Chapter 3 - Sign and Disappear
“What are they?” Skylar asked.
Derek leaned against the kitchen island.
“A refinancing agreement.”
“For an apartment you told me we didn’t own?”
Suzanne gave a quiet laugh.
“She really doesn’t know anything.”
Skylar looked at her.
Suzanne was Derek’s private wealth consultant. She had attended their anniversary dinners, advised them on investments, and once hugged Skylar after her mother’s funeral.
Now she stood in Skylar’s kitchen wearing earrings Skylar recognized.
They had belonged to her mother.
Skylar’s breath caught.
“Where did you get those?”
Suzanne touched one diamond.
“Derek gave them to me.”
The room tilted.
Skylar turned toward her husband.
“You took them from my mother’s jewelry box?”
“They were sitting there,” he replied. “You never wore them.”
“They weren’t yours.”
Derek’s expression hardened.
“Nothing in this marriage belongs to only one person.”
“Then why are you asking me to sign?”
Suzanne’s smile disappeared.
Derek pushed the folder closer.
“Because the bank requires it.”
Skylar opened the first page.
The language was dense, but one line stood out.
TRANSFER OF FULL OWNERSHIP INTEREST.
Her heart began pounding.
“This isn’t refinancing.”
Derek reached for the page, but Skylar pulled it back.
“You’re transferring the apartment to a company.”
“Our company,” he corrected.
Skylar recognized the name.
Sable Coast Holdings.
She had seen it on a credit card statement beside a $48,000 transfer.
“Who owns Sable Coast?”
Neither answered.
Skylar looked at Suzanne.
The answer was written across her face.
“You do.”
Suzanne folded her arms.
“I manage it.”
“You own it.”
Derek slammed his palm against the counter.
“Sign the papers.”
Skylar flinched, then hated herself for giving him the satisfaction.
“No.”
The word was soft.
But it changed the air in the room.
Derek stepped closer.
“I’ve carried you for years.”
“This apartment came from my mother.”
“That doesn’t mean you earned it.”
Skylar closed the folder.
“No.”
Derek’s jaw tightened.
Suzanne moved beside him and whispered, “She’s doing this to punish us.”
Skylar looked at the earrings again.
“No,” she said. “I’m finally protecting myself.”
May you like
That was when Derek reached for the coffee mug.
👉 Skylar expected another threat—but Derek was about to leave a mark that no amount of money could explain away.
