Chapter 1
My new boyfriend slapped me in the Walmart parking lot in Dallas because I said I wouldn't move in with him.
My head snapped to the side, and I could taste blood in my mouth.
Ethan stood there, chest heaving, like he'd just won an argument.
"I told you this is for your own good," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "You and Lily need a real home."
I didn't say anything.
I just reached out and pushed him as hard as I could.
He stumbled backward and landed hard on the hood of my car.
The metal dented under his weight.
Before he could recover, I turned and opened the back door.
"Lily, baby, come here," I said, my voice steady despite the shaking in my hands.
My eight-year-old daughter climbed out, her eyes wide with fear.
She'd seen everything.
Ethan pushed himself off the car and started walking toward us.
"You're making a mistake, Hannah," he said, trying to sound calm. "Think about Lily's future."
That's when I noticed it.
The folder sticking out of his jacket pocket.
I'd seen that folder before.
It was the insurance paperwork from my late husband's policy.
The one with the seven-figure payout.
The one I'd shown him exactly once, when I was explaining why I didn't need his money.
"How did you get that?" I asked, my voice cold.
Ethan froze.
His hand instinctively went to the pocket, trying to hide it.
"It's just paperwork," he said, too quickly. "I was going to help you organize it."
I stepped closer, Lily clinging to my leg.
"You wanted me to move in so you could get access to my accounts, didn't you?" I said.
He didn't answer.
But his eyes did.
And then I remembered something else.
The way he'd asked about the policy details.
The way he'd suggested adding him as a beneficiary "just in case."
The way he'd pushed so hard for me to move in this week.
Not because he loved us.
Because the first insurance payment was scheduled to hit my account on Friday.
And then I saw the application form peeking out of the folder.
May you like
It was already partially filled out.
With his name on it.
