Chapter 4 - The Tracking Device)
Jenna turned Claire's phone off immediately.
Then she removed the case.
Nothing.
She checked the handbag.
Nothing.
The coat pockets.
Nothing.
"The car," Claire said.
They returned to the gas station.
The mechanic allowed them to inspect Claire's vehicle inside the service bay.
Jenna searched underneath the seats while Claire checked the trunk.
The mechanic used a flashlight beneath the rear bumper.
He found it in less than five minutes.
A small magnetic tracking device.
Claire stared at it in his gloved hand.
The last piece of denial disappeared.
Jenna photographed it.
"Don't throw it away."
The mechanic nodded.
"I wouldn't."
Claire's knees felt weak.
Derek had not guessed where she was.
He had tracked her.
Jenna called a friend who worked with hospital security and asked for advice.
The answer was simple.
Document everything.
Do not confront him alone.
Consider police.
Claire hesitated at the last part.
Jenna noticed.
"Why are you protecting him?"
"I'm not."
"You are."
Claire looked away.
"He hasn't hit me."
Jenna's voice lowered.
"That is not the standard."
Claire touched her stomach.
The baby moved.
She closed her eyes.
"Okay."
They went to the police station.
The officer listened, took photographs of the tracker, and documented the financial and medical concerns.
But because the car was jointly used by Claire and Derek and there was no clear evidence of who had installed the tracker, immediate action was limited.
The officer encouraged Claire to stay elsewhere and contact an attorney.
It was not the decisive intervention Claire had imagined.
Still, there was now a record.
That mattered.
Jenna drove Claire to her apartment.
Claire borrowed Jenna's laptop and created a new email account.
She downloaded copies of bank statements.
She contacted her employer and changed emergency contact information.
Then she called Dr. Meyers.
The doctor listened quietly.
"Do not sign anything," she said.
"I won't."
"I'm flagging your medical record. No information is to be released without direct verification from you."
"Thank you."
"And Claire?"
"Yes?"
"If you feel pain, pressure, bleeding, unusual contractions, or reduced fetal movement, come in immediately."
Claire promised.
Late that afternoon, Jenna went to work.
Claire remained alone in the apartment.
She stared at Evelyn's business card for almost an hour.
Finally she called using Jenna's landline.
Evelyn answered immediately.
"Claire?"
"How did you know it was me?"
A long pause.
"I hoped."
Claire gripped the receiver.
"Tell me who you are."
"Not over the phone."
"You've said that already."
"I need to show you something."
"Where?"
"A public place."
Claire almost laughed.
"You told me the diner wasn't safe."
"It wasn't once Derek knew I was there."
"You said this has happened before."
Silence.
Claire pressed.
"To whom?"
Evelyn replied, "To me."
Claire sat down.
"What did he do?"
"Claire, there are things you need to see before you decide whether you believe me."
"You think I don't already believe something is wrong?"
"I think you've known longer than you're admitting."
The words hurt because they were true.
They arranged to meet the next morning at a library downtown.
Evelyn gave Claire a warning before hanging up.
"Don't bring your usual phone."
Claire used an old prepaid phone Jenna kept for emergencies.
At ten the next morning, she entered the library.
Evelyn was waiting in a study room.
There was a box on the table.
Claire closed the door.
Evelyn pushed the box toward her.
"Open it."
Inside were photographs.
A younger Derek.
A younger Margaret.
And Evelyn.
Claire picked up one picture.
Derek wore a black tuxedo.
Evelyn wore a wedding dress.
Their hands were joined.
Claire stared.
"You married him."
"Yes."
"When?"
"Twelve years ago."
"Derek told me he was never married."
"I know."
Claire looked through more photographs.
One showed Evelyn pregnant.
Very pregnant.
Another showed Margaret standing beside her, one hand resting possessively on Evelyn's stomach.
Claire's mouth went dry.
"You had a baby."
