Chapter 8: The Blue Folder
I didn't open the door.
Instead, I called Rachel.
She answered immediately.
"What's happening?""
"Daniel is outside with Tasha. They're holding the blue folder.""
"Don't let them in.""
"There's another man with a camera.""
"Stay inside. I'm contacting the attorney. If they refuse to leave, call the police.""
I watched the security monitor.
Daniel knocked again.
"Laura! Stop acting like a child.""
Tasha stepped closer to the camera.
"Please, Laura. We just want to talk.""
I almost laughed.
A week earlier, I would have opened the door.
I would have offered them coffee.
I would have asked what was wrong.
Now I knew better.
Daniel turned toward the man with the camera.
"Make sure you get this.""
My blood ran cold.
He was recording.
Tasha moved closer to the door.
"Laura, we're worried about Maya. We need to see her.""
From upstairs, I heard a small voice.
"Mommy?""
Maya was standing at the top of the stairs.
I walked toward her.
"Go back to your room, sweetheart.""
"Is Daddy here?""
I hesitated.
"Yes.""
She looked frightened.
"Do I have to go?""
"No, baby.""
I guided her back into her bedroom and sat with her until she settled.
When I returned downstairs, Daniel was still outside.
He had taken out his phone.
"Laura, I'm documenting your refusal to cooperate with a custody arrangement.""
I pressed the intercom button.
"Daniel, leave.""
He looked up.
"You're refusing to let me see my daughter?""
"I'm refusing to have an argument on my doorstep.""
"She's my daughter, too.""
"Then you should have thought about that before you used her to cover up your affair.""
Tasha stepped forward.
"Laura, don't make this uglier than it needs to be.""
I looked directly at her.
"You already did that when you put your hands on my child.""
Her face tightened.
"That wasn't what happened.""
"I have a witness.""
Tasha glanced at the camera.
Then she smiled.
A small, controlled smile.
"Jordan is a child. He shouldn't be involved in adult disputes.""
I felt anger rise.
"You involved him when you gave him a flash drive and asked him to help steal documents.""
Her smile disappeared.
Daniel turned toward her.
"What flash drive?""
Tasha looked away.
For the first time, I saw uncertainty between them.
Daniel stepped toward the camera.
"Laura, whatever you think you have, it doesn't change the fact that we're still married.""
I stared at him.
"Not for long.""
He lowered his voice.
"You're making a mistake.""
"Then leave me to make it.""
A police cruiser pulled into the driveway.
Two officers stepped out.
Daniel immediately changed his expression.
His shoulders relaxed.
His voice softened.
"Officers, thank you for coming. I'm trying to see my daughter, but my wife won't let me.""
One officer approached the door.
"Ma'am, could you come outside and speak with us?""
I stepped onto the porch, keeping the door partly closed behind me.
Daniel immediately began speaking.
"My wife has been behaving erratically. She's taken confidential business documents and is preventing me from seeing our child.""
I looked at the officer.
"That's not true. We have attorneys involved, and I have documentation of suspected financial fraud and a pending custody dispute.""
The officer nodded.
"Do you have any immediate court order requiring you to surrender custody?""
Daniel hesitated.
"No. But I've filed.""
"Then a filing is not the same as an order," the officer replied.
Tasha stepped forward.
"Can I explain something?""
The officer turned toward her.
"Go ahead.""
She gestured toward the house.
"Laura has been increasingly unstable. I witnessed her screaming at Maya.""
I stared at her.
"When?""
"At the birthday party.""
"You mean when you shoved her?""
Tasha looked shocked.
"I never shoved her.""
Jordan appeared behind me.
"Yes, you did.""
Everyone turned.
He stood in the doorway.
His hands were shaking.
But his voice was clear.
"I saw you push her. I saw you record her crying. And I heard you tell Daniel you were going to use the video.""
Tasha's expression hardened.
"Jordan, go inside.""
"No.""
"You're embarrassing yourself.""
"I'm telling the truth.""
Daniel grabbed Tasha's elbow.
"Let's go.""
But the officer raised a hand.
"Hold on. We need to establish what's happening here.""
The second officer spoke quietly with Daniel and Tasha while the first asked me a few questions.
Eventually, they were told to leave.
Daniel didn't look at me as he walked toward his car.
Tasha stopped beside the passenger door.
"Laura, you're going to regret this.""
I looked at her.
"No. I regret trusting you.""
She climbed into the car.
I closed the door.
My legs were trembling.
Jordan sat on the stairs.
"Are they coming back?""
"I don't know.""
He nodded.
Then he looked at the blue folder lying in the driveway.
Tasha had dropped it when the officers arrived.
The folder was now partially open.
A few pages had slipped out.
I didn't touch them.
Instead, I photographed the folder from the doorway and sent the images to Rachel.
Her response came within seconds.
*Do not handle those documents. I'll arrange for proper collection.*
Then another message appeared.
*Laura, I recognize the attorney listed on the transfer agreement. He's the same lawyer who prepared Daniel's divorce filing.*
I stared at the screen.
The documents had been prepared by the same office.
That wasn't surprising anymore.
But the next message was.
*There's something strange about the property transfer. The agreement doesn't simply transfer your house to Tasha. It transfers your ownership interest into a trust.*
I frowned.
A trust?
Why would they need a trust?
Rachel called.
"Laura, listen carefully. I checked the public business filings. There's a trust associated with Northbridge Property Holdings.""
"Who controls it?""
"That's the problem. The documents list an independent trustee.""
"Who?""
Rachel hesitated.
Then she said a name.
"Your mother-in-law. Evelyn Bennett.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Daniel's mother had always treated me like an outsider.
But she had also helped us financially when the business first started.
She had attended Maya's school events.
She had spent holidays in our home.
And she had called me her daughter.
"Are you sure?""
"I've checked the filing. Her name is there.""
I sat down.
Rachel continued.
"There's another issue. The trust was created six months ago. It appears to have been designed to receive property and funds from multiple sources.""
"How many?""
"Three properties so far.""
I closed my eyes.
One of those properties was our family home.
The other two belonged to the business.
Then Rachel said something that made my hands go cold.
"Laura, I think your husband and Tasha may have been working with his mother from the beginning.""
I looked toward the kitchen.
The birthday cake was still there.
The candles had never been blown out properly.
And suddenly, I remembered something.
Six months ago, Evelyn had asked to borrow my father's old property records.
She said she wanted to help us update our estate planning.
I had handed them to her without hesitation.
May you like
I had trusted her.
Now I wondered whether that had been the moment they began stealing my life.
