PART 8
The second phone changed the case.
Loretta had used it for messages she did not want connected to her normal account.
There were conversations with a man named Victor Shaw.
I had never heard that name.
Detective Bell recognized it.
Victor had previous convictions for identity theft.
Forgery.
And financial fraud.
Loretta had met him through one of her church acquaintances.
Their messages went back six months.
At first, Loretta asked simple questions.
Can someone legally manage another adult’s money if they are irresponsible?
How hard is power of attorney?
What happens if a spouse is mentally unstable?
Then the questions became darker.
Can signatures be copied from digital documents?
How do you prove someone abandoned a residence?
Can a parent become guardian of a grandchild?
My hands started shaking.
Then came the message that made Danielle cover her mouth.
Loretta wrote:
If Danielle leaves, I need Maya to stay with Marcus.
Victor responded:
Custody is court territory.
You need evidence the mother is unstable.
Loretta answered:
I can make evidence.
Detective Bell stopped reading.
He looked at Danielle.
“Mrs. Bennett.”
“Has your mother-in-law ever tried to make you appear unstable?”
Danielle laughed without humor.
“Every day.”
Then she remembered something.
Three months earlier, Loretta had insisted Danielle see a doctor.
She said Danielle seemed depressed.
She even offered to schedule the appointment.
Danielle refused.
Two days later, Loretta told me Danielle had “emotional problems.”
I remembered.
I had suggested therapy.
Danielle had stared at me for a long time.
Then she said she was tired.
I hated myself for how clearly everything fit now.
The flash drive contained scanned documents.
Danielle’s identification.
My pay records.
Maya’s medical records.
Our lease.
Bank statements.
And a draft affidavit.
The affidavit claimed Danielle had voluntarily left the marital home.
It claimed she had abandoned Maya.
It claimed she had a history of emotional instability.
None of it had happened.
The document was unsigned.
But a signature image had been pasted at the bottom.
Danielle’s signature.
Copied from another form.
Detective Bell sat back.
“This is no longer just financial coercion.”
“What is it?”
“Preparation.”
“For what?”
He looked at Danielle.
“Possibly to force her out and create a custody narrative afterward.”
Danielle began crying.
Maya was in another room with my sister.
I reached for my wife’s hand.
This time she let me hold it.
“I’m sorry.”
She looked at me.
“You keep saying that.”
“I know.”
“I need you to do more than be sorry.”
“I know.”
“Then believe me the first time from now on.”
I nodded.
“I will.”
And I meant it.