Evelyn's expression changed.
"We were supposed to."
Claire looked up.
"What happened?"
Evelyn sat across from her.
"Derek and Margaret decided I was unstable."
Claire's pulse accelerated.
"They controlled my appointments. My transportation. My money. They told everyone pregnancy had made me irrational."
Claire thought of Dr. Meyers.
Mental capacity.
Evelyn continued.
"They pressured me to sign medical authorizations. When I refused, they told relatives I was having episodes."
Claire whispered, "What happened to your baby?"
Evelyn looked down.
"I went into premature labor after weeks of severe stress."
Claire's hand moved protectively to her belly.
Evelyn immediately said, "My daughter survived."
Claire exhaled.
"Where is she?"
"With me."
Claire stared.
"Derek has a daughter?"
"Yes."
"Does he know?"
"He knows she was born. He hasn't seen her in eleven years."
"Why?"
"Because I ran."
Claire's mind raced.
"Then why are you here now?"
Evelyn looked directly at her.
"Because three months ago, Derek found me."
Claire felt cold.
"He contacted you?"
"He sent someone."
"Who?"
Evelyn opened the box again.
She removed an envelope.
Inside was a photograph taken outside a school.
A girl around eleven years old was walking beside Evelyn.
On the back were six handwritten words.
We should discuss what belongs to me.
Claire stared.
Evelyn continued.
"I spent years keeping my daughter away from them."
"Why didn't you go to the police?"
"I did."
"And?"
"They had better attorneys. Better explanations. Margaret convinced everyone I was unstable. Derek produced emails that made me look erratic."
"Fake emails?"
"Some. Others were real messages I sent while terrified."
Claire understood.
A frightened woman could easily be made to sound irrational if the fear itself was hidden.
Evelyn said, "I came back because I learned about you."
"How?"
"Derek mentioned his pregnant wife in a message meant to scare me."
Claire's stomach turned.
Evelyn pushed another document across the table.
It was a screenshot.
Derek had written:
My current wife understands family comes first. You should have learned that.
Claire read it twice.
Then Evelyn said, "There is something else."
Claire almost didn't want to ask.
"What?"
"Derek and I never completed our divorce."
Claire stared at her.
"That's impossible."
"I filed. He delayed. Then I disappeared with my daughter. I assumed my attorney finished it."
"But?"
"Years later, I discovered the case had been dismissed for inactivity."
Claire felt the room spin.
"You are saying you're still legally married to him."
"Technically, yes."
"Then my marriage..."
Evelyn didn't finish for her.
Claire stood abruptly.
"This is insane."
"I know."
"No, you don't get to tell me my entire marriage might be fake and sit there calmly."
"I'm not calm."
"You look calm."
"I learned how to look calm around Bennetts."
Claire turned away.
She wanted to scream.
Instead she stared through the library window at people walking normally outside.
After several seconds she asked, "Why didn't you tell me immediately?"
"Because I didn't know whether you would tell Derek."
Claire turned.
Evelyn's honesty hurt.
"You thought I'd protect him."
"I protected him once too."
That silenced Claire.
Evelyn gathered the photographs.
"You need a lawyer."
"I need the truth."
"You need both."
Claire picked up the wedding photograph again.
Then she noticed something in the background.
A man standing near Derek.
Tall.
Gray haired.
Familiar.
Claire leaned closer.
"Who is that?"
Evelyn followed her gaze.
"Derek's uncle. Walter."
Claire's heart skipped.
Walter Bennett was dead.
Derek had told Claire Walter died years before they met.
Claire whispered, "When was this picture taken?"
Evelyn gave the date.
Claire calculated.
Then looked up.
"Derek told me Walter died three years before this."
Evelyn stared at her.
Claire suddenly realized the problem was larger than one secret marriage.
Derek had not simply lied about his past.
May you like
He had rewritten it.
And Claire had no idea how much of the man she married had ever existed.
