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“Thank you,” I breathed.

“Just stay safe,” Grant replied. “Keep this between us for now.”

I sat in the dark car staring at the house that had never really been a home. I was terrified. But beneath the terror, I had a plan.

I slipped back inside like a ghost and began planning our escape.

Chapter 40

Richard

The office phone rang. Grant’s name flashed across the screen. I answered without greeting.

“Richard.” His voice was clipped. “Samantha came in yesterday. She knows, and she spoke to me.”

The news drained the anger from me and left something colder in its place.

She had taken her suspicions outside my home and questioned the authority I held over her and my sons. She had threatened everything I had spent years controlling.

I would never forgive her.

I set the pen down. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Grant exhaled. “She reported seeing you disposing of that girl. She believes you’re responsible for the recent murders, and she intends to leave with both your boys.”

A slow smile curved my lips. She thinks she can leave me.

“We need a closed narrative. A house fire should do it. We’ll need three bodies same age and size to me and the boys, a man and his two sons. The official record will identify them as me, Seth, and Luke. Samantha will become the grieving widow who survived because she wasn’t home when the fire started. Once the death certificates are issued, I’ll take the boys and start over under new names.”

“You already told her to prepare to leave,” I continued. “Use that. Give her a reason to be away from the house when it happens. She’ll believe she’s carrying out her escape while you place her exactly where we need her.”

She would prepare to leave, smug in her little rebellion, only to learn her husband and sons had been ripped away in a tragic fire. The guilt would devour her. She would live with the knowledge that her betrayal had destroyed everything she loved. I would watch it all from afar and enjoy what I had done to her.

“Samantha can rot in what she’s caused.”

Grant paused. “Are you sure you don’t want to scare her into submission?”

I laughed softly. “Why would I? This is her fault. She wounded my family and forced my hand. I built this life, and now I have to erase it because she couldn’t obey.” My jaw tightened at her arrogance. How dare she believe she held any power? “Make the arrangements, Colin. Work out the timeline and make sure the evidence supports the story. I want it flawless.”

“Understood. I’ll handle the details and update you.”

“Good. Keep encouraging her to leave. She’ll believe you’re helping her escape while she follows every instruction you give her.”

I ended the call and sat for a long while, staring at the family photo on my desk. Samantha wore her careful smile while the boys stood beside her. They were mine. She had forced me to dismantle my own creation. The insult left a cold weight in my chest.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, the house glowed with its usual false warmth. Samantha was at the stove when I entered, tension tight across her shoulders. She thought she was hiding it.

I allowed her to believe it.

“Hey,” she said, turning with that practiced smile. “You’re home a little early. Everything okay?”

I crossed the kitchen slowly, noticing the tightness around her eyes and her quick glance toward the door. I leaned in and kissed her forehead.

“Long day,” I murmured. “Smells good. Need help?”

“No, I’ve got it. The boys will be down soon.”

I rolled up my sleeves and set the table, placing each fork and knife exactly where it belonged. When the boys came bounding down the stairs, I greeted them. Seth told me about his latest project at school, something involving circuits and lights. He spoke more than usual because the subject interested him. I asked detailed questions, nodding along as if every word mattered. Luke followed with a story from baseball practice, exaggerating his home run until his brother teased him. I laughed on cue and ruffled Luke’s hair.