He had not knowingly given Kristina the snake.
But security footage showed her entering the reptile shed.
Then leaving with a canvas transport bag.
That was enough.
Kristina was arrested.
Attempted murder.
Burglary-related charges for taking the snake.
Animal handling violations.
Other charges would be determined later.
When police arrested her at Samantha’s house, Kristina screamed.
Not about innocence.
About Edgar.
“My son needs me.”
Then.
“That woman ruined everything.”
The officer recorded it.
She called Edgar from custody.
He did not answer.
That was the first boundary he had ever enforced with her.
I should have felt satisfaction.
I did not.
I felt tired.
Then came the financial investigation.
Because attempted murder tied to a life insurance policy attracts attention.
The insurer opened a fraud review.
Police asked whether anyone had recently increased coverage.
Yes.
Whether Kristina knew.
Yes.
Whether Edgar had participated.
Not in the application.
Whether Edgar would benefit.
Not anymore.
Then Rachel discovered something else.
Kristina had searched my business schedule online.
Not once.
Repeatedly.
She had looked up construction site visits.
Highway routes.
Conference travel.
Hotel stays.
My stomach turned.
The snake may not have been the first idea.
Police searched her phone.
They found notes.
Not detailed murder plans.
Worse in some ways.
Fragments.
Nora I-17 Thursdays.
Vegas conference.
Sedona project.
Life policy.
Edgar beneficiary.
Heather + boy.
Twenty-five million.
My life reduced to lines.
Then investigators found browser searches.
Arizona accidental death life insurance.
How long life insurance pays after accident.
Rattlesnake bite survival time.
Can rattlesnake enter house.
Does rattlesnake bite sleeping person.
I stopped reading.
Rachel read the rest.
She looked sick.
“This was premeditated.”
“Yes.”
“Very.”
The prosecutor agreed.
Kristina had not acted impulsively.
She had researched.
Prepared.
Acquired the animal.
Entered my room.
Placed it where I would sleep.
Then encouraged me to lie down.
She expected the bite to look accidental.
That detail haunted me.
Not the snake.
Her smile.
“Go lie down.”
“I changed the sheets.”
For years afterward, I would remember that sentence.
The trial came eleven months later.
Before that, my marriage ended.
Not dramatically.
No screaming divorce scene.
No public war.
Just paperwork.
Edgar did not contest much.
He asked for no share of my business.
Under our prenup, he had limited rights anyway.
He kept his retirement.
His car.
His personal accounts.
I kept the house.
The company.
My investments.
Then came the issue of the child.
His son.
His name was Leo.
I learned that from the police report before Edgar told me.
Leo Finch.
Three years old.
Heather allowed Edgar regular visits.
After the separation, he began spending more time with him.
Not because I pushed.
Because he had finally been forced to live one life at a time.
Heather contacted me once.
I almost refused the call.
Then answered.
“Nora.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
I closed my eyes.
“For what?”
“For sleeping with Edgar.”
“That would be a start.”
She accepted the sharpness.
“I was wrong.”
