Chapter 2 - Nathan drove home without remembering most of the journey.The photograph sat on the passenger seat.
He kept glancing at it.
Emma.
Victoria.
The house.
The timestamp.
Four years ago.
Three hours before Emma died.
Nathan had seen hundreds of photographs from that period.
Family birthdays.
Christmas.
Hospital rooms.
Funeral pictures.
He had never seen this one.
Who took it?
Why had Emma looked afraid?
And why had Victoria been there?
Nathan parked outside the house.
The curtains in the upstairs bedroom moved.
Someone was watching him.
He stepped out of the car.
The curtain dropped immediately.
Nathan did not move.
Then he heard the front door open.
Victoria stood there.
“You’re late.”
Nathan stared at her.
“Where were you?”
She smiled faintly.
“At home.”
“You’re lying.”
Her smile vanished.
“Excuse me?”
Nathan walked inside.
He closed the door behind him.
The children were at school.
For the first time in years, Nathan and Victoria were alone.
He placed the photograph on the table.
She looked at it.
Every trace of color disappeared from her face.
Nathan watched her carefully.
“You were there.”
Victoria did not answer.
“You told me you weren't.”
Silence.
Nathan picked up the photograph.
“Why were you standing with Emma three hours before she died?”
Victoria swallowed.
“We argued.”
“About what?”
“I don't remember.”
“That’s impossible.”
“It was four years ago.”
“You remembered enough to deny being there.”
Victoria crossed her arms.
“You're letting Lily's imagination destroy everything.”
Nathan stared at her.
“Lily knew you were holding a hanger.”
“She was misbehaving.”
“She said you were hurting Noah.”
“I was disciplining him.”
“She was protecting him from you.”
Victoria slammed her hand onto the table.
“I am not a monster!”
Nathan said nothing.
Victoria's voice softened.
“I love those children.”
Nathan looked away.
There had been a time when he believed that.
He wanted to believe it now.
Then he remembered Lily's face.
The fear in her eyes.
“I need you to answer one question.”
Victoria stared at him.
“Did you see Emma the night she died?”
A long pause.
Then:
“Yes.”
Nathan's heart stopped.
“You just lied to me.”
“I lied because I was scared.”
“Of what?”
Victoria looked toward the window.
“Of what would happen if you knew the truth.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“What truth?”
She looked at him.
Then whispered:
“Emma wasn't alone that night.”
Nathan's pulse hammered.
“Who was with her?”
Victoria opened her mouth.
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Both of them looked toward the ceiling.
Nathan ran.
The sound had come from Lily's room.
He burst through the door.
The room was empty.
The window was open.
A small wooden box lay shattered on the floor.
Nathan froze.
That box belonged to Emma.
He had kept it locked in the back of his closet.
Inside had been Emma's old necklace, letters, and photographs.
Someone had gone through it.
Victoria appeared behind him.
“What happened?”
Nathan turned.
“You knew about this box?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Nathan crouched down.
One photograph remained intact.
Emma standing beside a lake.
Nathan picked it up.
On the back was handwriting.
His wife's handwriting.
For Lily. When she is old enough.
Nathan turned to Victoria.
“Did Emma leave this?”
Victoria stared at the photograph.
“I don't know.”
Nathan pulled the box away from her.
Then he found something beneath the broken wooden base.
A tiny envelope.
No name.
No date.
He opened it.
Inside was a single flash drive.
Nathan inserted it into his laptop.
One audio file.
He pressed play.
At first, there was only static.
Then Emma's voice.
Weak.
Whispering.
“Nathan, if you're hearing this, I'm probably already dead.”
Nathan went completely still.
Victoria stood behind him.
Emma continued.
“I don't know who I can trust.”
Nathan felt his throat tighten.
“I found the transfers.”
The audio crackled.
“Money is being moved through an account in my name.”
Nathan's eyes widened.
“I confronted her.”
A pause.
Then Emma whispered:
“Victoria knows.”
Nathan slowly turned toward his wife.
Victoria's face had gone blank.
The recording continued.
“She told me I should stop asking questions.”
Nathan could barely breathe.
“I'm scared.”
Static.
Then a loud sound in the background.
Emma gasped.
“Someone's here.”
Her voice became frantic.
“If something happens to me, Nathan, do not trust—”
The recording cut off.
Nathan slammed the laptop.
He stared at Victoria.
“What did she mean?”
Victoria said nothing.
Nathan stepped forward.
“Why does my dead wife have a recording saying she didn't trust you?”
Victoria began crying.
“I didn't kill her.”
Nathan froze.
“I never said you did.”
Victoria covered her mouth.
She realized what she had just admitted.
Nathan's voice became very quiet.
“Why did you say that?”
She looked at him.
Then the front door downstairs opened.
Someone had entered the house.
Nathan heard footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming toward the stairs.
Victoria's expression changed.
For a second, genuine terror flashed across her face.
“Nathan,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Run.”
A gunshot exploded downstairs.
The bedroom door slammed open.
A man in black stood in the hallway.
And in his hand was a photograph of Emma.
He looked at Nathan.
May you like
Then he said:
“She should have kept her mouth shut.”
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