Chapter 8 - What a Good Wife
Lillian woke before sunrise.
She showered, covered neither the bruise nor her lip, and put on the cream dress Caleb liked her to wear at formal breakfasts.
Then she cooked.
She fried chicken in a cast-iron pan. She baked biscuits from her mother’s recipe and filled crystal dishes with peach jam. She arranged gardenias in the center of the polished table.
Every detail was perfect.
Not for Caleb.
For herself.
This would be the last meal she ever served under his command.
At seven forty-five, Caleb entered in a blue suit. He had regained his confidence. Evelyn followed in lavender and pearls, carrying the unsigned transfer papers.
Caleb placed them beside Lillian’s empty chair.
“After breakfast,” he said.
Lillian poured coffee.
At seven fifty-eight, she saw movement beyond the tall windows. Two police vehicles stopped behind the oak trees where they could not be seen from the dining room.
She took her place beside Caleb but did not sit.
He reached for the fried chicken.
“What a good wife.”
Evelyn looked at Lillian’s injuries.
“A wife should know when to stop talking.”
The doorway opened.
The police entered.
Everything that followed happened exactly as Lillian had imagined during months of sleepless nights.
Caleb denied the accusations.
Then Detective Bell played part of the recording from the previous evening.
Caleb’s own voice filled the elegant room.
No one is coming to save you.
Evelyn went pale.
Rebecca Shaw placed a legal notice on the table. It prevented Caleb or Evelyn from selling, transferring, or entering certain parts of the estate while ownership was being reviewed.
Caleb looked at Lillian with hatred.
“You planned this.”
“Yes.”
“You trapped me.”
“No,” Lillian replied. “I documented you.”
As the officers led him toward the door, Caleb turned back.
“You will lose everything without me.”
May you like
Lillian looked around the dining room, at the silver, the crystal, and the flowers she had spent years arranging.
“I already lost everything once,” she said. “Then I remembered who I was.”
