Chapter 5 - The Furniture Tags
Clara had accessed the insurer’s customer portal only because Ethan used the same predictable password for everything.
His birthday.
She knew entering the account could create legal questions, so she did not download private records.
She photographed only what appeared on the shared computer after the page opened automatically.
One image showed her dining table.
Another showed the antique dresser her mother had given her.
Small white inventory tags had been attached to both.
Officer Daniels stared at the photographs.
“These were taken inside your house?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The metadata says last month.”
“Were you home?”
“No. I was visiting my sister in Cincinnati.”
Officer Reed examined the image of the dresser.
A woman’s reflection appeared faintly in the mirror.
Long blonde hair.
A white phone held near her face.
Rebecca.
Clara had not noticed it at first.
The officers did.
Reed pointed.
“That could be the woman in the wedding photo.”
“It is.”
Daniels asked whether anything was missing.
Clara’s eyes hardened.
“A jewelry box. Two framed paintings. My grandmother’s silver set.”
“Did Ethan say where they went?”
“He said he moved them during a plumbing repair.”
There had been no repair.
Clara checked the attic after seeing the wedding picture.
The items were gone.
She had not yet filed a theft report because she was still documenting what belonged to her.
Daniels reopened his notepad.
This time, he began writing rapidly.
“What exactly did Ethan say in his complaint?”
Clara asked.
Daniels hesitated.
“He claimed you became unstable after he requested a separation, changed the locks, and threatened to destroy property belonging to both of you.”
Clara almost smiled.
“He didn’t request a separation.”
She held up the Las Vegas photograph.
May you like
“He replaced me and expected me to surrender.”
👉 Then Officer Reed noticed something in the wedding picture that suggested Ethan’s new marriage might not even be legal.
