Chapter 2: The Name on the Screen
Part 2 ⬇️
Ashley didn't move.
She just stood there, staring at my phone in my hand, her eyes going from the screen to my face and back again.
Then she did something I didn't expect.
She smiled.
"You think that recording means anything?"
"Michael." Her voice dropped low.
"Delete it.
Right now.
Before this gets ugly."
I didn't answer.
I walked past her, picked Emma up, and held her against my chest.
Emma was shaking so hard I could feel it in my own ribs.
"It's okay," I told her.
"I heard everything.
I'm not sending you anywhere."
Ashley stepped forward.
"You don't understand what you just walked into."
She reached for the manila folder on the table.
"That document is already filed.
My cousin works at the county office." She tapped the signature — my forged name.
"You think a recording beats a paper trail?"
I looked at her.
"Then you should have made sure I was actually at work."
She opened her mouth.
Then her phone lit up on the counter.
She glanced at it.
And every bit of confidence she had left her face in an instant.
Because the name on that screen was someone I recognized.
Someone who had no reason to be calling Ashley.
Someone from Sarah's family.
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What Michael found out about that phone call changed everything he thought he knew.
Click the link below to read the full story — the truth is worse than anyone expected.
