PART 4

The sound of Mark’s footsteps on the stairs made Chloe’s entire body stiffen.

I had never seen fear move through a child so quickly.

One second she was sitting beside me, crying.

The next, she was completely silent.

Her eyes locked on the bedroom door.

I instinctively pulled the memory card from her hand and slipped it into the pocket of my jeans.

Then I tucked the little plastic bag containing the broken tooth beneath her pillow.

“Mommy,” she whispered.

I put my finger against my lips.

“Don’t say anything.”

The footsteps came closer.

One.

Two.

Three.

Then stopped outside Chloe’s bedroom.

A knock sounded.

“Everything okay in here?”

Mark.

I looked at Chloe.

She was trembling.

I stood and opened the door.

Mark was smiling.

“What are you two doing?”

“Talking.”

He looked past me toward Chloe.

“About what?”

“School.”

He smiled.

“On a Saturday?”

“She has a project.”

It was the first excuse that came into my mind.

Mark’s eyes remained on me.

“You seem nervous.”

“I’m tired.”

“You’re acting strange.”

I forced myself to smile.

“So are you.”

His expression changed for half a second.

Then the smile returned.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

He leaned against the doorframe.

“Did Dr. Evans tell you anything?”

There it was.

The question I’d been waiting for.

I shrugged.

“Just that she needs to come back for another checkup.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

He stared at me.

I held his gaze.

For two years, I had never lied to Mark this directly.

Apparently, I was better at it than I thought.

He finally nodded.

“Okay.”

Then he looked at Chloe.

“Sweetheart?”

Chloe didn’t answer.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Her eyes remained fixed on the floor.

Mark’s smile disappeared.

“Right?”

She nodded.

“Good.”

He walked away.

I waited until I heard his bedroom door close.

Then I shut Chloe’s door.

She whispered:

“Mommy, he’s going to know.”

“I know.”

“What are we going to do?”

I looked at my daughter.

For the first time in two years, I stopped trying to explain away my instincts.

I believed her.

That decision changed everything.

“First,” I said, “we’re going to find out what that memory card contains.”

Chloe stared at me.

“Then?”

“Then we’re going to find out what happened to your father.”

Her eyes widened.

“My daddy?”

I nodded.

“Yes.”

I still remembered the day Chloe’s biological father, Daniel, died.

A rainy Tuesday afternoon.

A phone call from the police.

A hospital corridor.

A doctor who wouldn’t meet my eyes.

They told me it was an accident.

Daniel had been driving home from work when another vehicle crossed the center line.

He died before the ambulance arrived.

I had spent years believing that.

There had been no reason not to.

Until now.

I walked downstairs with Chloe behind me.

Mark was in the kitchen making coffee.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“To the store.”

“Both of you?”

“Yes.”

He looked at his watch.

“It’s almost six.”

“I know.”

“Why do you need to go now?”

I shrugged.

“We’re out of milk.”

“There are two gallons in the refrigerator.”

I stopped.

He was right.

I looked toward the refrigerator.

Then back at him.

“I need something else.”

“What?”

I smiled.

“I’ll text you.”

His eyes narrowed.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then Chloe grabbed my hand.

“Come on, Mommy.”

We walked out.

I didn’t drive to the store.

I drove three miles to my sister’s house.

My sister, Rachel, opened the door in pajamas.

She took one look at my face and stepped aside.

“What happened?”

I locked the door behind me.

“Do you remember Daniel’s accident?”

Her expression changed.

“Of course.”

“I need you to tell me everything you remember.”

“Why?”

“Please.”

Rachel stared at me.

Then she sat down.

“I remember you calling me that night.”

“What did I say?”

“You were crying.”

“Anything else?”

She thought for a moment.

“You said something strange.”

“What?”

“You said Daniel had called you before the accident.”

My heart stopped.

“What?”

Rachel frowned.

“You don’t remember?”

“No.”

She looked confused.

“You called me from the hospital. You said you’d spoken to him twenty minutes before the crash.”

I felt dizzy.

“That’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“Because the police report said his phone wasn’t used before the accident.”

Rachel stared at me.

“Then the police report was wrong.”

I sat down.

“Who told you he called me?”

“You did.”

I covered my mouth.

Something wasn’t right.

Rachel continued.

“You said he sounded scared.”

“What did he say?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Try.”

She closed her eyes.

“He told you not to trust someone.”

My blood turned cold.

“Who?”

“I don’t know.”

Rachel looked at Chloe.

