PART 5
The sound of breaking glass still echoed through the house.
For a moment, nobody moved.
The alarm screamed.
My heart pounded.
And every instinct in my body told me the same thing:
Someone had come for the folder.
Detective Harris raised one hand, signaling us to stay back.
“Mrs. Bennett, move behind me.”
I wanted to argue.
The old Emily would have.
The old Emily would have demanded answers.
But the woman standing in that hallway wasn’t the same woman who had cried over a cheating husband the night before.
I had learned something important.
Fear was only useful if you listened to it.
So I stepped behind him.
Officer Ramirez moved toward the kitchen while Detective Harris slowly approached the back hallway.
The house was silent now.
Too silent.
Then we heard it.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Someone was inside.
Not panicking.
Not running.
They knew the layout.
They knew where they were going.
Detective Harris shouted:
“Police department! Show yourself!”
No answer.
Another step.
Then suddenly—
A woman’s voice.
“Emily?”
My blood froze.
I knew that voice.
Even after betrayal.
Even after lies.
Even after seeing the evidence.
I knew that voice.
Lauren.
Detective Harris looked at me.
“That’s your friend?”
I nodded.
“Former friend.”
He tightened his grip on his weapon.
“Stay here.”
But Lauren stepped into view before anyone could stop her.
She wasn’t the woman I remembered.
The polished, confident woman who always wore expensive perfume and perfect makeup was gone.
Her hair was messy.
Her face was pale.
Her clothes looked like she had been wearing them for days.
And in her hand…
was a small black handgun.
Every muscle in my body went rigid.
“Lauren…”
My voice cracked.
“What did you do?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Emily, listen to me.”
“Listen to you?”
A laugh escaped me.
“You stole my husband.”
Her face twisted.
“I didn’t steal him.”
“Then why were you in Cancun with him?”
“Because he needed me to believe him.”
The words stopped me.
“What?”
Detective Harris stepped forward.
“Put the weapon down.”
Lauren ignored him.
She stared only at me.
“You think Daniel loved you enough to tell you the truth?”
I said nothing.
“Emily, you have no idea what kind of man your husband really is.”
My anger rose.
“Interesting.”
I pointed toward the blue folder.
“Because apparently neither did you.”
For the first time…
Lauren looked afraid.
“You found it.”
Detective Harris noticed.
“You know about the folder.”
Lauren’s eyes shifted.
Just for a second.
But it was enough.
Detective Harris understood immediately.
“Drop the weapon.”
Lauren shook her head.
“No.”
Her eyes returned to me.
“I need Emily to understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That Daniel destroyed all of our lives.”
I stared at her.
“You are the one who came into my house.”
“You are the one who lied.”
“You are the one who pretended to be my friend while sleeping with my husband.”
Her face crumpled.
“I never wanted that.”
“Then why?”
“Because Daniel needed me close.”
“Close enough to what?”
She looked at the folder.
“Close enough to expose the people who killed my brother.”
The room went silent.
“What?”
Lauren lowered the gun slightly.
“My brother worked for Parker Global.”
“Your company?”
She nodded.
“He discovered they were laundering money through international shipping routes.”
Detective Harris looked surprised.
“Wait.”
He stepped forward.
“Your brother was Michael Parker?”
Lauren nodded.
The detective’s expression changed.
“Michael Parker was the accountant who disappeared twelve years ago.”
“He didn’t disappear.”
Her voice broke.
“They killed him.”
I looked between them.
“So you became friends with me because of Daniel?”
“No.”
Her answer came instantly.
“I became friends with you because you were the only person Daniel trusted.”