Chapter 5 - The Lost Journal
Back in his truck, parked under the shade of a sprawling oak tree down the street from Reena’s house, Peter sat in silence for a long time with Aaron’s journal in his lap. The cover was worn, the edges frayed from years in his brother’s workshop pocket.
With trembling fingers, Peter opened to the first page.
Most of the entries were ordinary—measurements for woodworking projects, reminders for grocery runs, thoughts on raising a newborn. But as Peter flipped closer to the final months of Aaron’s life, the tone of the entries shifted drastically. The handwriting became erratic, hurried, almost panicked.
October 14: I don't understand what's happening to Reena. She changed the moment we got married, but lately it’s terrifying. She flies into rages over nothing. She locked Drew in the pantry today because he spilled milk. When I confronted her, she looked at me with eyes I didn't recognize. She said if I interfere or tell anyone, she’ll accuse me of domestic abuse and take the kids across state lines where I’ll never see them. God help me, I believe her.
Peter stared at the page, his heart hammering against his ribs. Aaron hadn't been distant by choice. He had been trapped in a domestic cage, blackmailed and terrorized by a sociopath who used his children as hostages to keep him silent.
November 2: I tried to pack a bag tonight. I was going to take Drew and Lily and go to Peter’s house. But Reena caught me. She had a kitchen knife pressed against Drew’s throat. She whispered that the moment I walked out that door, she’d make sure my babies never woke up. I had to put my bags down. I feel like I'm losing my mind. If anything happens to me, Peter... please check on them. Don't trust her sweet-talk. She is a completely different person behind closed doors.
A single tear slipped from Peter’s eye and landed squarely on the paper, darkening the ink. Aaron hadn't failed his children out of negligence or apathy; he had been fighting a desperate, losing war to keep them breathing until his sudden, fatal heart attack took him at age thirty-five. Given the extreme stress, high blood pressure, and terror Aaron had endured under Reena’s roof, his heart attack wasn't just a medical tragedy—it was murder by psychological torment.
Peter closed the journal gently and placed it in his canvas bag alongside the children's drawings.
May you like
He started the engine, put the truck in drive, and drove back to his home with a new mission burning in his soul. Reena’s defense attorney thought they could walk into court, spin a web of lies, and reclaim the kids or the estate through legal loopholes.
They had no idea what kind of storm was coming for them.
