Chapter 5 - Weekend at the Lake
Friday afternoon arrived with a crisp, autumn chill hanging in the air. Julian packed his duffel bag with an eagerness that sickened me. He gave me a lingering kiss on the front porch, promising to call me as soon as he reached the lake house.
“Have a great weekend, sweetheart! Get some rest at the hospital!” he called out as his luxury sedan rolled down the driveway.
As soon as his tail-lights vanished around the corner, I picked up my phone and dialed Chloe.
“Is he on his way?” I asked.
“Yes,” Chloe’s voice trembled slightly over the speaker. “He just texted me. He’s picking me up at my apartment in twenty minutes. We’re heading up to the lake house together.”
“Good,” I said smoothly. “Remember your instructions. Play your part perfectly. Don't push him, don't ask too many questions, just act like the doting girlfriend he expects. Marcus and I will handle the rest.”
“O-okay. Understood.”
I hung up the phone, strapped Leo into the car seat—having picked him up from daycare an hour earlier—and drove over to my parents' house to drop him off safely for the weekend. My mother kissed Leo’s cheeks, completely unaware of the domestic earthquake currently tearing our family apart.
“Are you sure you’re holding up okay, Elena?” my mother asked, noticing the tight, strained look around my eyes. “You look exhausted, honey.”
“I’m fine, Mom. Just a lot of stress at the hospital,” I lied, offering her a reassuring hug. “I’ll pick Leo up on Sunday evening. Love you guys.”
From there, I drove straight to Marcus Vance’s downtown office. Waiting for us in the conference room was a team of two private investigators specializing in asset tracking and high-stakes domestic surveillance, along with a process server holding a stack of court-ordered injunctions and asset-freezing motions signed by a midnight duty judge.
“The target and his companion arrived at the Pine Valley residence at 3:15 PM and departed for the northern lake property twenty minutes ago,” one of the investigators reported, placing a folder of fresh photographs on the mahogany table. “Our team is stationed three miles down the lake road. All units are locked and ready.”
Marcus looked at me, his eyes sharp and steady. “Are you ready for this, Elena? Once we drop the hammer, there is no turning back.”
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I stood up, buttoning my navy blazer, my heart beating with a powerful, electric rhythm. For ten years, I had been the supportive wife who worked twelve-hour hospital shifts while raising our son and trusting a man who calculated every single move behind my back.
“Let’s go,” I said. “It’s time to audit my husband.”
