The Folder That Explained Everything
There were more files. Screenshots of messages. Audio recordings. Photographs Callie had quietly taken.
One folder contained a conversation between Derek and two neighbors. He had promised them gift cards and help with several household expenses if they would say they frequently heard me shouting.
Another recording captured Derek laughing about leaving almost nothing in our joint checking account.
Then came the file that made me finally understand why he had been so desperate to win custody.
In an audio message, Derek told Sienna:
“Once Natalie looks incapable, I can push for control of Callie’s finances and convince the court she can’t manage the property either. That house is worth enough for us to start over somewhere else.”
Sienna responded: “And she’ll agree?”
Derek laughed. “By then she won’t trust herself enough to fight me.”
I closed my eyes. That sentence hurt more than everything else. Because it was almost true. I had been losing the ability to fight.
