PART 7 — THE ARREST
Derek was found twelve hours later at a motel outside Macon.
Simone was with him.
Police arrested both.
When Derek was brought into court for his first hearing, I watched from the back row.
He looked toward me.
His face changed.
Maybe he expected me to hide.
I didn’t.
My bandages were gone by then.
The scars were visible.
I wore no makeup over them.
For months I had avoided mirrors.
That morning, I looked at myself for a long time.
Then I decided Derek would see exactly what I had survived.
Simone refused to look at me.
Prosecutors presented the insurance policies.
The accelerant evidence.
The deleted messages.
The voicemail.
Security footage from the second fire.
Financial records showed Derek’s agency was nearly bankrupt.
He had debts approaching three million dollars.
The insurance money would have saved his business.
My death would also have allowed him to inherit assets I owned independently.
The affair with Simone was not the motive.
Money was.
