PART 2
That night, Lily and I stayed at the home of one of my mother’s longtime friends.
Derek didn’t know the address.
Ethan stayed nearby.
The attorney my mother contacted, Rachel Bennett, told me to save everything.
Screenshots.
Voice messages.
Call logs.
Photographs.
Every single communication.
The following morning, we contacted the appropriate authorities and returned to my house with assistance.
Derek opened the door looking unbelievably calm.
“You seriously brought police here because we had an argument?”
I didn’t answer.
The folder was still in the kitchen.
Inside it, we found a draft limited power of attorney, copies of identification documents, several addresses for title and notary services, and a business card belonging to a supposed real-estate consultant named Monica Hayes.
Then Rachel examined the proposed purchase agreement.
Her expression changed.
“Claire, do you know what your house is worth?”
“Approximately.”
“This offer is almost thirty percent below market value.”
Derek immediately interrupted.
“It was supposed to be a surprise. Claire has talked about moving.”
I stared at him.
“Talking about moving doesn’t give you permission to sell my house.”
He rolled his eyes.
“You’re twisting everything.”
But there was too much evidence for me to ignore.
Photographs of my property.
Copies of my documents.
Information about my mortgage.
Potential closing paperwork.
And a buyer I’d never met.
Derek was required to leave.
I changed the locks that afternoon.
For a few hours, I actually believed the worst was over.
I was wrong.
The next day, a one-dollar transfer appeared in my bank account.
The memo read:
DON’T GET SMART. PAPERWORK CAN BE REPLACED.
Then Derek showed up at my workplace carrying flowers.
In front of my coworkers, he smiled like a heartbroken boyfriend trying to repair a misunderstanding.
“Your ex-husband is manipulating you.”
I stepped away from him.
“You need to leave.”
“I was trying to get you a better house.”
“Security.”
His smile disappeared.
As the guard approached, Derek leaned closer.
“Be careful about dragging Lily into this.”
I already had my phone recording.
That sentence was saved too.
Then Rachel called me with something that changed the entire situation.
She’d found another woman.
Her name was Amanda Pierce.
The moment Amanda saw Derek’s photograph, she went silent.
“With me, his name was Jason.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“He appeared when I was going through my divorce. He was charming. Helpful. He fixed things around the house. He made himself indispensable.”
My skin prickled.
“Then what happened?”
“He started talking about us buying a new home together.”
Amanda swallowed.
“And then a real-estate consultant appeared.”
“What was her name?”
“Monica.”
The same woman.
Then Amanda told us the buyer’s name.
Robert Keller.
I felt sick.
It was the same buyer listed on my contract.
This wasn’t a relationship that had gone bad.
It was a system.
According to the information Rachel began uncovering, Derek appeared to seek out women who were divorced, overwhelmed or rebuilding their lives.
He earned their trust.
He gained access to their homes.
Then came questions about mortgages, deeds and finances.
Eventually, paperwork appeared.
And somehow, property was pushed toward buyers at suspiciously low prices.
I thought about Derek making breakfast for Lily.
Taking us to the zoo.
Installing shelves in her bedroom.
Holding my hand while telling me I deserved to feel safe again.
Now every memory felt contaminated.
But the call that truly terrified me came from Lily’s elementary school.
“Ms. Parker?”
It was the principal.
“Yes?”
“A woman came here with a note supposedly signed by you.”
I stood up.
“What woman?”
“She said you’d been hospitalized and authorized her to pick up Lily.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
“Where is my daughter?”
“She’s safe. She’s here with us.”
My knees almost gave out.
“We did not release her.”
Security footage showed an unfamiliar woman entering the school and then leaving quickly after staff refused to hand Lily over.
The signature on the note looked almost exactly like mine.
That evening, Lily sat between Ethan and me at my mother’s dining table.
“Is that woman going to come back?”
“We won’t let her take you,” Ethan said.
Lily looked between us.
“Are you both going to be here tomorrow?”
Ethan glanced at me.
“As your parents?”
He took Lily’s hand.
“Yes.”
She grabbed my hand too and pressed ours together on the table.
“Then we’re Team Lily.”
Neither of us corrected her.
The following morning, Derek contacted me.
He wanted to meet at an office and “settle everything like adults.”
Authorities had already been informed.
I agreed to go with legal guidance and appropriate precautions.
Derek thought I was finally ready to negotiate.
What he didn’t know was that the meeting wasn’t the only thing being watched.
But while I was entering that office…
the same woman who had tried to pick Lily up from school appeared near my mother’s house.
And this time, she knew exactly where my daughter was.
What happened next finally revealed why Derek’s plan depended on getting Lily out of the way.
