Chapter 14 - Derek’s FantasyThe psychiatrist Derek contacted had never treated Renee.
He told investigators Derek approached him casually after a charity event.
“Hypothetical question,” Derek said.
If a mother lost a child traumatically, how might it affect decision-making?
The psychiatrist gave a general answer.
Grief could be severe.
It did not automatically make someone incompetent.
Derek pressed.
“What if she already had anxiety?”
The doctor became uncomfortable.
He ended the conversation.
Later Derek emailed.
The doctor never responded.
Those emails now sat inside evidence files.
Renee read them.
Her first feeling was violation.
Her second was recognition.
Derek had always believed emotion made people weak.
When Renee cried, he gained confidence.
When she stayed calm, he became frustrated.
He interpreted visible pain as loss of authority.
So he assumed grief would make her easy to control.
He did not understand that pain and incapacity were not the same thing.
Daniel explained:
“He may have been considering whether you could be pressured into signing documents.”
“What documents?”
“We don’t know.”
Then investigators found drafts.
A “family financial stabilization agreement.”
It proposed ending the audit.
Dropping civil claims.
Transferring management authority over certain Zoey-related assets to an “independent advisor.”
That advisor was Spencer Wills.
Derek’s friend holding money for him.
Renee laughed in disbelief.
“He was going to bring me this after Zoey disappeared?”
“We cannot prove when he intended to use it.”
But the creation date was four days before the lake.
Derek’s fantasy became clearer.
Zoey disappears.
Evidence points toward Julian.
Renee collapses.
Derek returns as grieving father.
He offers help.
He says financial fighting caused too much conflict.
He convinces Renee to sign an agreement.
Audit dies.
Julian is gone.
Derek regains influence.
Not a perfect plan.
Not rational.
A desperate control fantasy built by someone who believed everyone else’s emotions were tools.
Julian read the draft.
“He thought you’d take him back.”
Renee looked at him.
“Maybe.”
“Would you have?”
“No.”
Julian was quiet.
Renee realized he needed more.
“Even if I believed you hurt Zoey, I would not have gone back to Derek.”
Julian nodded.
But fear remained in his face.
Derek’s plan had attacked the foundation of their marriage.
Not only by framing Julian.
By exploiting the possibility that Renee might doubt him.
Doubt lingered even after proof.
That was another harm.
They returned to couples counseling.
Not because their marriage was failing.
Because they refused to let Derek continue shaping it from jail.
Julian admitted resentment.
“I hate that I have to prove I’m not him.”
Renee answered:
“You shouldn’t.”
“But sometimes I do.”
“I know.”
He looked at her.
“I need you to tell me when fear is about Derek, not pretend it’s about me.”
Renee swallowed.
“That feels unfair.”
“To you?”
“To both.”
“Yes.”
They agreed.
Name the ghost.
If Renee panicked because Julian made a decision without her, she would say:
“This is reminding me of Derek.”
Not:
“You’re just like him.”
Words mattered.
At home Zoey had her own version.
When Julian told her no dessert before dinner, she shouted:
“You’re not my dad!”
Julian froze.
Zoey froze.
Renee waited.
Julian replied:
“You’re right.”
Zoey stared.
“And the answer is still no dessert.”
She looked shocked.
Then angry.
Then, slowly, safe.
Authority without ownership.
Boundary without emotional punishment.
Derek would have turned the sentence into betrayal.
Julian let it be fact.
That night Zoey apologized.
Julian said:
“You don’t have to call me Dad.”
“I know.”
“You don’t have to protect my feelings.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
Zoey hugged him.
Not because she had to.
May you like
Because she chose to.
That distinction became the quiet opposite of everything Derek tried to build.
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