Chapter 3 - The House in Nebraska
The next morning, I went to work as if nothing had happened.
I wore a gray suit, attended a project review meeting, approved a production schedule, and smiled at clients over video calls. My team saw the same Chloe they had always known: organized, direct, impossible to rattle.
Inside, I felt like glass under pressure.
At 10:15, Maya called.
“I have news,” she said.
I closed my office door. “Tell me.”
“The authorization is real in the sense that your father signed it in front of a licensed notary. But the loan application attached to it is not.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kyle submitted documents claiming Norman agreed to secure a private bridge loan for three million dollars. The lender is Canyon Ridge Capital.”
My stomach turned.
“Trent’s fake company.”
“Not exactly fake,” Maya said. “It exists. But it has connections to several high-risk lenders. The money appears to be tied to a larger investment scheme.”
“Can we stop it?”
“Possibly. I filed an emergency notice with the county recorder. But there’s a complication.”
“What?”
“The closing is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.”
I gripped the edge of my desk.
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes. Kyle was moving quickly.”
Of course he was.
He expected me to be gone for another month.
He expected my father to remain terrified and silent.
He expected Susan and Heather to keep me distracted.
He had planned every detail.
“Maya,” I said, “I need someone in Nebraska today.”
“I already called a local attorney. Her name is Dana Ruiz. She’s meeting your father at noon.”
“Will Dad be okay?”
“He’s scared,” Maya admitted. “But he’s cooperating.”
I closed my eyes.
“I should be there.”
“No,” Maya said firmly. “Not yet. You need to stay close to Kyle. He may reveal something if he believes the plan is still on track.”
The thought made me sick.
But she was right.
That evening, I came home carrying takeout from Kyle’s favorite Italian restaurant.
He looked surprised.
“Wow,” he said. “What’s the occasion?”
“I missed you.”
Susan watched me from the couch, suspicious.
Heather looked up from her phone.
Kyle smiled and kissed me.
I held him tightly, pretending I did not feel the lie in every breath he took.
Over dinner, I asked him about the future.
“What would you do if you didn’t have to work at the plant anymore?”
Kyle looked at me sharply.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, once the Salt Lake contract is fully paid out, I might be able to scale back. Maybe invest more. Maybe we could make changes.”
His eyes brightened.
“What kind of changes?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you could help me manage some things.”
Susan nearly dropped her fork.
Heather smiled.
And Kyle, thinking I was finally becoming the obedient wife they wanted, leaned forward.
“I’ve actually been thinking about that,” he said. “Your business travels take too much out of you. You shouldn’t be carrying everything alone.”
“You think I should let you take over some of my accounts?”
“I think married people should share.”
I smiled.
“That makes sense.”
Later, after everyone went to bed, I found Kyle in the garage making a call.
I stood outside the partially open door and listened.
“Tomorrow,” he said. “No, she doesn’t know. She thinks I’m helping Norman. The funds will clear, and then we’ll move it fast.”
A man’s voice answered faintly through the speaker.
Kyle lowered his voice.
“I said she doesn’t know anything. Stop panicking.”
There was a pause.
Then Kyle said something that made my blood freeze.
“If Chloe gets suspicious, we’ll make her look unstable. She works too much. She’s been under stress. It won’t be hard.”
I quietly lifted my phone and began recording.
Kyle continued.
“Once her father’s land is tied up, she’ll do what we tell her. She’ll protect him. That’s the whole point.”
I stepped away before he could see me.
My hands shook so badly I nearly dropped the phone.
They were not only stealing from my father.
They were preparing to destroy me if I resisted.
But now I had Kyle’s voice.
May you like
And tomorrow, at the closing in Nebraska, I intended to make sure his plan collapsed in front of everyone who had helped build it.
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