Chapter 6 - The Secret Peter Tried To Bury Forever
For the first time in weeks, I thought the nightmare was ending.
The court had stopped the house sale.
The financial transfers had been frozen.
The evidence was finally visible.
Peter could no longer stand in front of people and pretend he was only a confused husband searching for answers.
The truth had cracks.
But Sarah Mercer’s phone call reminded me of something important.
A broken plan could still hide a deeper secret.
And the fact that Paige’s own mother had called me meant one thing.
Someone inside their circle was afraid.
Not of me.
Of what would happen when everything came out.
---
I called Sarah back immediately.
She answered after one ring.
“I was hoping you would call.”
Her voice sounded exhausted.
Not like someone protecting her daughter.
Like someone who had carried a burden for too long.
“Sarah, what did you mean when you said Paige was hiding something worse?”
There was silence.
Then she sighed.
“Because my daughter didn’t tell you the whole reason she became involved.”
I sat down.
“Tell me.”
“My daughter has been working with Peter for almost a year.”
I frowned.
“A year?”
“Yes.”
My stomach tightened.
Maisie was only one year old.
That meant while I was pregnant…
While I was preparing for motherhood…
While I believed I was building a family…
Peter was already creating another life behind my back.
“What were they doing?”
Sarah hesitated.
“I don’t know everything.”
“That’s not enough.”
“I know.”
Her voice cracked.
“But I know my daughter was desperate.”
“For money?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Another pause.
“More than she could repay.”
I closed my eyes.
The sixty thousand dollars.
The fake documents.
The house.
There was something bigger.
“Sarah, why did Paige need money?”
This time, the silence lasted longer.
Finally, she whispered:
“Because she made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“She invested in a company that failed.”
I waited.
“That doesn’t explain this.”
“No.”
Her voice became quieter.
“Because the company belonged to Peter.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Peter wasn’t just her business associate.”
The room felt colder.
“They were partners.”
I looked toward the window.
A terrible feeling formed in my chest.
“Partners in what?”
Sarah answered:
“An investment company.”
My mind raced.
Peter had told me Paige was just helping with paperwork.
He had lied.
Again.
But why hide it?
Why pretend she was just an employee?
Then I remembered something.
The messages.
The closing cannot happen unless she is no longer involved.
Not house closing.
Maybe not only house closing.
I grabbed my notebook.
“Sarah, do you know what they planned for Monday?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
My heartbeat increased.
“What?”
“Peter was supposed to finalize a business merger.”
I froze.
“A merger?”
“Yes.”
“With what company?”
Sarah’s answer made everything suddenly make sense.
“With the company that owns the property development attached to your neighborhood.”
I stared at the wall.
The house.
The money.
The documents.
Everything connected.
Peter wasn’t only trying to sell our home.
He was trying to use our shared assets as part of a larger business deal.
And I was the only thing standing in his way.
Because legally, he needed my involvement.
Unless…
Unless he could prove I abandoned everything.
---
I immediately called Monica.
She answered quickly.
“Emily?”
“I know what Monday was about.”
A pause.
“Tell me.”
I explained everything.
When I finished, she was silent.
Then:
“That changes everything.”
“How?”
“Because now we’re no longer dealing with a marital dispute.”
I waited.
“We’re dealing with possible financial fraud.”
The word felt heavy.
Fraud.
Peter hadn’t just broken my trust.
He had potentially broken the law.
“What do we do?”
“First, we secure every piece of evidence.”
“I already photographed everything.”
“Good.”
“Second?”
“Do not contact Peter.”
I looked at my phone.
A message from him had arrived.
Please talk to me. I can explain.
I almost laughed.
Explain.
That word had become meaningless.
---
Three days later, Peter requested a private meeting.
Monica told me not to go.
Thomas told me not to go.
Even June told me not to go.
But I knew something.
Peter was scared.
And scared people sometimes reveal more than they intend.
So I agreed.
With one condition.
Thomas stayed nearby.
We met at a quiet coffee shop.
Peter looked different.
Not angry.
Not confident.
Broken.
He sat across from me.
“I know you hate me.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
He seemed surprised.
“I don’t hate you.”
“Then what?”
I looked at the man I once loved.
“I don’t recognize you.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I made mistakes.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“A mistake happens once.”
He looked down.
“You planned this.”
Silence.
“You tested our daughter.”
Silence.
“You tried to make me look like a criminal.”
Silence.
“You tried to take our home.”
His eyes closed.
Then he whispered:
“I didn’t want to lose everything.”
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
He looked at me.
“The company was failing.”
There it was.
The truth.
Finally.
“Your company?”
He nodded.
“Paige and I invested heavily.”
“How heavily?”
“Hundreds of thousands.”
I felt sick.
“And you used our home?”
“No.”
His answer came too fast.
I raised an eyebrow.
He stopped.
Then admitted:
“I was going to use the equity.”
I couldn’t believe it.
“You were going to risk our daughter’s home to save a business?”
“I thought I could fix it.”
“You thought.”
He looked away.
“My mother said you would never agree.”
“So you removed me.”
He didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
---
Then Peter said something unexpected.
“Emily, there’s something else.”
I became still.
“What?”
He looked terrified.
“Paige wasn’t the one who created the DNA report.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“She only helped distribute it.”
“Who created it?”
Peter looked at me.
And for the first time since this began…
He looked afraid of someone else.
“My mother.”
I felt the air disappear.
Helen.
The woman who stood by the door.
The woman who watched me leave.
The woman who acted like she was protecting her son.
She wasn’t reacting to the plan.
She created it.
“Why?”
Peter whispered:
“Because she believed you were taking me away from her.”
I almost couldn’t process it.
“This was because of jealousy?”
“No.”
Peter shook his head.
“She believed your career made you too powerful.”
I stared.
“She wanted me dependent on her again.”
Everything finally connected.
The manipulation.
The insults.
The pressure.
The accusations.
Helen wasn’t trying to save Peter.
She was trying to control him.
And Peter allowed it.
That was the part I could never forgive.
Not the fear.
Not the pressure.
The choice.
---
That night, I returned home with a new understanding.
The enemy was no longer hidden.
I knew the players.
I knew the motive.
I knew the plan.
But I didn’t know one thing.
How far Helen was willing to go to protect herself.
The answer came the next morning.
Monica called.
Her voice was urgent.
“Emily, you need to see this.”
“What happened?”
“We found another document.”
“What document?”
“A legal statement prepared by Helen.”
My heart tightened.
“What kind of statement?”
A pause.
Then Monica said:
“The document claims you abandoned your family and voluntarily surrendered your rights.”
I felt cold.
“She forged my signature?”
“We’re investigating.”
I looked at Maisie.
My daughter was playing on the floor.
Laughing.
Completely innocent.
And suddenly I understood.
Helen didn’t just want me gone.
She wanted history rewritten.
She wanted the world to believe I walked away.
I whispered:
“She wants to erase me.”
Monica answered:
“No.”
A pause.
“She wants to replace you.”
I looked at the evidence on the table.
The DNA report.
The financial records.
The messages.
Everything they created to destroy me.
Then I made my decision.
I was done defending myself.
Now I was going to expose them.
But before I could act…
Helen made her final move.
And this time…
May you like
She attacked the one person I loved more than anything.
My daughter.
