Chapter 5 - Harbor House
Harbor House stood behind a church, hidden by tall maple trees.
The director, Angela Morris, met them at the side entrance.
“No names in the lobby,” she said gently. “No location sharing. No unapproved visitors.”
Rebecca nodded.
Inside their small room were two beds, a lamp, and a quilt folded over a chair.
To the children, it looked like safety.
To Rebecca, it looked like proof that her life had collapsed.
Grace fell asleep almost immediately.
Ethan curled beside her.
Lily remained awake.
“Grandpa saw us,” she said. “Why didn’t he help?”
Rebecca sat beside her.
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
Rebecca looked down.
Her father had always believed marriage was permanent and family problems stayed private.
When Rebecca once hinted that Marcus controlled the money, her father had said, “A good wife knows how to keep peace.”
Lily’s voice trembled.
“I hate them.”
“Don’t carry that for me.”
“They left us outside.”
Rebecca had no answer.
After the children slept, Angela brought her an old laptop.
Rebecca inserted the flash drive.
It required a password.
She tried Marcus’s birthday.
Denied.
Their wedding date.
Denied.
Then she remembered the number he repeated during phone calls.
0417M.
The drive opened.
Hundreds of folders appeared.
Bank transfers.
Shell companies.
Property records.
And one file labeled REBECCA HART ESTATE.
Hart was her mother’s maiden name.
Rebecca clicked it.
The first page contained her own signature.
May you like
A signature she had never written.
👉 Marcus had not only planned to abandon Rebecca—he had been stealing from her for years.
