Chapter 8 - THE NIGHT I COULDN'T IDENTIFY MY OWN HUSBAND
I started reviewing security footage from my apartment building.
For five years, I had believed I could recognize Preston in darkness.
The way he walked.
The way he held his shoulders.
The slight tilt of his head when he was irritated.
Then I watched Parker imitate every one of those things perfectly.
It happened three months earlier.
Preston had told me he was leaving for Boston.
That evening, “Preston” returned unexpectedly.
He barely spoke.
He kissed my forehead.
He stood behind me while I changed.
I remembered feeling uncomfortable.
He had stared at my back for a long time.
I thought he was disgusted.
Now I knew Parker had been scanning for the chip.
I ran to the bathroom and threw up.
Gideon waited outside the door.
He did not enter.
“Vivian?”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“That was rhetorical.”
“I know.”
I came out.
He handed me water.
I sat on the floor because standing felt ambitious.
“My husband’s twin entered my bedroom pretending to be him.”
Gideon crouched several feet away.
“Yes.”
“He touched me.”
His face became lethal.
“Did he—”
“No.”
I shook my head quickly.
“Nothing sexual. But he kissed my forehead. He watched me change.”
Gideon’s anger did not become mine.
He did not turn my violation into an excuse to perform rage.
He simply asked:
“What do you need?”
That question nearly broke me.
“I need to know Preston’s part.”
We confronted him through attorneys.
At first, he denied everything.
Then Naomi played Dr. Warren’s recording.
Preston collapsed into the chair.
“Yes,” he whispered.
He admitted making a deal with Parker after the fire.
Parker threatened to kill me if Preston went to the police.
So Preston protected him.
Then Parker demanded access to my medical information.
Preston complied.
“Did you know there was something inside me?”
“No.”
“Did you suspect?”
“Yes.”
My hands curled.
“That’s why you pushed me toward more surgeries.”
He looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
“And when doctors refused?”
“I got angry.”
“No.”
My voice sharpened.
“You got cruel.”
He closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“You called me disgusting.”
“I know.”
“You trained me to hate the scars I got saving your life because you were frustrated they wouldn’t disappear.”
His face crumpled.
“I’m sorry.”
Five years earlier, those words could have saved us.
Now they sounded cheap.
“Did Parker force you to sleep with Cassidy?”
Preston flinched.
“No.”
“Did he force you to forge my signature?”
“No.”
“Did he force you to steal my equity?”
Silence.
“No.”
There it was.
Fear explained part of Preston.
It did not absolve him.
“What about the life insurance?”
His head came up.
“I didn’t take that policy.”
Naomi slid the documents forward.
“Your signature.”
“Forged.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Convenient.”
Preston looked genuinely terrified.
“Vivian, I swear.”
Naomi requested verification.
The signature was indeed forged.
And the premium payments came from an account Preston did not control.
Parker.
He had insured my life for thirty million dollars.
Then changed the policy eighteen months ago.
One clause had been added.
Double payout for accidental death by fire.
Sixty million dollars.
Gideon looked at me.
May you like
Parker was not finished with the crime he began five years earlier.
He was preparing to burn me again.
