I answered on speaker. Derek didn’t ask whether Lily was okay. Instead, he shouted, “Why are you home already?” I explained that police and paramedics were standing in our living room because our daughter had been left alone. He immediately blamed a babysitter, then his mother, before demanding that I keep the police away from the hallway closet. Officer Bell heard everything. His expression changed, and he quietly asked me whether Derek had ever mentioned anything suspicious about that closet.

I told him no. Officer Bell requested permission to have the area examined. When the padlock was finally removed, we discovered neatly arranged boxes containing military records, bank statements, identification documents, and financial applications bearing my name. One folder contained a handwritten note with a date circled in red. It was my original scheduled return date.