I kissed Jane’s forehead. “I have to go do something important. I’ll be back soon.”
I left the hospital quietly.
—
When I got to the house, everything was quiet. No one was home. I went straight to my bedroom and pulled out bags. I packed clothes, important documents, jewelry, everything that was mine.
Then I gathered the marriage pictures. The frames. The wedding gifts. The things Jason had ever given me over the years. I carried them outside to the fire pit and lit a match.
The flames licked the air. It felt good finally getting rid of all the lies.
When it was done, I went to Jason’s study. I pressed in Chloe’s birthday. The safe clicked open.
Stacks of documents filled the space. I searched quickly. My fingers shook as I pulled out the two files I had been hunting.
As I slid them into my bag, another file caught my eye. My mother’s name was on it.
My heart skipped. I pulled it out. It was a consent form. A hospital document stating she had agreed to participate in an unauthorized medical drug testing.
But the signature wasn’t hers. Jason had signed it.