Derek’s mother, Mrs. Greer, sent her seven long voice messages.

A cousin texted, telling her not to make a dramatic scene over a small marital issue. Suzanne, texting from an unknown number, demanded she drop the criminal charges before her brother lost his corporate job.

Skylar put the phone away and saved every message as evidence. The next day, a domestic violence lawyer named Sandra Villalobos reviewed the financial documents and asked her a question that chilled her to the bone.

“Do you realize that with these unauthorized charges, we could also be talking about misuse of your banking information?” Sandra asked, looking over her glasses.

Skylar didn’t answer right away. She thought of all the times Derek had asked for her card “to check something online,” the times Suzanne had shown up wearing expensive new things, the suspicious bank calls he’d always insisted on answering for her.

Then Sandra pointed to a massive charge of $3,800 at a luxury jewelry store in Miami Beach.