That night, after they went upstairs, I cleaned the  kitchen, covered the pie, turned off the oven, and opened my laptop.

Then I pulled out the blue folder I had been keeping for three weeks.

PART 2

The folder had not started as suspicion.

It had started with small things that did not make sense.

Kevin had mentioned money problems several times. He said things were tight, savings were low, but manageable. That alone would not have worried me.

But Tiffany’s behavior did not match Kevin’s words.

She was spending, planning, inviting, and speaking as if something much larger had already been decided.

So I began paying attention.

Inside the folder were bank printouts, forwarded  emails, a leasing office receipt, and public county records.

One  email had Tiffany’s sister Valyria copied on it.

Another mentioned a real estate contact named Marco.

One message included my address and described my home as a “likely future family residence” after the holidays.