Chapter 8 - the rabbit on my porch)
Emily did not touch the stuffed rabbit again.
She called Grace.
Grace called Sarah's attorney.
Sarah's attorney called Sarah.
Within two hours, the explanation arrived.
Sarah had not left the box.
She had not written the note.
Lucy still owned her gray rabbit.
She had slept with it the previous night.
Grace photographed the box.
Then she called the police non emergency line to document the incident.
Emily stood in her living room staring at the fake rabbit.
"Ryan."
Grace did not answer.
"He sent it."
"We can't prove that."
"He wants me to think Sarah is scared of me."
"Possibly."
Emily gave her a look.
Grace exhaled.
"Fine. It is consistent with someone trying to discourage further investigation."
Emily sat on the sofa.
"Why would he care if I learn about Lucy? We already know she exists."
"Because knowing she exists and having Sarah testify are different things."
The word testify changed the room.
Emily looked at Grace.
"Will she?"
"Her attorney says no."
"Because of Ryan."
"Because she is afraid of what this becomes for Lucy."
Emily understood that.
A six year old child should not become evidence.
Yet Ryan had placed Lucy inside the financial deception years earlier.
Her school.
Her apartment.
Her support.
All hidden through accounts he now claimed were legitimate business expenses.
Sarah's testimony could explain those transfers.
Without her, Ryan might attempt to characterize the money differently.
Emily walked toward the window.
"I don't want to hurt that little girl."
Grace's voice softened.
"Then don't."
"How?"
"We use documents where we can. We subpoena Sarah only if necessary."
Emily nodded.
The next problem arrived the following morning.
Her credit report showed a corporate credit card with a $41,000 balance.
She had never seen the card.
The account had been opened in her name eighteen months earlier.
Grace added it to the fraud allegations.
Then another account appeared.
A business line.
Then a vehicle lease.
Ryan had built a maze of obligations around her identity.
Some were probably marital.
Some were potentially fraudulent.
All would take time to untangle.
Emily began having nightmares.
In one, she stood inside her house while every wall became a bank statement.
In another, Ryan handed their newborn daughter to Madison and told Emily she could not afford to keep her.
At thirty four weeks pregnant, Emily started sleeping with the hallway light on.
Her doctor noticed the stress.
"You need rest."
Emily almost laughed.
"I'm getting divorced."
"Rest anyway."
"My husband may have forged my name on nearly a million dollars in obligations."
The doctor stared.
Emily sighed.
"Sorry."
The doctor squeezed her hand.
"Stress matters. So does your blood pressure. You cannot control the legal process tonight. You can control whether you eat dinner."
That evening, Emily ate soup.
At nine, the doorbell rang.
Not Ryan.
A woman stood outside.
Brown hair.
Dark blue coat.
Hands trembling.
Emily recognized her from the storage photographs.
Sarah Miller.
Grace had told Emily not to meet Sarah alone.
Emily should have called her.
Instead she opened the door halfway.
Sarah immediately spoke.
"I'm sorry."
Emily stared at her.
Sarah's face was pale.
"I'm not here to make excuses."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because Ryan came to my house."
Emily's hand tightened around the door.
"When?"
"Tonight."
"Where is Lucy?"
"With my sister."
Emily opened the door slightly wider.
Sarah looked toward the street.
"He told me if I testify, he'll petition for custody."
"Can he?"
"He can petition for anything."
Sarah swallowed.
"He said he'll tell everyone I'm unstable. That I took money. That I helped hide assets."
Emily's anger sharpened.
"Did you?"
"No."
"Did you know he was using marital money?"
"I knew he paid me. I didn't know where it came from."
"You knew he was married."
Sarah closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Emily waited.
Sarah looked directly at her.
"I was twenty seven and stupid and I believed every ugly thing he told me about you."
Emily said nothing.
Sarah continued.
"By the time I understood who he was, Lucy existed."
Her voice cracked.
"I couldn't undo her."
Emily's expression changed.
"She doesn't need undoing."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
"I know."
"Don't ever say that like her existence is something to apologize for."
Sarah nodded quickly.
Emily opened the door.
Not because she forgave her.
Because she suddenly understood they were discussing a child, not an affair.
Sarah stepped inside.
She saw the fake rabbit on the table.
Her face changed.
"Where did you get that?"
"It was left here."
Sarah walked closer.
"It's the same kind."
"Same kind as what?"
Sarah looked at Emily.
"Ryan gave Lucy her rabbit."
Emily went cold.
"When?"
"Her second birthday."
Sarah touched the fake rabbit carefully.
Then she turned it over.
A small stitched patch covered the bottom seam.
Her face drained of color.
"What?"
Sarah whispered.
"Lucy has the same patch."
Emily stared at her.
May you like
Sarah looked terrified.
"Ryan repaired hers himself."
