Chapter 6 · The Bride Moves In

The moving truck pulls up at nine in the morning. I didn't call one. Archer did.

I stand on the curb with my two suitcases and a box of things I grabbed from my old apartment before the creditors could strip it. The driver hops out, checks his phone, then looks at me. "Mrs. Lin?"

The name hits different in daylight. "Yeah."

"Your husband arranged everything. We'll have you settled in two hours." He grins like this is a normal happy newlywed situation.

I don't correct him. I just watch as two guys start unloading furniture I've never seen before. A couch. A desk. Lamps. Bedding still in plastic wrap.

Archer bought me a whole setup. Like I'm a doll he's dressing.

The Lin house is smaller than I expected. It's tucked into an older neighborhood where the trees are thick and the walls are high. Two stories, gray brick, iron gate. The neighbors probably think some washed-up branch of the Lin family lives here. They'd be right, if Archer's cover story was real.

But I know better.

I unlock the front door with the key he left on the nightstand this morning. No note.