Derek’s composure cracked for a moment. Suzanne pulled off her sunglasses, looking stunned.

“You can’t leave him homeless, Skylar,” Suzanne yelled.

“He tried to burn me out of my own kitchen,” Skylar replied, her voice steady. “I’m not leaving him homeless. I’m just refusing to let him use my home.”

The officer asked Derek to stay back while Skylar finished packing the last of her things. She walked through the apartment as though she were seeing it for the last time—and, at the same time, for the very first.

In the master bedroom, she found Suzanne’s bag under the bed, stuffed with receipts for purchases made on a supplementary credit card Skylar had never authorized.

In the small study, she found printed bank statements with charges of $850, $1,420, and $2,100 from high-end stores she’d never set foot in.