Chapter 4 - Changing the Locks
At three in the morning, Ethan called.
Clara watched his name flash across the screen.
She let it ring twice before answering.
“What do you want?”
Music and laughter echoed behind him.
“You saw the picture,” he said.
“Yes.”
“I wanted you to hear it from me.”
“You sent a message.”
“I knew you would become emotional.”
Clara looked at the mortgage letter on the table.
“Am I divorced, Ethan?”
He was silent for half a second.
“You were served months ago.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“You never pay attention to paperwork.”
“I spoke to an attorney. No divorce was filed.”
The music in the background seemed to recede.
“Which attorney?”
“That’s your concern?”
“I’m asking a simple question.”
“And I’m asking whether you forged a divorce order.”
Ethan laughed, but the sound was forced.
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“Then send me the case information.”
“I’m on my honeymoon.”
“You’ve been married for less than four hours.”
“Exactly. I’m not spending it arguing with you.”
Clara heard a woman say something nearby.
Madison.
Ethan lowered his voice.
“I’ll return tomorrow. Put my cards on the kitchen counter and don’t interfere with my accounts.”
“They aren’t your cards.”
“I’ve used them for years.”
“They belong to my company. Your authorization has been removed.”
His voice changed immediately.
“You had no right.”
“I have every right. You announced that you moved out and married someone else.”
“You can’t cut me off.”
“I didn’t cut you off. I stopped you from using my money.”
“Listen to me carefully, Clara. Do not touch the locks. Do not move my belongings. And do not contact my employer.”
There it was.
Not guilt.
Not apology.
Fear.
“Why would your employer care?” Clara asked.
Ethan ended the call.
Ten minutes later, he sent three messages.
I no longer live there.
I’ll arrange for my property to be collected.
Do not contact me again unless it concerns the transfer of the house.
Clara read the last sentence several times.
Then she called a twenty-four-hour locksmith.
By dawn, the exterior locks had been replaced, the alarm code had been changed, and Ethan’s belongings had been moved into the locked guest room for inventory.
Clara did not destroy anything.
She photographed every item.
She made a list.
At six thirty, Natalie arrived carrying coffee and a portable scanner.
Together, they created digital copies of the mortgage letter, bank statements, messages, and wedding photographs.
Natalie pointed to the photograph of the certificate.
“There’s an embossed seal here.”
“Can you identify it?”
“Not from this image. But if they submitted this document to obtain a marriage license, the Nevada clerk will have a copy.”
“What happens when they find out it’s forged?”
Natalie looked at her steadily.
“Then Ethan’s biggest problem won’t be that he married another woman.”
At seven twelve, Ethan sent another message.
The police will be at your house this morning. Maybe they can explain that wives don’t get to steal from their husbands.
Clara showed Natalie.
Her attorney smiled without humor.
“Good.”
“Good?”
“He put his accusation in writing.”
A black-and-white police car turned onto the street.
May you like
Natalie closed the folder.
“Let him explain everything.”
