“No one.”
“People called ‘no one’ do not usually get circled in red.”
He took the photograph from her.
“She was my brother Daniel’s wife.”
“Was?”
“They divorced.”
“Where is she now?”
“I don’t know.”
Tabitha watched him slide the photograph into his pocket.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m protecting our wedding day.
“Our wedding day ended at midnight.”
His expression hardened.
“Drop it.”
That was the first time Tyler had ever spoken to her that way.
At dinner, Evelyn served Tyler and herself first. Tabitha’s plate remained empty.
“Rule one,” Evelyn said. “Patience reveals character.”
Tyler stared at his food.
“Mom, serve her.”
“She has hands.”
Tabitha rose, carried her empty plate to the counter, and filled it herself.
Evelyn’s mouth tightened.
“Disobedience has consequences.”
“So does humiliation.”
Later, long after Tyler fell asleep, Tabitha returned to the sitting room and opened the rulebook under the light of her phone.
Several pages had been cut out.
Inside the back cover, she found a narrow pocket containing bank deposit slips. Each listed the same account number. The names were different: Claire Ashford, Margaret Ashford, Elise Ashford.