Chapter 4 - Unearthing the Truth
Marcus met us at a secluded diner on the outskirts of the city after I called him from the burner phone. When he heard the story and saw the sheer terror etched into Lily's face, his jaw clenched, and his eyes burned with fury.
"That absolute monster," Marcus hissed under his breath. "I always knew there was something off about Derek, but I never imagined he was capable of this."
Marcus took us to a secure apartment he kept for protecting vulnerable witnesses. After we got Lily to eat some soup and she finally fell into an exhausted sleep, Marcus and I sat at the kitchen table with the blue folder of documents I had saved.
With his background in law enforcement and finance, Marcus began tearing through our financial records. Within an hour, he uncovered the horrifying blueprint of Derek's plot.
"Clara, look at this," Marcus said, pointing to a life insurance policy amendment dated three months ago. "Derek forged your signature to increase your policy value to two million dollars. And look at the clause—if both you and Lily die in a shared accident, the sole beneficiary is Derek."
I covered my mouth, stifling a sob. Marcus then logged into a private database to check Derek's business trip information.
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"The trip is a complete fabrication," Marcus said, turning the laptop toward me. "The airline database shows Derek canceled his ticket an hour before the flight. He didn't leave the city. He's right here, pulling the strings."
Tears spilled over my cheeks, not out of grief for my marriage, but out of the terrifying realization that we had been sleeping in the same bed with a demon. He wanted us erased to pay off massive, hidden gambling debts and start a new life with a mistress Marcus had tracked through foreign wire transfers.
