Chapter 13 - When the Door Closed Behind Him
Derek did not go quietly.
He accused Skylar of ruining his reputation.
He accused Suzanne of betraying him.
He accused Maya of manipulating a grieving woman.
He blamed everyone except himself.
As Lieutenant Hayes secured the handcuffs, Derek looked at Skylar.
“I gave you everything.”
Skylar stared at the spilled coffee, the stolen bank card, and her mother’s earrings.
“No,” she said. “You took everything and called it love.”
The officers led him out.
His voice echoed from the hallway until the elevator doors closed.
Then the apartment became silent.
Suzanne remained near the staircase.
Detective Cole informed her she was not under arrest yet, but she was required to cooperate with the fraud investigation.
She looked at Skylar.
“I’m sorry.”
Skylar felt no comfort in the apology.
“You’re sorry because he lied to you.”
Suzanne wiped her face.
“I didn’t know he was hurting you.”
“You knew enough.”
Suzanne had no response.
Before leaving, she placed Skylar’s bank card beside the wedding ring.
The door closed behind her.
Skylar stood in the center of the room.
The danger was gone.
But her body still expected Derek to return.
Every elevator sound made her flinch.
Every shadow near the doorway tightened her chest.
Maya walked toward her carefully.
“You don’t have to stay here tonight.”
Skylar looked around.
The apartment was legally hers.
But it no longer felt like home.
She began to cry.
Not because she wanted Derek back.
Because she finally understood how much of herself she had surrendered to keep peace with a man who had never intended to give her peace.
Maya held her while she cried.
Later, they packed only the things Skylar wanted.
Her mother’s photographs.
A blue ceramic bowl.
Three books.
The earrings.
The sealed envelope.
Before leaving, Skylar picked up the wedding ring.
She did not put it back on.
She dropped it into an evidence bag the detective had left for items purchased with disputed funds.
“Are you sure?” Maya asked.
Skylar nodded.
May you like
“It doesn’t belong to the woman I’m becoming.”
👉 Derek was gone, but Skylar’s hardest battle would be proving that years of financial control had not erased her right to begin again.
