Chapter 4: The Photograph Outside the Courthouse
I stared at the picture until my eyes started burning.
Mark stood outside a courthouse entrance.
Megan stood beside him.
They weren’t arguing.
They weren’t accidentally caught in the same frame.
They were standing together.
Like they belonged there.
Zoe zoomed in on the image.
“Look at the date.””
I leaned closer.
Three weeks earlier.
My fingers went cold.
Three weeks earlier, Mark had told me he was working late every night because a major client needed him.
Three weeks earlier, he had kissed my forehead before leaving the house and said, “I’m doing this for our future.””
I had believed him.
I had packed his lunches.
I had stayed awake waiting for him.
I had defended him when friends asked why he was always gone.
And all that time, he was standing outside a courthouse with Megan.
“What is this?”” I whispered.
Zoe shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“Who sent it?””
The unknown number had no name.
Only the photo.
Then another message appeared.
My stomach dropped.
*Ask him about the Peterson file.*
I looked at Zoe.
“What does that mean?””
She stared at the screen.
“I have no idea.””
But I could tell she was lying.
“Zoe.””
She looked away.
“Last year, Mark asked me about something.””
“What?””
“He wanted to know if I still had access to old family records.””
I frowned.
“Why would he ask you that?””
“He said it was for insurance paperwork.””
I laughed without humor.
“Of course he did.””
I stood up and walked toward the window.
Outside, Chicago was covered in darkness.
Cars moved through the streets below.
People were going home.
People were sitting at dinner tables.
People were probably laughing with the people they loved.
I wondered how many of them were living beside someone they didn’t truly know.
“Chloe,” Zoe said softly.
I didn’t turn around.
“What?””
“You need to be careful.””
I closed my eyes.
“I spent ten years being careful.””
“What do you mean?””
“I chose my words carefully. I avoided fights. I apologized first. I tried to keep everyone happy.””
My voice cracked.
“And where did that get me?””
Zoe didn’t answer.
Because she knew.
It got me sitting on her couch at midnight while my husband prepared to fight me for custody of my daughter.
My phone rang again.
Mark.
This time, I answered.
“What?””
His voice was immediately defensive.
“Where are you?””
“You don’t get to ask me that.””
“Chloe.””
“No. You lost that right when you let your sister hurt Lily.””
A pause.
Then his voice softened.
“I’m worried about you.””
I almost laughed.
“You’re worried about me?””
“Yes.””
“Are you worried about Lily?””
“I already told you—”
“No.””
I interrupted him.
“You told me you think she would be better somewhere else.””
His silence was instant.
That was my answer.
“You really said that.””
“Chloe, you’re emotional right now.””
“There it is again.””
“What?””
“You always say that when I see something you don’t want me to see.””
Mark sighed.
“I’m trying to have a reasonable conversation.””
“Then answer one question.””
“What?””
“Why were you at the courthouse with Megan?””
Silence.
The kind of silence that screamed.
I held the phone tighter.
“Mark?””
“Who showed you that?””
My heart sank.
Not “What picture?””
Not “That’s not what it looks like.””
Just:
Who showed you?
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.””
“Chloe, you don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
“It’s complicated.””
“Make it simple.””
Another pause.
Then he said:
“Megan needed help.””
“With what?””
“Family matters.””
I looked at Zoe.
She was watching me carefully.
“Family matters?”” I repeated.
“Yes.””
“Does that include taking my daughter away?””
“Don’t do this.””
“Answer me.””
His voice changed.
The warmth disappeared.
“You’re making dangerous decisions right now.””
I felt a strange calm come over me.
“Dangerous?””
“Yes.””
“Because I left after my child was hit?””
“Because you attacked my sister.””
I closed my eyes.
There it was again.
The same argument.
The same distraction.
He wanted me defending my reaction instead of questioning his.
“Mark.””
“What?””
“If you come here tonight, are you coming to apologize?””
Silence.
“Are you coming to check on Lily?””
Nothing.
“Or are you coming because you’re afraid of what I know?””
The call stayed quiet.
Then he said:
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.””
The line went dead.
I lowered the phone.
Zoe looked terrified.
“What did he say?””
I looked back at the photo.
At Mark.
At Megan.
At the courthouse behind them.
“He’s scared.””
“Of what?””
I picked up the phone again.
“I don’t know yet.””
A notification appeared.
A new message.
From the same unknown number.
This time, it wasn’t a photo.
It was a scanned document.
The title at the top made my entire body freeze.
*Emergency Guardianship Petition.*
May you like
And the name listed under “Petitioner” was:
*Megan Carter.*
