CHAPTER 3 – THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
CHAPTER 3 – THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Lucas recovered faster than Margot expected.
He leaned back in his chair, forced a smile, and spread his hands as though the evening had become nothing more than an unfortunate misunderstanding.
"Richard, my wife is emotional. She's found a few old drafts and jumped to conclusions."
Margot never looked away from him.
"Then tell him those messages are fake."
Silence.
Richard Hall looked from one spouse to the other.
"The screenshot appears authentic."
Lucas laughed.
"People can fake anything."
"So can husbands," Margot answered.
The words landed harder than she intended.
Nearby conversations faded as several diners glanced toward their table before politely looking away again.
Richard closed the folder in front of him.
"I won't proceed with any signatures tonight."
Lucas's jaw tightened.
"Richard..."
"No."
The attorney's tone became formal.
"If there are allegations of concealment, coercion, or undisclosed assets, I cannot ethically continue."
Margot watched the confidence drain from Lucas's face.
For the first time in decades, someone had told him no.
The drive home was painfully quiet.
Lucas kept both hands on the steering wheel.
Finally, he spoke.
"You embarrassed me."
Margot almost laughed.
"I embarrassed you?"
"You searched through my personal belongings."
"Our belongings."
"They're my files."
"Were they also your marriage?"
Lucas slammed the brakes at a red light.
"You've become paranoid."
"No."
She looked out the window.
"I've become awake."
That night, Lucas slept in the guest room.
Or pretended to.
Margot heard him pacing after midnight.
Opening drawers.
Making phone calls in whispers.
At 1:17 a.m., she quietly stepped into the hallway.
His study door stood slightly open.
"...she knows too much," Lucas whispered.
A woman's voice answered through the speaker.
Calm.
Cold.
Then a sentence that froze Margot where she stood.
"You should have removed her name years ago."
Margot's pulse raced.
She recognized that voice.
Not immediately.
But enough to know she had heard it before.
Many times.
Family dinners.
Holiday parties.
Book launches.
It belonged to someone who had smiled at her countless times.
The next morning, Lucas left unusually early.
The moment his car disappeared, Margot opened the phone bill she had secretly downloaded from the online account.
One number appeared again and again.
Sometimes three times a day.
Sometimes after midnight.
Sometimes lasting over an hour.
She entered the number into an online directory.
The name appeared instantly.
Evelyn Cross.
Margot stared at the screen.
Her stomach turned.
Evelyn wasn't merely an acquaintance.
She was Lucas's older sister.
The woman who had hugged Margot every Christmas.
Who called herself "the sister I never had."
Who had comforted Margot after every miscarriage.
Who had cried at their thirtieth anniversary celebration.
Or pretended to.
Margot drove straight to Evelyn's house.
She had no intention of confronting her.
Not yet.
Instead, she parked across the street.
An hour passed.
Then another.
At exactly 11:42, a silver sedan pulled into the driveway.
A woman stepped out carrying a leather briefcase.
Margot frowned.
She recognized her.
Not from family gatherings.
From the restaurant.
The same notary who had been scheduled to witness the estate documents.
Why would a notary visit Evelyn privately?
The two women embraced.
Not professionally.
Like old friends.
Margot lifted her phone and quietly took several photographs.
Then another car arrived.
Lucas.
He didn't knock.
He walked straight inside.
As if he'd been there a thousand times.
Margot's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
This wasn't a last-minute meeting.
This was headquarters.
That evening, Lucas acted perfectly normal.
"How was your day?"
"Peaceful."
"You?"
"Meetings."
Margot smiled gently.
"Liar."
Lucas looked up.
"What?"
"I said... dinner's ready."
He relaxed.
But only slightly.
For the first time, he was beginning to fear her.
Later that night, Margot opened an old cedar chest in the attic.
Inside were decades of journals she'd written while researching her novels.
Dates.
Observations.
Conversations.
She had always written everything down.
Including financial discussions.
Medical appointments.
Real estate closings.
Business dinners.
Thousands of pages.
At the bottom sat a faded envelope labeled in Lucas's handwriting.
"Never Needed."
Curious, she opened it.
Inside was the original prenuptial agreement.
Except...
It wasn't the version she'd remembered signing.
This copy included several additional pages.
Pages she'd never seen.
Pages giving Lucas sweeping authority over future marital assets.
One signature sat at the bottom.
Margot Stephens.
She stared at it.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
The signature looked like hers.
But it wasn't.
Someone had practiced it.
Very well.
But not perfectly.
Margot whispered to herself,
"You forged my name..."
May you like
And suddenly, what had seemed like betrayal became something much darker.
A crime.
