The logical place was in the wooden filing cabinet in the corner—it contained two large drawers, one neatly labeled “Work,” and the other “Children/Personal.”
If divorce papers needed signing, they must be filed away for safekeeping. If they were there, Cassie was determined to find them.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Cassie felt sick with tension as she stepped into the tidy master bedroom. She felt so angry, so violated and outraged by the lies she’d been told, that she was tempted to upend the files and rip through them. She warned herself that would only cause repercussions. She must keep control, and be methodical.
She opened the first drawer, relieved that it wasn’t locked.
Everything was in its place. Tax documents, the house plans, the papers for Ryan’s business. Birth certificates. Marriage certificates.
Cassie paused when she saw that folder and anger filled her again.
Reading the document, she saw that Trish and Ryan had been married ten years ago, but both parents’ names appeared on the children’s birth certificates. So they had lived together as a family before being married.
Then Cassie checked the house purchase documents and saw, to her surprise, that Trish was the owner of the house, and had been for the past twelve years since she had bought it.
That didn’t tie in with what Ryan had told her about the house being a reward from his business.
Aware that this was taking time, and that the Ellises might already be heading home, Cassie sped up her search.
She sifted through every folder without success. She didn’t find anything. Not an attorney’s letter, nor the papers Ryan had mentioned. Nothing.
She did find something else, though.
One of the folders in the Children/Personal drawer was labeled “Other.” Inside, there was a copy of an invitation that had been sent earlier in the year.
Cassie read it and felt cold with shock as she stared down at the pretty, floral paper.
“Dear…” the invite read.
“On Spring Bank Holiday, Trish and Ryan request the pleasure of your company at a Luncheon Party and Family Celebration.
“Venue: The Conservatory Gardens, Lakeside Hotel
“Time: From 12 noon
“Dress: Elegant
“Occasion: Our 10 Year Wedding Anniversary and Vow Renewal.”
Cassie stared down at the crisp, expensive paper and felt consumed by a murderous rage. For the first time she understood what the term “seeing red” meant, and if she’d been holding a weapon and Ryan had walked in at that moment, she knew she would have attacked him with it.
Their marriage hadn’t been falling apart. Quite the contrary.
Six months earlier, they’d renewed their promises at a public ceremony to show they were more in love than ever.
Cassie wanted to tear up the invitation and scatter it like confetti around the room, letting the strewn fragments of paper show Ryan that she knew how he’d lied.
Putting it carefully away and closing the cabinet without a sound made her head want to explode with frustration.
Closing the door softly, Cassie headed back down the hall, but as she passed Dylan’s room she drew in her breath sharply.
His door was open, and this time he was standing by his bed, facing her.
Cassie froze, shivers running down her spine as she wondered if Dylan was awake or asleep. Perhaps he was prone to sleepwalking and opened his door every time.
She realized he was awake when he whispered, “Pssst. Come here.”
Reluctantly, because she felt spooked and had no idea what this was all about, she stepped into his room.
“What is it, Dylan?” she whispered.
“You were in my dad’s room,” he said.
He must have heard her in there, rooting around in his father’s filing cabinets, even though she’d done her best to be quiet. How could she explain this? Knowing she’d been found out made Cassie feel suddenly ashamed.
No point in denying it.
Cassie nodded.
She thought Dylan would demand to know why, but he didn’t.
Instead, he muttered, sympathetically, “Sometimes you have to check up on what the old man says. He doesn’t always tell the right story.”
Cassie didn’t even dare to breathe as she considered Dylan’s words. She was at a loss how to respond. Agreeing would feel disloyal and she couldn’t talk badly to a son about his own father.
She settled for a nod.
“I tried to warn you,” Dylan said. “The first night you were here, I got my mate to send you a message.”
Cassie stared at him in consternation.
“‘Be careful’?” she asked. “That message? You asked your friend to send it?”
Dylan sighed.
“Yes. I wanted my mate to say more, but he chickened out. It was something, but not enough, maybe.”
“Why did you tell me that?” Cassie whispered.
“Because my dad gets—weird—when you accuse him of not being truthful. So you just have to go along with it.”
Dylan continued softly.
“Like with Benjamin Bunny. That made me want to laugh. He went to a lot of effort there. What a story. He could have just said the bunny escaped. But then I suppose he knew Madison would spend the rest of her life searching for him.”
Once again, Cassie felt uncertain how to respond.
“He only did it to try and comfort you,” she said eventually. “So you wouldn’t be too sad.”
Dylan nodded.
“I know, I know. So I went along with it.”
From outside, Cassie heard a car pass by, sluicing along the wet tarmac. The noise reminded her that it was getting late and Ryan and Trish might come home at any time.
“You should get into bed now,” she told Dylan. “You don’t want to be tired tomorrow.”
“Yeah, OK,” he agreed.
He climbed into bed. As he pulled the covers up, a thought suddenly occurred to Cassie. How had Dylan guessed that Ryan had been lying about Benjamin? The story about the bunny had seemed plausible. The ashes had been a bit far-fetched, but how had that clued Dylan that the whole episode with the vet had been an invention?
“How did you know it wasn’t true?” she whispered.
He stared up at her, and in the soft
