Chapter 5 - The Safe and the Plan
I waited until Emma went to a friend's house before searching Mark's closet.
I found the black metal safe hidden under his shoe rack.
I tried our anniversary, Emma's birthday, and his birthday.
Nothing worked.
Then I tried Linda's birthday.
The safe clicked open.
Inside, I found the forged adoption papers, just as Sarah had described.
They looked official but had the birth parents' names left blank.
I also found bank statements showing a secret savings account where Mark had been withdrawing a thousand dollars a month for eight years.
Seventy-two thousand dollars in total, stolen from our family to pay off his mistress.
I found a folder labeled 'Jessica' filled with printed text messages.
They revealed that Mark and Jessica had been seeing each other all these years, and Mark had constantly promised to leave me.
The most recent messages showed Jessica threatening to file for custody because she was tired of waiting.
She had hired a lawyer and was planning to take Emma.
I also found a thumb drive with photos and a video of Mark and Jessica together.
In the video, Mark looked into the camera and said he was leaving me, that he had always loved Jessica, and that he was taking Emma with him.
My heart shattered, but I didn't cry.
I felt a cold, calculating anger.
I called Sarah and told her everything.
She gave me the number for David Chen, the best family law attorney in Dallas.
David told me I needed to play along, pretend I was considering reconciliation with Mark, and buy us time to file an emergency custody motion and a restraining order against Linda.
I had to pack my bags and take Emma to a safe place.
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I locked the evidence in my trunk, put the safe back, and practiced my best confused, hurt wife expression in the mirror.
When Mark walked through the door with a bouquet of roses, I was ready.
