The cab squeaks to a stop outside of Millie's home. Millie exhales sharply, her eyes fixed on the house. The home she'd originally considered to be her and Steven's little love nest, but after finding out what she did about Steven's second family, the place feels more like a trap than a sanctuary.
"Do you need to go somewhere else? The cabbie impatiently asks.
A lot of things have happened in that home these past few days, she thinks. Her stomach twitches as she eyes the home again.
"Well?"
"I could always go to my aunts." Millie hears her aunt's voice echo in her head. "Running from your problems won't solve anything. Millie nods. She's right, I need to get to the bottom of this mess, and I need to do it fast."
"I'm losing money here, lady, so hurry and make up your mind."
Glaring at the rude driver, she snickers snd says,"Don't get your panties in such a twist." "Snickering," Millie adds.
The cabbie is grumbling under his breath.
"I'm going, I'm going."Glaring at him one last time, she slams the door too.
Taking a breath of courage, Mille forces herself towards the front door. "I have two choices: I can either figure out who's behind all this mess or end up behind bars again. She reasons, sliding her keys into the lock. She opens the barrier to find her house is in complete disarray. Several drawers are yanked open; important papers are scattered across the floor. The furniture she and Steven had painstakingly sought out is shoved aside. "The cops sure know how to make a mess of things," she thinks. She's trying to make her way through the clutter when the doorbell rings. Oh great. Turning, she heads back the way she came. Millie opens it to find her one and only friend, Julia, on the porch.
"I wanted to stop by and see how you're holding up."
"Good as can be expected, I guess, considering everything going on."
"I heard about all the BS at your work."
Millie swallows hard. "Did you hear about Steven's second family?"
Julia's eyes widened. "What, no."
"It's true. He has a wife and two kids in Sacramento.
"You're Steven?"
Shocker I know, but it's true. I guess he planned on having me committed, then filing for a divorce and marrying her."
"So you were fired and found out your husband's been cheating all on the same day?
Tears begin to stream down Millie's cheek. Brushing her tear away, Millie nods. "But that's not the worst of it; people I thought were my friends accused me of murder.
"To your face?"
Millie recalls the venomous words hurled at her as she was escorted out of the building. "Their comments were so horrid, so hurtful that I almost broke down right then and there."
"Is that why you ignored me when I yelled for you the other day?"
A confused expression crosses Millie's face. "When was this?"
"A couple of days ago. I was going into the post office as you were coming out."
"I haven't been to the post office in nearly a week."
"Are you sure? Because I could've sworn it was you. Thinking back, Julia adds, "She had the same hair, wore the same kind of clothes, and she has your tall, thin build."
Millie's pulse quickens. "I'm positive it wasn't me. What time did you say this was?'
"I just picked the kids up from school, so three thirtyish."
You may have just solved the whole thing. "I hate to cut this short, but there's someplace I need to be."
"Sure, no problem."
Millie turns to go inside when she sees the postman heading up the walk carrying a small cardboard box. What now, Millie thinks.
"I have a package for Millie Clark."
"I'm her."
"Sign at the bottom, please." He hands her a tablet.
I've never had to sign before, so maybe it'll be different this time.
The deliverer glances at the signature, nods, and then hands the box over.
Millie rips the top of the package off. She glances inside to find Lilly's favorite doll. Millie starts to remove it from the box when she notices a sliver of glass in the center of her chest. The doctor's life-shattering words suddenly come to mind. A puncture wound to Lilly's lung is what caused her demise. She then recalls what her friend Julia had said: I bet that's what my lookalike was doing that day.
***
After waiting in line for what seems like a lifetime, Mille finally reaches the front desk.
"May I help you?"
"I hope so. I need to see your video footage from two days ago."
"Do you have a warrant?"
"I'm not a cop."
"That complicates things then."
Millie impatiently shifts her weight. "What do you mean?"
"The only way we're allowed to release footage to the public is through a formal request." He slides a pamphlet across the counter and says, "Everything you need to know is inside. He scoots to the left and yells, "Next."
Millie's frustration boils. "But I…"
"I'm sorry, miss, but that's all I can do."
Millie glances at the pamphlet again. "How long will it take?"
"Approximately twenty days from when the request is received.
I may not have that long, Millie thinks. Can you trace a package for me?"
"Do you have the tracking number?"
"I didn't bring it with me."
"I'll need that before I can do anything."
"A lot of help you were," Millie thinks, walking away.
Stepping into the house, Millie wearily trudges up the stairs. She barely got a minute of sleep in the jail with the blaring lights, and people screaming all night, who could? "I could sleep for days," she yawns, climbing the last of the stairs. She reaches the bedroom to find what appears to be someone lying in her bed.
Heart pounding Millie darts back downstairs. Grabbing the phone from her purse, she punches in 91 and stops. Last time I reported a break-in, I ended up in jail.
Tossing the phone in her purse, she darts to the kitchen. Grabbing a knife from the block, she quietly climbs the back stairs, conjuring up a plan as she goes.
Reaching the bedroom door, Millie carefully inches her way towards the bed. A floor joist squeaks; she freezes mid-motion. The intruder doesn't budge. Holding her breath, Millie continues. Pull the covers back and stab, she thinks, reaching the bottom of the bed. Millie's toe smashes against the metal frame. Tears cloud her eyes. Millie grits her teeth trying not to scream. Moving a quarter of an inch to her left, she continues. Toss back and stab, she thinks, reaching the lump.
Raising her knife above her shoulder, she throws the covers back to find a bloody figure lying on her now crimson sheets.
Jumping back, Millie screams. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," she cries, more panicked than ever.