Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO RAN
Dana was missing for thirty-six hours.
Julian's attorney denied knowing where she was.
Dr. Mallory said he had only given her a ride because she was distraught.
Police found that explanation less charming after traffic cameras showed his sedan crossing into Indiana.
By the second night, Dana walked into a police station in Valparaiso carrying one overnight bag and a laptop.
From Julian.
From police.
Julian had told her about the life-insurance policy months earlier.
He said my "health was fragile" and that if something happened, he would use part of the money to start a financial-services company with her.
Dana believed he meant natural causes.
Then, one week before the crash, he asked whether she knew anyone who could alter electronic maintenance records.
After the crash, he called her from the parking lot near the intersection.
His first words were not, "Audrey was in an accident."
They were, "It happened."
Dana said she asked what he meant.
Julian hung up.
"Why didn't she tell police immediately?" I asked.
"Because she was sleeping with a married man, holding property transferred with a forged signature, and afraid she would be charged as a co-conspirator."
"Will she be?"
"That's up to the prosecutor."
Dana also turned over the laptop.
It contained cloud backups Julian thought he had deleted.
A copy of my life-insurance policy.
The death column included the insurance payout, estimated debt payoff, projected house equity, and a note about the Wisconsin cabin.
"Is this enough?" I asked.
"It's enough for the prosecutor to move."
Julian was arrested that night on charges related to fraud, forgery, witness intimidation, and suspected attempted murder pending formal charging decisions.
I thought I would feel safe.
Dad held my hair back.
"I married someone who tried to kill me," I said.
"You married someone who hid what he was doing. Those are not the same statement."
"They feel the same."
"They won't forever."
The next morning, the news reached Chloe's school.
A parent posted Julian's booking photo in a neighborhood group.
By lunch, one child told Chloe her dad was going to prison because he hated her mom.
She came to rehab furious.
"I don't want everybody to know!"
"I know."
"Why did you tell them?"
"I didn't."
"Make them stop!"
I could not erase her father's choices.
"Daddy is in trouble because police believe he broke serious laws," I said. "Adults are deciding what happened. You are allowed to love him. You are allowed to be mad at him. You are allowed to be mad at me."
"I hate this family."
Dad did not correct her.
"Sometimes I hate what's happening to our family too," I said.
Chloe cried then.
That night, Evelyn called with another problem.
Julian had been released on bond.
No contact with me or Chloe.
But he was out.
And less than an hour after his release, someone broke into Dad's rental apartment.
Nothing valuable was stolen.
May you like
Only one thing was missing.
Chloe's backpack.
