Chapter 2: The Name That Wasn't Nicole
The last line listed a beneficiary update.
My name had been removed.
The baby was listed in my place.
I couldn't speak.
I just stood there holding the packet while Daniel reached for it again.
"Laura.
Give it back."
"You took me off your insurance."
Nicole went quiet.
Even she hadn't expected that.
"When?" I asked.
"When did you do this?"
Daniel said nothing.
"Daniel.
When did you remove me?"
"Three months ago," he finally said.
"I was going to tell you."
Three months.
I had been to the doctor twice in those three months.
I had paid out of pocket and assumed it was a billing error.
Nicole looked at him slowly.
"You told me she already knew about the baby."
"She does now."
"That's not what I meant." Her voice had changed.
"You told me everything was settled.
You told me the house was handled.
You told me—"
"Nicole—"
"What else did you lie to me about?"
The nurse stepped back toward the door.
I set the packet on the bed between them.
My hands had stopped shaking.
"I'm not moving out," I said.
"My name is on that mortgage.
And I'll be calling our insurance provider in the morning."
Daniel's expression shifted.
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
Then his phone lit up on the bedside table.
The name on the screen wasn't Nicole.
---
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What Laura found out next made everything worse than she imagined.
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