Chapter 10 - The Kill Switch
An hour later, Derek finished his lavish lunch at the Oakwood Country Club. I knew this because Elias had a private investigator sitting three tables away, streaming real-time updates directly to Naomi’s tablet.
We watched the text updates roll in.
Target is leaving the dining room. Target is approaching the vehicle. Target is attempting to unlock the SUV.
At exactly 1:15 p.m., my phone rang again. This time, Derek wasn't calling to assert dominance. He was calling in a blind rage.
"What did you do?!" he screamed the second I answered the call.
"I'm not sure what you mean, Derek," I replied, my voice returning to its normal, icy cadence.
"The car is completely dead! The doors won't unlock, the app says I don't have authorization, and the dealership told me the vehicle has been flagged! You sabotaged my car!"
"My car, Derek," I corrected him smoothly. "I paid for it. The title is in my name. The insurance is in my name. You were merely an authorized driver. And as of midnight last night, I revoked that authorization."
There was a scuffle on the other end of the line, and suddenly, Vivian’s shrill, venomous voice pierced my ear.
"Listen to me, you ungrateful little brat!" my mother-in-law hissed. "A good wife does not humiliate her husband over petty paperwork! Turn the car back on immediately, or you will regret it!"
"A decent mother does not defend a man who leaves an eight-month pregnant woman barefoot on a freezing highway," I replied, my voice dropping an octave.
"You are nothing without my son!" Vivian shrieked. "You need us! You have nowhere else to go! When you come crawling back to his house, I will make sure he locks you in the guest room!"
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I almost smiled. Vivian, despite her country club pedigree, was fundamentally stupid. She still believed the house belonged to Derek because he had picked out the granite for the kitchen renovation and loudly bragged to his friends about the mortgage rate.
"We'll see about that, Vivian," I said, and ended the call.