“Maybe you should ask your daughter.”

I turned toward Chloe.

She was standing by the window.

“Chloe?”

She slowly turned.

“I know.”

My voice shook.

“Know what?”

She looked at me.

“That’s what Daddy said.”

Rachel stood.

“What?”

Chloe looked between us.

“Before he died.”

I moved toward her.

“What did Daddy say?”

She hesitated.

“Mommy, I was little.”

“I know.”

“I didn’t understand.”

“Tell me anyway.”

She squeezed her hands together.

“He came to my room.”

My heart cracked.

“That night?”

She nodded.

“He said I had to be brave.”

Rachel’s face went pale.

“What else?”

“He said, ‘If anything happens to me, don’t let him take care of you.’”

The room went silent.

I felt like the floor had disappeared.

“Who did he mean?”

Chloe looked at me.

“Mark.”

Rachel gasped.

I couldn’t speak.

Mark.

The man I had married two years after Daniel died.

The man who had been around Chloe for years.

The man who had insisted on coming to the dentist.

The man who had just asked whether Dr. Evans had told me anything.

Suddenly my phone buzzed.

A text.

From Mark.

Where are you?

Another message arrived.

You said you were going to the store.

Then another.

Why is Chloe’s backpack here?

I stared at the screen.

My blood ran cold.

He knew we had left.

I typed:

We went to Rachel’s.

I didn’t send it.

Instead, I turned the phone off.

Rachel looked at me.

“What are you doing?”

“Protecting us.”

I took the memory card from my pocket.

“Do you have a laptop?”

“Yes.”

“Get it.”

Rachel brought it from her bedroom.

We inserted the card.

Nothing happened.

The screen displayed a folder.

Only one file.

DANIEL_FINAL

My fingers froze over the keyboard.

I clicked it.

A video opened.

The image was dark and shaky.

Then Daniel appeared.

My husband.

My first husband.

The father of my child.

Alive.

He was sitting inside a car.

His face looked exhausted.

There was blood on his collar.

He stared directly into the camera.

“If you’re watching this, something happened to me.”

I covered my mouth.

Chloe stepped closer.

“Daddy…”

Daniel continued.

“I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”

The video flickered.

Then he said something that made every muscle in my body tighten.

“Mark knows.”

I stopped breathing.

Rachel whispered:

“Who is Mark?”

Daniel looked toward the car window.

“He knows about the money.”

I stared at the screen.

“What money?”

Daniel continued.

“Sarah, if you see this, don’t confront him. Don’t tell him you know. Take Chloe and leave.”

My eyes filled with tears.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

On the video, Daniel looked directly into the camera.

“Because I thought I could handle it.”

He rubbed his forehead.

“I was wrong.”

Then he leaned closer.

“The money isn’t mine.”

The video suddenly distorted.

Daniel’s voice became broken and unclear.

Then I heard:

“Your father…”

The screen went black.

Rachel stared at me.

“What money?”

I didn’t know.

But Chloe did.

She pointed toward the laptop.

“Daddy said something else.”

“What?”

“He said the money was hidden.”

“Where?”

Chloe looked terrified.

“In our house.”

My phone suddenly turned on by itself.

A notification appeared.

A message from Mark.

I know where you are.

Then another.

Bring Chloe home.

Then a third.

We need to talk about what happened to Daniel.

Rachel looked at me.

“Call the police.”

I stood.

“Not yet.”

“What?”

“If Mark knows we have the video, he’ll destroy whatever evidence is left.”

Rachel stared at me.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying we need to know what we’re dealing with.”

I grabbed the laptop.

“We need to go back.”

“Are you crazy?”

“No.”

I looked at Chloe.

“For the first time, I’m finally listening to my daughter.”

We returned home twenty minutes later.

The house looked completely normal.

Too normal.

The porch light was on.

The curtains were closed.

Mark’s car sat in the driveway.

I parked two houses away.

Rachel grabbed my arm.

“You’re not going inside.”

“I have to.”

“No.”

“Rachel, if there is evidence inside, I need to know where it is.”

“Then let the police search it.”

“I will.”

I looked at Chloe.

“But first, I need to know what Mark might be hiding.”

We entered through the back door.

The kitchen was empty.

I immediately noticed something.

The refrigerator door was slightly open.

I hadn’t left it that way.

Neither had Rachel.

We moved quietly down the hallway.

Then we heard a sound from upstairs.

A drawer opening.

Rachel whispered:

“He’s here.”

I nodded.

