Chapter 4 - The House on Cactus Road
At 4:10 AM, the suburban neighborhood off Cactus Road was bathed in the pale yellow glow of sodium streetlights. Nora parked two houses down from number 1842, keeping her headlights off.
The home was a beautifully restored mid-century ranch-style house with a pristine lawn, white brick facade, and a custom wooden playground set visible in the backyard behind a low wall. Parked in the driveway was a late-model Range Rover—a vehicle Nora recognized instantly from an unallocated lease agreement on her corporate fleet books six months ago.
Nora stepped out of her car, stepping quietly across the asphalt.
She walked up the concrete driveway and looked through the side window of the Range Rover. On the back seat sat a rear-facing child car seat with a blue blanket draped over the armrest. On the floorboards lay a plastic toddler toy—a yellow dump truck stamped with the logo of Southwestern Materials Distribution.
Edgar had brought her own promotional company toys home to his secret child.
Nora walked up the front steps to the porch.
She didn't knock. Instead, she took out her master ring of corporate keys. Three months ago, Edgar had asked her for a master security fob from her company’s master locksmith account, claiming he needed it to lock down the new equipment yard in West Phoenix.
She tried the electronic key cylinder on the front door.
Click. The lock disengaged, glowing green.
Nora opened the heavy door and stepped inside.
The house smelled of vanilla candles, baby powder, and fresh paint. On the entryway console sat a framed eight-by-ten portrait.
It was a family photo taken on a beach in San Diego.
Edgar was standing in the surf, wearing linen pants and a white shirt, holding a fair-haired two-year-old boy on his shoulders. Standing beside him, her arm wrapped lovingly around his waist, was a striking, twenty-eight-year-old blonde woman with bright green eyes and an brilliant smile.
Heather Perkinson.
Nora stared at the photograph for several seconds. She felt no envy, no jealousy, and no tears. She felt like an archaeologist examining the ruins of a civilization built entirely out of lies.
"Edgar?" a soft, sleepy voice called out from the hallway.
Heather stepped into the living room wearing a silk robe, rubbing her eyes. "Darling, why are you home so early? Did your mother—"
Heather stopped dead in her tracks.
She looked at Nora. She looked at Nora’s sharp tailored blazer, her dark hair, and the quiet, terrible authority that hung around her like an armor.
Heather’s eyes went wide. She retreated half a step, her hand dropping to cover her throat.
"You're Nora," Heather whispered, her voice trembling.
"I am," Nora said, her voice smooth and devoid of heat. "And you must be the second Mrs. Finch."
"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Heather stammered, pulling her robe tighter around her body. "You’re trespassing! Leave right now or I’ll call the police!"
"Call them," Nora invited, taking a seat on the white fabric sofa in the center of the living room and crossing her legs. "Please. Call Maricopa County Sheriff's Department. Ask them to send an fraud investigator while you're at it. I’d love to explain to them how this sofa, that Range Rover out front, and the deed to this house were purchased using embezzled wire transfers from my company."
Heather’s face turned white. She slid against the entryway wall, her hand trembling as she looked toward the hallway where her son was sleeping.
"He told me you were divorced," Heather whispered, her voice breaking. "He said you were separated four years ago... he said you were a cold, bitter woman who refused to sign the final settlement papers because you wanted to bankrupt him."
Nora let out a single, sharp laugh that cut through the quiet room like a blade.
"Separated?" Nora murmured. "We ate dinner together at our dining table in Paradise Valley six hours ago. And while I was eating my salad, his mother was setting a venomous pit viper in my bed so they could collect my twenty-five-million-dollar insurance payout."
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Heather gasped, dropping her hands to her mouth. "What... what did you say?"
"Edgar is currently in the ICU at HonorHealth Osborn," Nora said calmly. "He was bitten by the very rattlesnake his mother placed under my pillow. And now, Heather, you and I are going to have a very long, very detailed conversation about where all the money went."
