Chapter 11 - TRUTH DID NOT MAKE ABIGAIL PERFECT
Derek’s plan was ugly.
Abigail still had to confront her own blind spot.
Her marriage had been bad longer than she admitted.
Not violent.
Controlling in quieter ways.
Derek disliked her overnight shifts because he said couples needed predictable schedules.
He mocked friends who divorced over “temporary unhappiness.”
He wanted to know what she spent before she bought anything over two hundred dollars while freely using his own credit card for work dinners.
When Abigail received the Columbus offer, Derek never asked what she wanted from her career.
He presented his objections as facts.
Mortgage.
Parents.
Territory.
Timing.
Abigail accepted them because she had spent most of her life confusing being low-conflict with being reasonable.
She rarely pushed until she was certain.
Derek learned certainty took her time.
Evelyn learned guilt moved her faster.
Robert learned silence kept him comfortable.
Nobody created Abigail’s tendency to avoid conflict.
They exploited something already there.
Lauren asked about an older account statement Abigail had provided.
A year earlier, Derek transferred $8,000 from their savings into his personal brokerage account.
Abigail had objected.
Derek promised to return it.
She never followed up.
“You knew?” Lauren asked.
“I knew about the transfer.”
“Did he return it?”
“I assumed he did.”
He had not.
The brokerage account now contained less than two thousand dollars.
Abigail felt embarrassed.
Lauren stopped her.
“This is not about whether you should’ve detected your husband’s deception earlier.”
“It feels like it.”
“It’s about making a complete record now.”
Abigail nodded.
That was the lesson.
Not become suspicious of everyone.
Stop punishing herself for trusting someone who had promised to be trustworthy.
The criminal investigation also refused to give Abigail a clean emotional victory.
Robert’s cooperation helped.
So did the recording.
But investigators still had to determine who used Abigail’s signature, who knew about it, and what charges could be supported.
The assault itself was clearer.
Evelyn had pushed.
Robert restrained.
Derek delayed help and participated in coercion.
Different actions.
Different responsibility.
Then Nathan called.
“Derek wants to meet.”
“No.”
“With counsel.”
“Still no.”
“He says he’ll answer questions about the loan.”
Abigail looked at her braced leg.
“Then he can answer investigators.”
Nathan paused.
“He also says there’s something about Evelyn you don’t know.”
Abigail almost laughed.
May you like
There was always one more family secret.
But this one, she suspected, might explain why Derek had allowed his mother so much power over his marriage.
