Chapter 2 - The Appointment Derek Never Wanted)
Claire left Dr. Meyers's office through a side entrance.
The doctor had suggested it.
That alone frightened her.
Dr. Meyers also gave Claire the number of a family advocacy center and told her to memorize it rather than store it under an obvious name.
Claire almost laughed at the absurdity.
She was not the kind of woman who needed an advocacy center.
She had a college degree.
A career.
Savings.
A husband who attended neighborhood barbecues and remembered everyone's birthdays.
A mother in law who donated to children's hospitals.
People like Derek and Margaret did not belong in stories about control.
At least that was what Claire had believed.
She ordered a rideshare and went to a cafe two neighborhoods away.
There she opened her banking app.
The main joint account had changed.
The balance was nearly fifteen thousand dollars lower than the previous week.
Claire checked the transaction history.
Transfer to Bennett Family Holdings.
She had never heard of Bennett Family Holdings.
She called Derek.
No answer.
She called the bank.
The representative explained that Derek, as joint account holder, had initiated the transfer.
"Can I reverse it?"
"Not without the receiving institution's cooperation."
Claire's pulse quickened.
"What is Bennett Family Holdings?"
"I'm sorry. I don't have information beyond the account designation."
Claire stared out the cafe window.
Derek had always handled investments.
He enjoyed it.
Claire had never questioned him.
She suddenly questioned everything.
That evening, Derek came home with flowers.
Margaret came with him.
Claire stood in the kitchen.
The flowers remained in Derek's hand.
"Where were you?" he asked.
"At my appointment."
His jaw tightened.
"You went anyway."
"Yes."
Margaret placed her handbag on the counter.
"You embarrassed me at the clinic."
Claire looked at her.
"You weren't invited."
Margaret's expression hardened.
Derek stepped between them.
"Enough."
Claire turned to him.
"Why did you ask my doctor whether stress could affect my decision making?"
Derek froze.
Margaret looked at him.
That tiny exchange was all Claire needed.
They had discussed it.
Derek recovered quickly.
"I asked a medical question."
"About me."
"About pregnancy."
"My doctor said you specifically asked about my capacity."
Margaret interrupted.
"Pregnancy hormones can cause irrational behavior."
Claire stared at her.
Margaret continued.
"You've been emotional."
Claire laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
"You canceled my appointment. You took my keys. You transferred money from our account. And I'm irrational for asking questions?"
Derek placed the flowers on the counter.
"We transferred money."
"No. You transferred money."
"For the baby's future."
"To an account I can't see?"
He hesitated.
Claire's fear deepened.
"Show me."
"Not tonight."
"Show me the account."
"Claire."
"Now."
Derek slammed his palm against the counter.
The sound made Claire flinch.
Instantly, his face changed.
Regret.
Or performance.
He lowered his voice.
"I'm trying to protect this family."
Claire looked toward Margaret.
Margaret was watching her carefully.
Not sympathetically.
Evaluating.
That night, Claire waited until Derek was asleep.
She quietly took his phone from the charger.
She knew the passcode.
Or she thought she did.
The code had changed.
Claire stood in the darkness.
Then Derek spoke.
"What are you doing?"
She nearly dropped the phone.
He was sitting up.
"Checking the time."
"My phone?"
"Mine is downstairs."
Derek held out his hand.
Claire gave it back.
He stared at her.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Then he smiled.
"You're getting paranoid."
Claire returned to bed.
She did not sleep.
The next afternoon, Margaret arrived carrying a folder.
"Insurance updates."
Claire remained near the kitchen doorway.
"What updates?"
"Life insurance. Medical coverage. Boring things."
Margaret set the folder on the table.
"We need a few signatures."
Claire did not move.
"Leave it."
Margaret smiled.
"We can do it now."
"I'll read it."
"Derek already reviewed everything."
"I'm still reading it."
Something passed through Margaret's eyes.
Annoyance.
Then she smiled again.
"Of course."
She left the folder.
The moment Margaret departed, Claire opened it.
Most documents were ordinary insurance forms.
One page was different.
Temporary authorization for medical decision assistance.
The wording was dense.
The designated representative was Derek Bennett.
Claire photographed every page.
Then she placed the documents exactly where Margaret had left them.
That night, the folder vanished.
Derek never asked her to sign it.
The next morning, Claire called the advocacy number Dr. Meyers had provided.
A woman named Nina answered.
Claire almost hung up.
Instead, she said, "I don't know whether what is happening counts as abuse."
Nina replied, "You don't need to decide what to call it today. Tell me what's happening."
Claire talked for twenty minutes.
When she finished, Nina asked one question.
"Do they know you're calling us?"
"No."
"Keep it that way."
Claire closed her eyes.
Nina helped her create a basic safety plan.
Keep identification accessible.
Keep medication accessible.
Maintain independent transportation.
Have emergency money.
Choose someone trustworthy.
That final suggestion stopped Claire.
Someone trustworthy.
Her father was dead.
Her closest friend, Jenna Walsh, lived forty minutes away and had recently begun working nights as an emergency room nurse.
Claire had not told Jenna much about Derek.
Mostly because she knew what Jenna would say.
She called her anyway.
Jenna answered on the third ring.
"Hey, pregnant lady."
Claire almost cried at the ordinary warmth in her voice.
"Can you meet me tomorrow?"
The joking tone disappeared.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't want to explain over the phone."
A pause.
"Where?"
Claire chose the same cafe.
Before hanging up, Jenna said, "Claire?"
"Yeah?"
"If this is about Derek, don't warn him you're talking to me."
Claire went silent.
Jenna had noticed more than Claire realized.
The following morning, Claire discovered her car keys on the kitchen counter.
For the first time in weeks.
She stared at them suspiciously.
Derek walked in fastening his watch.
"You're welcome."
"What?"
"I told Mom to stop borrowing your keys."
Claire picked them up.
"Why?"
"Because you made your point."
He kissed her cheek.
"Drive carefully."
It felt too easy.
Claire drove to meet Jenna.
Halfway there, her dashboard flashed.
Low tire pressure.
Then the steering wheel began pulling hard to the right.
Claire slowed immediately.
She managed to enter a gas station parking lot.
When she stepped outside, she saw the front passenger tire.
Nearly flat.
A mechanic at the service bay examined it.
"Valve's loose."
"Can that happen naturally?"
He frowned.
"Sometimes."
Claire watched his expression.
"But?"
He crouched again.
"This looks like someone let air out."
Claire's hand moved instinctively to her belly.
Her phone rang.
Derek.
She stared at the name.
Then answered.
"Where are you?"
Not hello.
Not how are you.
Where are you?
Claire looked at the mechanic.
Then at the road behind her.
"Why?"
Derek paused.
"Just wondering."
Claire understood something then.
May you like
He knew she had left.
And perhaps he knew exactly how far she would get.
