Chapter 12 - The Man I Never Really Married
I stared at Julian.
For several seconds, I couldn't make myself speak.
The man standing before me had once held my hand while I cried at my grandmother's funeral.
He had slept beside me for years.
He knew how I took my coffee.
He knew I hated thunderstorms.
He knew exactly where my heart was most vulnerable.
And he had wanted me incapacitated so he could steal my grandmother's home.
"Why?" I finally whispered.
Julian looked almost annoyed.
"Because you wouldn't listen."
"Listen to what?"
"Reason."
I stared at him.
"You tried to poison me."
His expression didn't change.
"I tried to solve a problem."
The words struck harder than a slap.
"A problem?"
"You had something valuable and refused to use it."
"My grandmother's home."
"A property worth millions to the right people!"
His voice rose.
"Do you have any idea how many opportunities you've cost us?"
I shook my head slowly.
"You could have divorced me."
He laughed.
"And leave you with the cottage?"
For the first time, I understood.
This wasn't a marriage that had gradually become bitter.
At some point, Julian had begun seeing me as an obstacle between himself and a fortune.
Graham Pike emerged from the kitchen.
He was a tall man in his fifties with graying hair and a thin scar near his left thumb.
He wore an expensive coat and carried himself with the arrogance of someone accustomed to getting what he wanted.
"Enough talking," he said.
His eyes moved toward the folder.
"Did she bring the papers?"
Julian handed it to him.
Graham opened it.
He flipped through several pages.
"These are copies."
"They're the records you asked for," I said.
His eyes narrowed.
"I asked for the originals."
"The originals are safe."
His expression hardened.
"That wasn't the agreement."
"Neither was kidnapping my friend."
A voice came from the adjoining room.
"Morgan?"
Tessa.
I turned immediately.
"Tessa!"
Graham stepped between us.
"She's alive. For now."
I looked at him.
"Let her go."
"Sign the documents first."
He placed a stack of papers on the dining table.
They included a proposed property transfer and a statement claiming I had voluntarily authorized Julian to act on my behalf.
There was also a separate declaration denying that anyone had threatened me.
I stared at the pages.
"You expect me to sign these?"
"Yes."
"And then you'll release Tessa?"
Graham's expression remained cold.
"That's the arrangement."
I looked at Julian.
"Do you really think this will work?"
He shrugged.
"You've always been the one who cared about paperwork."
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I remained silent.
Because I could hear Tessa moving behind the pantry wall.
And I remembered Ruth's words.
Your grandmother always said a house should have more than one way out.
Graham placed a pen beside the papers.
"Start signing."
I picked it up.
But I didn't write.
"Where's Daniel Mercer?"
Graham's expression changed slightly.
"Why?"
"Because I know he helped steal money from Caldwell Construction."
A door opened behind me.
Daniel stepped into the room.
He looked older than he had at the office.
His shirt was wrinkled, and his eyes were red with exhaustion.
"You should have stayed out of our business, Morgan."
I stared at him.
"I worked for you for six years."
"And you were very useful."
His indifference made me feel sick.
"You used my account."
"Your access made the transfers convenient."
"You were going to let me go to prison."
He looked away.
Graham interrupted.
"We're wasting time."
I glanced toward the window.
Darkness filled the orchard.
Somewhere beyond those trees, the police were waiting.
I needed to keep Graham talking.
"Tell me something."
He sighed.
"What?"
"Why was the cottage so important?"
Graham studied me.
Then he gave a humorless smile.
"Your grandmother's land controls the cleanest legal access to a development worth several million dollars."
I felt rage rise inside me.
"You tried to buy it for four hundred and fifty thousand."
"Your husband assured us you'd accept."
Julian looked away.
"And when I refused?"
Graham's silence answered the question.
I looked directly at Julian.
"Was the necklace supposed to kill me?"
For the first time, he hesitated.
Then Graham answered.
"It was supposed to keep you from interfering."
"And if I died?"
Julian's voice was quiet.
"The insurance would have covered certain losses."
I stared at him.
I had spent years trying to save our marriage.
He had been calculating the financial consequences of my death.
Then a faint sound came from outside.
A vehicle.
Graham went still.
He moved toward the window.
"What's that?"
Daniel looked frightened.
"Did she bring the police?"
Julian turned toward me.
"What did you do?"
I didn't answer.
Graham's phone vibrated.
He examined the screen.
His expression darkened.
"Someone's watching the road."
Daniel began pacing.
"We need to get rid of the files."
Graham snapped at him.
"Calm down."
But Daniel wasn't listening.
He gathered loose papers from the table and hurried toward the back room.
A moment later, I heard a crash.
Glass breaking.
Then someone shouted.
"Daniel! What have you done?"
A strange orange glow appeared beneath the doorway.
Smoke began curling toward the ceiling.
Graham cursed and rushed toward the back room.
Julian followed.
I heard Tessa coughing behind the pantry wall.
"Morgan!"
I ran toward her voice.
The pantry door was locked.
I pulled at the handle.
It wouldn't move.
The smell of smoke was growing stronger.
"Tessa, stay low!"
Her voice came through the wood.
"Morgan, there's smoke coming in!"
I looked toward the kitchen.
Flames were beginning to spread through the old rear porch.
Then Tessa screamed.
May you like
"THE DOOR WON'T OPEN! MORGAN, I CAN'T BREATHE!"
And I realized the men who had tried to steal my life were now threatening to destroy the house that had once saved so many others.
