A real estate agent called to say our house had sold. He wanted to know when we could transfer the deed. I didn't follow. We still lived there. When had we put it on the market? I called Leo. He laughed and said the agent must have dialed the wrong number. I hung up. For the first time in years, I filed for leave from the base. Then I called my father — Director Raymond Mercer of the Public Security Bureau. "Dad. Leo's cheating. Get me a lawyer and start the divorce papers. As fast as possible." --- "Excuse me — the police residential compound. Step on it. I need to catch someone in the act." The driver didn't need to be told twice. He floored it. A one-hour drive. Thirty minutes door to door. I showed my ID at the gate and walked in. But at my own front door, the keypad wouldn't take my code. My stomach dropped. Leo had changed the locks. I was still running through combinations when the neighbor came home and spotted me. "Who are you? What are you doing in front of Chief Graves' house? How did you even get past the gate? Tell me right now or I'm calling someone." I'd been away too long. None of the neighbors knew my face. "I'm Chief Graves' wife," I said, keeping my voice steady. "I work out of town. I got a few days off and came back to see our daughter." The neighbor's eyes narrowed. She looked me up and down twice. "His wife? I know his wife. I've seen her plenty of times — she's a doctor at the city hospital. Drops their daughter Miya off at school every morning, picks her up every afternoon. So who exactly are you supposed to be?" She shook her head. "You look like a decent person. Don't tell me you're actually the other woman. Have some self-respect." My hands closed into fists at my sides. Leo. I'm not even cold in the ground and you're already replacing her mother. I was about to identify myself when the neighbor's face lit up behind me. "Oh! Dr. Durant — leaving work early today?" I turned around. A woman stood behind me. Fine-featured. Composed. My eyes went to her wrist first — my mother's Patek Philippe. Then to the suit she was wearing — the one I'd had custom-made for our wedding. She looked up. Her face went pale the moment she saw mine. I raised an eyebrow. Felicity Durant. I recognized her from high school. She'd been notorious back then — smoking behind the bleachers, scraping the bottom of every class ranking, never made it past community college. And now she was a doctor at the city's top hospital? She saw me at the door and the blood left her face all at once. Her mouth opened. Closed. Then: "Scarlett." The word came out like she'd stepped on something sharp. "You're — why are you back?" I didn't answer right away. I let the silence sit there. Then I crossed my arms. "Problem with that?" My voice came out flat. "It's my house. Better question — what are you doing at my door?" Her eyes cut sideways to the neighbor, still hovering and watching. She stepped toward me. Her hand went for my arm. "Not here." Her voice dropped, urgent. "There's a café two blocks down — let's just go there and I can explain everything—" I moved my arm before she made contact. "Why would we go anywhere?" "We're standing right in front of the door." "Unless there's something on the other side of it you don't want me to see." She flinched at my words. Then she leaned in, voice dropping to almost nothing. "It's not what you think. There was a break-in — at my place, a while back. One of the suspects got away. Leo was worried he'd come back and — he offered the spare room. Just until things settled down. Please, you have to believe me—" Every word a new hole. She thought I was going to swallow that. I kept my jaw tight. "That so." I held her eyes. "Then why are your hands shaking. And why won't this door open." She hadn't expected me to keep pushing. Her gaze slid off mine, landed nowhere. Her mouth moved and nothing came out. My patience ran out. "Open it. Or I'll have the door blown off." That landed. Her hands were trembling as she reached for the keypad. A beep. The lock clicked open. I walked in without looking at her.
The first thing I saw was a pair of women's slippers in the entryway that weren't mine. A scarf thrown over the couch. A woman's blazer folded across the armrest. And underneath it all, something floral. Faint. A perfume I didn't own. Leo had been bringing someone home. Felicity could see my face changing. She kept talking anyway. "Scarlett, just let me explain—" The words came out slower and slower. The sentences stopped making sense. She was filling air and she knew it. I was about to speak. A little girl exploded out of the hallway and launched herself at Felicity. "Mommy! You're home! Cici missed you so much — can we wait for Daddy and all go out for dinner together?" She was about Miya's age. She was wearing Miya's dress. The limited-edition one. The one I'd hunted down specifically for Miya last spring. Everything landed at once. Leo hadn't just cheated. She'd been handing my daughter's things to this child. I stared at the two of them. "Where's Miya?" My voice came out flat. Cold. Felicity's face collapsed. Cici didn't notice. She spun toward me, furious. "Who are you? Get out of my house! That Miya is just a little beggar—" Felicity's hand came down over her mouth. Fast. Something dropped in my stomach. I moved. Room to room, every closet, every corner, every space big enough to hold a child. I didn't slow down. I didn't stop. Felicity was right behind me the whole time, pulling at my arm, begging me to stop, trying to step in front of me. I shoved her back and kept going. Nothing. No trace of Miya anywhere. Every room was clear. That left the basement. A thought crossed my mind and my vision went white at the edges. My foot was already moving toward the door. Felicity threw herself in front of it. I don't know where she found the strength — she hit me like she meant it, both hands, full weight. I rounded on her. "Move. Or I take you down with the door." Then a voice behind me. "What kind of lunatic puts her hands on my wife." Leo. He was through the door before I could turn around. One kick, straight into my back. I went down hard. He didn't look at me once. He was already at Felicity's side, both hands on her face, checking her over. "Felicity. Mrs. Green called — said some lunatic broke in." His voice was soft, urgent. "Did she hurt you?" Felicity leaned into her shoulder and said nothing. Her eyes had gone red around the edges. Leo's face tightened. He pulled her closer, voice dropping to a murmur. "It's okay. I'm here. Anyone who thinks they can walk into a cop's house and put their hands on my wife—" He turned his head toward me. The threat died in his throat. A crowd had gathered in the doorway without either of us noticing. Neighbors, five or six of them, all talking at once. "Chief Graves — that's the woman. She said she was your wife. Walked right in." "Been tearing through your whole house too. Bold as anything. You'd think even a thief would know better than to pull this in a cop's home." Leo's eyes moved to the crowd. Something shifted in them. He looked away from me. I stared at her and didn't blink. "Leo. Aren't you going to explain yourself?" A bead of sweat ran down the side of Leo's face. Felicity caught it. Her hands flew up to cover her face, shoulders shaking at exactly the right moment. "Leo — it hurts. She just burst in and started hitting me, trying to kick me — if you hadn't come back when you did, I — I think she might have actually killed me—" She kept talking. While she talked, she reached down and pinched the inside of her own arm. Hard. Then she pushed her sleeve up and showed the mark, a strip of red already darkening at the edges. Cici's crying started right on cue. "Daddy I'm so scared, the crazy lady was going to hurt Momy, I don't want to be an orphan—" Leo had been hesitating. But he saw the bruise on Felicity's arm and he saw Cici's tears and something in his face went vicious. He turned on me. "Scarlett Mercer. Apologize to Felicity. Right now. I don't care what your problem is — you don't put your hands on people." A laugh almost came out of me. "Has your conscience completely rotted out, or are your eyes just decorative?" My voice came out hard. "She says it and you just believe it? She's lying to your face. You want to talk about who's making accusations — do you need me to pull out our marriage certificate—" Leo's expression cracked. He cut me off before I could finish. "What are you talking about? What marriage certificate? I have never been married to you." His voice went sharp and loud. "My wife is Felicity. My wife has always been Felicity. I know exactly what you are — you think I haven't seen women like you before? Trying to leech off someone else's life. Get out of my house."
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