Chapter 6 - The Policy
The policy was for $2 million.
Lucy was the insured.
My mother was the beneficiary.
I felt like the room had tilted.
"How?"
The investigator explained that the policy had been opened using forged documents.
Medical records.
Employment information.
Even a fake signature.
The policy had been issued two months before Ava was born.
I couldn't breathe.
My mother had not only tried to take my daughter.
She had financially positioned herself to benefit if something happened to Lucy.
Lucy sat beside me.
She looked terrified.
I told her everything.
She covered her mouth.
"She wanted me dead?"
"We don't know that."
"But the policy..."
"It proves intent to profit."
My attorney arrived.
"We need a protective order."
"Do it."
He looked at Lucy.
"Until this is resolved, you should not be alone."
Lucy nodded.
The police searched my mother's home.
They found files.
Photos.
Copies of Lucy's medical records.
Baby photographs.
And a folder labeled:
Operation Reset.
Inside were detailed notes.
Separate Daniel from Lucy.
Establish Lucy as unstable.
Gain custody of Ava.
Secure house.
Collect insurance.
Move Irene into residence.
I stared at the last line.
My mother wanted Irene to live in our house.
That was why they had taken our money.
Why they'd gone to Florida.
Why they had started treating Lucy as temporary.
They weren't helping us.
They were replacing us.
Then the investigators found a second folder.
This one was labeled:
Daniel.
Inside were psychological assessments.
Photos.
Work schedules.
Travel records.
My mother had been monitoring me for years.
Then I saw one sentence.
Daniel is loyal to family but vulnerable to guilt.
I laughed bitterly.
She was right.
I had been vulnerable.
Until now.
That evening, my mother called.
I answered.
"What do you want?"
"You've misunderstood everything."
"No."
"You don't know what Lucy is capable of."
"Stop."
"She is manipulating you."
"You forged her signature."
Silence.
"You stole our money."
Silence.
"You tried to take my daughter."
"Daniel—"
"You bought life insurance on my wife."
She began crying.
"I was protecting the family."
"Which family?"
"Our family."
I looked at Lucy.
"You're not my family anymore."
She gasped.
"You can't mean that."
"I do."
Then she said:
"Your father agrees with me."
I froze.
"My father?"
"He knows everything."
The call ended.
I immediately called Dad.
He didn't answer.
I drove to his house.
He opened the door.
He looked exhausted.
"I should have told you."
"Yes."
He nodded.
"I knew about the money."
"How much?"
"Most of it."
"Did you know about the insurance?"
He looked away.
"Yes."
I felt betrayed.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Your mother threatened me."
"With what?"
"She had evidence of my business fraud."
I stared.
My father had been blackmailed too.
Then he whispered:
"There's something else."
May you like
"What?"
"She has been planning this for almost five years."
