coming around.”
Diane shouted, “She's lying!”
Rachel heard her.
“Is Diane there?”
“Yes.”
“Then ask her why she created an email address pretending to be you.”
Nobody moved.
I felt every hair on my arms rise.
“What email address?”
Rachel gave it to me.
It contained my name.
My birth year.
And one extra letter.
Close enough to look real.
Different enough to belong to someone else.
Rachel said quietly, “I have eleven emails from ‘you,’ Laura.”
My mouth went dry.
“What did they say?”
“The first one thanked me for being there for Ethan.”
Diane sank into a kitchen chair.
Rachel continued.
“The last one told me you wanted a divorce.”
I looked at my mother-in-law.
The laminated rules no longer mattered.
The bedroom no longer mattered.
Even the money temporarily disappeared from my thoughts.
Because Diane hadn't merely taken over my house.
She had spent nine months trying to erase me from my own marriage.
May you like
And Rachel had saved every message.
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