We climbed the stairs.

The sound stopped.

Mark’s bedroom door was closed.

I reached for the handle.

Then Chloe grabbed my hand.

“Mommy.”

“What?”

She pointed toward the floor.

A tiny red light blinked beneath the bed.

A camera.

My stomach dropped.

Someone had been recording us.

Rachel whispered:

“Oh my God.”

Then the bedroom door opened.

Mark stood there.

He wasn’t smiling anymore.

His eyes moved from me to Rachel.

Then to Chloe.

Finally, they landed on the laptop in my hand.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Mark said quietly:

“Give me the computer.”

I tightened my grip.

“No.”

His face changed.

“You don’t understand what you’re involved in.”

“I think I understand more than you realize.”

He stepped toward me.

“Sarah.”

I backed away.

“Don’t.”

He stopped.

Then he sighed.

“You should have listened to me.”

“Listened to what?”

He looked at Chloe.

“Your daughter has been manipulated.”

Chloe moved behind me.

Mark’s voice became colder.

“Daniel wasn’t the man you think he was.”

I stared at him.

“Then tell me the truth.”

“I’ve been trying to protect you.”

“From what?”

He didn’t answer.

“From what, Mark?”

He looked at the laptop.

Then at me.

“The money.”

I felt my heart pounding.

“What money?”

Mark smiled faintly.

“The money Daniel stole.”

“From whom?”

His expression hardened.

“You really don’t know.”

“No.”

He took one more step.

“The money belonged to people who don’t forgive betrayal.”

I whispered:

“And you?”

He looked at me.

“I was the person Daniel betrayed.”

My stomach twisted.

“What did you do to him?”

Mark’s eyes became completely empty.

“I didn’t kill Daniel.”

I stared at him.

“Then who did?”

He said nothing.

The silence lasted several seconds.

Then Chloe spoke.

“You did.”

Mark’s head turned toward her.

She was crying.

“You told Daddy you were going to make him disappear.”

Mark froze.

I looked at my daughter.

“How do you know that?”

She pointed toward the hallway.

“I heard it.”

Mark’s face suddenly lost all color.

And that was when I realized something.

He wasn’t afraid of me.

He wasn’t afraid of Rachel.

He was afraid of what Chloe remembered.

Mark whispered:

“She wasn’t supposed to remember.”

I immediately reached for my phone.

But before I could unlock it, Mark lunged forward.

Rachel screamed.

I stepped backward.

The laptop fell to the floor.

The screen cracked.

And from somewhere downstairs came the sound of glass breaking.

Mark froze.

Someone was inside the house.

Then a man’s voice shouted:

“POLICE! STEP AWAY FROM THE WOMAN!”

Mark turned toward the staircase.

His face filled with panic.

I looked at Rachel.

“How did they—”

She held up her phone.

“I called them before we came back.”

Two officers rushed upstairs.

Mark raised his hands.

But before they could reach him, he suddenly smiled.

Not a frightened smile.

A relieved one.

And he looked directly at me.

“Sarah,” he said.

“What?”

“You still don’t know where the money is.”

Then he was handcuffed.

But as the officers took him away, one of them stopped beside me.

“Mrs. Carter?”

“Yes?”

“We found something in your basement.”

My heart sank.

“What?”

The officer looked at Rachel.

Then at Chloe.

“We think you should see it.”

I followed him downstairs.

Behind a row of old storage boxes was a section of wall that looked slightly newer than the rest.

The officer pointed.

“Someone built this recently.”

He pulled away a loose panel.

Behind it was a narrow hidden compartment.

Inside sat a metal box.

And taped to the top was a handwritten note.

My name was on it.

SARAH.

My hands began trembling.

I opened the box.

Inside was a passport.

Three bank cards.

Several photographs.

A small black notebook.

And an envelope.

The envelope had only six words written across it:

YOUR HUSBAND DIDN’T KILL DANIEL.

I looked at the officer.

“Then who did?”

He shook his head.

“We don’t know.”

I opened the envelope.

Inside was a single photograph.

Daniel was standing beside a man I had never seen before.

But Mark was in the background.

And behind all three of them was a building I recognized.

My father’s old warehouse.

A place that had supposedly been sold fifteen years earlier.

I turned the photograph over.

There was another message.

Ask your father why Daniel was there three days before he died.

My breath caught.

My father had been dead for eight years.

But suddenly, for the first time, I wondered whether I had ever really known him either.

And then Chloe tugged on my sleeve.