I frowned, picking up the phone.
*“What do you mean?”* I typed back.
Robert’s reply arrived three seconds later, sending a ice-cold shiver straight down my spine:
*“Theresa’s late husband didn’t die of natural causes four years ago, Mariana. His life insurance payout of $1.5 million was paid out directly to a secret joint account… registered under Daniel’s name and a woman named Lauren Miller. Before she married Aaron.”*
I stared at the screen, my breath catching in my throat as the wine glass in my hand began to tremble.
Daniel and Lauren?
The sister-in-law he pretending to barely tolerate? The mother-in-law who hated me?
The entire four-year marriage… the dinner table… the empty plate… none of it was about money.
It was a cover-up.
And the real game was only just beginning.
PART 3
The wine glass slipped from my hand.
It didn’t shatter—it hit the thick Persian rug near the kitchen island with a dull, heavy thud, splashing deep crimson across the cream fibers like fresh blood on fresh snow. I didn’t even look down. My eyes were glued to the glowing screen of my phone, reading Robert’s words over and over until the letters bled together.
*Registered under Daniel’s name and a woman named Lauren Miller. Before she married Aaron.*
The silence in my apartment, which had felt so liberating just five minutes ago, suddenly felt suffocating. The air grew thick, heavy, carrying the phantom stench of a four-year-old decay I was only now beginning to smell.
My mind raced backward, tearing through four years of memories, replaying every single interaction, every dinner, every holiday, every offhand comment like film footage being dragged backward through a projector.
Discover more
Trace Family History
Babies
family
Aaron’s sudden proposal to Lauren three years ago. It had happened out of nowhere. Lauren was a former low-level receptionist at a boutique law firm, sharp-tongued, endlessly demanding, and utterly broke. Aaron had brought her to family dinner, announced their engagement after only two months of dating, and Theresa had practically wept with joy, instantly elevating Lauren to the status of the golden child.
And Daniel… Daniel had always acted strangely quiet around Lauren. I had assumed it was mild annoyance. He used to roll his eyes whenever she spoke about designer clothes. He used to tell me, *”Lauren’s just a gold-digger, Mari. Don’t pay attention to her.”*
It wasn’t annoyance. It was concealment.
They weren’t brother-in-law and sister-in-law. They were co-conspirators. And perhaps… something far worse.
My phone rang again. Robert’s name flashed across the screen.
I picked it up, my hands trembling slightly, though my voice remained rigid as steel. “Robert. Tell me everything.”
