Chapter 4 - The First WarningSomeone knew Derek was planning something
Skylar couldn't stop thinking about the insurance policy.
The burn on her face hurt.
But the thought that Derek had put a price on her life hurt more.
Mara immediately contacted the insurance company.
By noon, they had a preliminary confirmation.
The policy existed.
Skylar was the insured party.
Derek was the beneficiary.
But there was something strange.
The policy had been modified twice.
The first amendment increased the payout.
The second changed the policy from a standard term policy to a product with additional accidental-death coverage.
Skylar stared at the document.
“Why would anyone do that?”
Mara's eyes remained on the page.
“There are innocent reasons.”
“But?”
“But combined with everything else, it's concerning.”
Skylar looked out the hotel window.
Traffic moved through Miami beneath her.
People were going to work.
Buying coffee.
Arguing over parking.
Living ordinary lives.
She wondered how many people knew they could be in danger inside their own marriage.
That afternoon, Detective Alvarez came to meet them.
He reviewed the medical photographs and police report.
Then Mara handed him the financial documents.
His expression hardened.
“This isn't just domestic violence.”
“No,” Mara said.
“It may be fraud.”
Skylar swallowed.
“What happens now?”
“We investigate.”
“Will he be arrested?”
“Not yet.”
She nodded.
The answer disappointed her more than she expected.
Alvarez continued.
“We need evidence connecting the financial activity directly to him.”
“I have the apartment cameras.”
“Excellent.”
Skylar gave him access.
They reviewed months of recordings.
Most were ordinary.
Derek coming home.
Suzanne visiting.
Arguments.
Nothing dramatic.
Then Alvarez stopped.
“Back up.”
Skylar stared at the screen.
Date:
Three months earlier.
Time:
2:17 a.m.
Derek entered the apartment alone.
He went to the utility closet.
He opened it.
Then he removed a small black case.
Skylar leaned forward.
“What is that?”
They watched.
Derek opened the case.
Inside was something silver.
A device.
Mara froze the footage.
“Can you zoom?”
The image sharpened.
The object appeared to be a small electronic component.
Alvarez frowned.
“Could be nothing.”
They continued watching.
Derek put the device back.
Then he made a phone call.
There was no audio.
But his lips were visible.
Skylar couldn't read them.
Alvarez could.
He watched the sequence three times.
Then he wrote something down.
“What did he say?”
Alvarez hesitated.
“I think he said, ‘The lockout won't matter once she signs.’”
Skylar's stomach dropped.
“Signs what?”
“We don't know.”
The footage continued.
Derek walked toward the bedroom.
Then stopped.
He turned toward the camera.
For one terrifying second, he stared directly into the lens.
Skylar froze.
“He knew.”
Mara looked at her.
“Knew what?”
“That the camera was there.”
The room went silent.
Skylar suddenly remembered.
Eighteen months earlier, she had shown Derek where the cameras were installed.
He had laughed.
She had forgotten that.
But he hadn't.
The detective replayed the footage.
Derek didn't look surprised.
He looked deliberate.
Then he said something else on the phone.
Alvarez zoomed closer.
This time, he could read it.
“She'll sign eventually.”
Skylar felt her chest tighten.
“What was he planning?”
Alvarez didn't answer.
Instead, he asked:
“Do you still have your old car?”
“Yes.”
“Don't drive it.”
Skylar stared at him.
“Why?”
He pointed to the insurance policy.
Then to the repair bill.
Then to the camera footage.
“We're going to take that car apart.”
The following morning, Skylar's car was transported to a forensic garage.
Technicians examined the brakes.
The wiring.
The steering.
The engine.
At 3:18 p.m., one technician walked into the office carrying a plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a tiny piece of metal.
“What is that?”
He answered:
“We found it near the brake assembly.”
The detective looked at it.
“What is it?”
The technician swallowed.
“Not a factory part.”
Skylar's hands began to shake.
“Then what is it?”
The technician looked at her.
“It's the kind of component someone might use to interfere with a vehicle sensor.”
Mara's face went white.
Alvarez immediately ordered the garage locked down.
Skylar couldn't speak.
Her husband hadn't merely wanted access to her money.
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Someone had been tampering with her car.
And suddenly the life insurance policy didn't look like a coincidence anymore.
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