Chapter 2 - The Name on the Line
Jill’s trembling fingers fumbled with the clasp of the manila envelope. The paper crinkled loudly in the dead silence of the clerk’s office.
She slowly pulled out the crisp, gold-embossed state marriage certificate. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes scanned down the legal lines past her husband’s full name, past the date of registration, down to the line marked "Bride."
There, printed in sharp black ink, was the name: Lacey Burcham.
Jill froze. A cold sensation washed over her entire body, numbing her fingertips and making her chest ache with suffocating grief.
Lacey Burcham was not a stranger. She was the wealthy thirty-two-year-old regional director of the logistics company where Richard worked as a senior site supervisor.
"Lacey Burcham..." Jill whispered, the name tasting like ash on her tongue.
Memory after memory flashed through Jill's mind with brutal clarity. For three years, Richard had claimed he was working mandatory overnight shifts every single Tuesday. He had complained about exhausting inventory audits, taking extra paychecks that somehow never made it into their shared bank account.
Jill stood straight, holding the paper tightly in her fist. Her expression transformed from utter disbelief to cold, calculating clarity. Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
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"Every Tuesday..." Jill murmured in a steady, lethal whisper, staring into space. "...for three years."
👉 What was Richard actually doing with his secret second wife while Jill was working double shifts to support their family?
