I found myself repeating his words, asking if my husband was really paying him to follow me.
The boy gave a quiet nod, his eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and concern.
His name was Marcus, and he was just trying to survive on his own.
He explained that David had approached him at a local church meal program nearly two months ago.
My husband had told the young man that his wife suffered from severe memory issues and frequently wandered off.
David offered Marcus three hundred dollars every week in cash to watch my movements.
He wanted to know exactly where I went, who I chatted with, and if I ever drove toward the lake cabin.
At the very beginning, the weekly requests seemed like the actions of a deeply worried husband.
But very quickly, the nature of the questions began to shift into something much darker.
David started asking Marcus if I was meeting other men, buying alcohol, or looking lost in public.
I looked at Marcus and asked him directly if he had ever seen me looking confused or disoriented.
Marcus shook his head and said he kept telling my husband that I seemed perfectly normal and healthy.
That answer had made David angry, and he told the boy to watch me much closer and look for problems.
Marcus explained that David reminded him of his own father, who had behaved in a very similar way years ago.
His father had constantly told everyone that his mother was unstable until people actually started to believe the lie.
Marcus softly added that his mother was never broken, but his father simply needed everyone to think she was.
He then showed me the text messages on his phone, including the payment details and the private number David used.
I asked Marcus to keep sending his regular reports so my husband would not suspect that we had spoken.
Before leaving the station, I made arrangements for the young man to meet with a trusted lawyer.
