Chapter 4 - The Coffee on the Floor
The mug struck the wall beside Skylar’s head.
It shattered the silence, though the ceramic itself did not break.
Coffee exploded across her shoulder and the floor.
Skylar stumbled backward.
Derek grabbed her wrist before she could reach the door.
“You ungrateful little—”
“Let go of me.”
Suzanne watched from the kitchen island.
She did not intervene.
Instead, she picked up Skylar’s bank card from beside the fruit bowl.
“Is this the card tied to the household account?”
Skylar stared at her.
“Put that down.”
Suzanne examined it.
“You won’t need it after today.”
Derek tightened his grip.
Pain shot through Skylar’s arm.
“You are going to sign,” he said. “Then you’re going to pack a bag and leave quietly.”
Skylar looked at the spare phone on the counter.
The screen was still illuminated.
The messages were visible.
She shifted her body toward it.
Derek noticed.
He shoved her away from the counter.
Skylar struck the edge of a cabinet. Her cheek hit the handle, and the corner of her lip split against her teeth.
For a second, no one moved.
A thin line of blood appeared.
Suzanne’s face changed—not with sympathy, but with alarm.
“Derek, don’t leave marks.”
Skylar heard the words clearly.
So did the spare phone.
Its voice-recording app was running.
Skylar had activated it before confronting them.
Derek had not seen her thumb touch the screen.
Skylar pressed one hand to her cheek.
Derek released her wrist and lowered his voice.
“Look what you made happen.”
That sentence hurt more than the impact.
Because he had said it before.
Not after violence.
After insults. After missing money. After every night he had left her crying and returned with flowers.
Skylar looked at the open doorway.
Her purse was on the entry table.
Her wedding ring suddenly felt unbearably heavy.
She slipped it off.
Derek scoffed.
“Don’t be dramatic.”
Skylar placed the ring on the table.
Then she ran.
Behind her, Suzanne shouted that she was stealing Derek’s phone.
Skylar did not stop.
May you like
She carried the recording with her into the elevator.
👉 Derek believed Skylar had fled with nothing—but she had taken the one device that captured every word they wanted erased.
