Chapter 7 - The Banned Sister
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Rebecca reached back into the folder and pulled out a printed sheet of paper containing an email thread.
“Look at the date on this,” she instructed.
The date was June 14th, six years ago—the week after my second miscarriage.
The email was sent from my old personal address to Rebecca’s inbox. It read:
Dear Rebecca,
I am writing to formally request that you stop trying to contact me or my husband. You are causing unnecessary stress during a difficult time. I do not wish to have a relationship with you moving forward. Please respect my privacy.
I stared at the printed page, my brain struggling to process the text.
“I never wrote this,” I said, looking up at her. “I swear to you, Becca, I never sent this!”
“I know you didn't,” Rebecca smiled faintly, placing her hand over mine.
“How did you know?”
“Look at how it starts,” Rebecca pointed to the first line. “'Dear Rebecca.' You haven't called me 'Rebecca' since we were seven years old. You’ve called me 'Becca' my entire life. The only person who ever called me Rebecca with that formal, condescending tone was Luke.”
I closed my eyes as a flood of realization washed over me. “He took my laptop while I was sleeping after the hospital stay. He said he was updating the software.”
“He used your email to cut off your last family member,” Rebecca said. “And then, the very next day, he claimed your laptop broke beyond repair and threw it away.”
“He didn't throw it away,” I suddenly remembered, my eyes snapping open. “I remember seeing him take a box down to the basement workbench later that month!”
Rebecca’s eyes sharpened instantly. “Are you sure?”
“Yes! He had a locked metal storage cabinet in the back corner of the garage. He kept the only key on his brass keyring!”
May you like
Rebecca immediately stood up from her chair and walked toward the door where Elaine, the patient advocate, was standing with a notepad.
“Elaine,” Rebecca said clearly. “We need to issue an emergency property retrieval order with the police. Luke has evidence stored in a safe inside his garage—evidence of identity theft and digital forgery.”
