Chapter 3 - The Woman Michael Buried
The Truth Was Worse Than a Missing Wife
Nobody moved.
The words remained on the black screen.
ELENA DIDN’T LEAVE.
My mother was the first to speak.
“What does that mean?”
The technician shook his head.
“It’s probably part of a timed sequence.”
The detective looked at him.
“Can you recover the rest?”
“I can try.”
My eyes stayed on the monitor.
“Elena didn’t leave.”
The sentence kept repeating in my mind.
Michael had told Mom that Elena was unstable.
That she abandoned him.
That she wanted nothing to do with him.
But the file on the computer suggested something completely different.
The detective made a call.
Ten minutes later, two more officers entered the storage facility.
One carried a document folder.
He handed it to Detective Reed.
“We ran Elena Voss through the state database.”
“What did you get?”
“Nothing current.”
The detective looked up.
“Nothing?”
“No active address. No driver's license renewals. No tax filings. No employment records after November 2023.”
Mom looked confused.
“When did Michael say she left?”
“Late 2023.”
The detective opened the folder.
“But there’s something strange.”
He slid a document toward me.
“Her phone was used after the date Michael claimed she left.”
“When?”
“December 9, 2023.”
I frowned.
“Where?”
A town three hours north.
Then another.
January.
February.
March.
The phone had been active for seven months after Elena supposedly disappeared.
The detective looked at Mom.
“Did Michael ever explain where she went?”
“He said she moved overseas.”
“Where?”
“Canada.”
The officer shook his head.
“The phone never left the country.”
Mom closed her eyes.
I felt a growing pressure behind my ribs.
“Why would he lie?”
The detective didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Because everyone in that room was beginning to understand that Michael’s lies weren't isolated.
They connected.
Like threads woven through a net.
The technician suddenly called out.
“I have another file.”
The screen flickered.
A document appeared.
ELENA_VOSS_CASE_NOTES.
Underneath was a scanned police report.
Detective Reed read quickly.
“Domestic disturbance.”
“When?”
“October 18, 2023.”
Mom looked at him.
“Was Michael arrested?”
“No.”
“Why?”
The detective kept reading.
“He claimed Elena attacked him.”
My mother whispered, “Of course.”
I looked at her.
“You know something.”
Mom hesitated.
Then nodded.
“The week before Michael and I got married, a woman called me.”
“Who?”
“She wouldn't tell me her name.”
“What did she say?”
Mom’s eyes moved toward the door.
“She told me not to marry him.”
My heart stopped.
“You never told me that.”
“I thought it was someone trying to ruin the wedding.”
“What exactly did she say?”
Mom swallowed.
“She said…”
She looked at the detective.
“She said, ‘If he tells you I was crazy, don't believe him.’”
Nobody spoke.
The detective asked,
“Did she identify herself?”
“No.”
“Did you save the number?”
Mom shook her head.
“I changed phones shortly afterward.”
I stared at the storage unit.
“Maybe it was Elena.”
The detective nodded.
“That’s possible.”
The technician suddenly froze.
“I found an address.”
Everyone turned.
“What?”
He pointed at the screen.
“There’s metadata attached to the old recording.”
“What address?”
He read it aloud.
A small apartment building three hours north.
The same town where Elena’s phone had been active.
Detective Reed picked up his radio.
“We need to verify that address immediately.”
While he called, I noticed Noah standing alone near the broken storage door.
He wasn't looking at the computer.
He was staring at one of the shelves.
“Noah?”
He pointed.
“What’s that?”
A little plastic toy car sat on a metal shelf.
Noah walked toward it.
Mom tried to stop him.
“Noah, stay here.”
But he shook his head.
“That’s mine.”
The detective approached.
“You've seen this before?”
Noah nodded.
“Michael gave it to me.”
“When?”
“When he took me here.”
“Why?”
Noah touched the roof of the toy car.
“He said it was my reward.”
“For what?”
“For being quiet.”
My stomach twisted.
“What happened after?”
Noah looked at me.
“He showed me a picture.”
“What picture?”
“A woman.”
“What did she look like?”
Noah thought.
“She had brown hair.”
Mom stiffened.
“Did she look scared?”
Noah nodded.
“She was crying.”
The detective crouched.
“Was she in this room?”
Noah shook his head.
“No.”
“Where?”
“On the computer.”
The detective looked toward the laptop.
“Can you tell me what she said?”
Noah hesitated.
“She said, ‘Tell Sarah I’m sorry.’”
Mom covered her mouth.
The detective immediately ordered a search of every file.
They found a hidden video directory.
Inside were hundreds of short clips.
Most were labeled only with dates.
The technician opened the earliest.
Elena appeared.
Her face filled the screen.
She was sitting somewhere dark.
Her eyes were swollen.
She looked exhausted.
“I don't know how long this recording will stay.”
She looked directly into the camera.
“Michael keeps saying nobody will believe me.”
She swallowed.
“But I know someone will.”
The video skipped.
Then returned.
Elena whispered:
“His name is Daniel.”
I looked toward the parking attendant.
Daniel went pale.
“Me?”
The video continued.
“He works at the supermarket near the storage facility.”
Daniel took a step closer.
Elena looked terrified.
“He saw what Michael did.”
The video ended.
Everyone turned to Daniel.
He stared at the floor.
Detective Reed approached him.
“You know Elena?”
Daniel slowly shook his head.
“Not personally.”
“But she knows you.”
“I don't know how.”
The detective studied him.
“You've been seeing Michael at this facility for almost a year.”
“Yes.”
“You never reported him?”
Daniel's face tightened.
“I didn't know what I was seeing.”
“What did you think he was doing?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Moving furniture.”
“And the child?”
Daniel looked at Noah.
“I saw him once.”
My mother’s voice became sharp.
“When?”
“About two months ago.”
“What happened?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Noah was crying.”
“Why didn't you call the police?”
“Michael told me the boy had autism.”
Noah looked up.
“He lied.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“I should have done something.”
Detective Reed asked,
“Did Michael ever speak to you?”
Daniel nodded.
“He asked me if I had a family.”
The detective's expression changed.
“What did you tell him?”
“That I had a daughter.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Then he smiled.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did he say?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“He said…”
He looked at the detective.
“He said, ‘Then you understand why people should mind their own business.’”
The room became silent.
Then the technician shouted.
“I found an outgoing email.”
Everyone turned.
“From Michael?”
“Yes.”
“To whom?”
The technician opened it.
The recipient was a name.
Marcus Bell.
The subject line said:
ELENA KNOWS.
Below it was one sentence.
If she comes back, Sarah becomes the problem.
My mother grabbed my hand.
Then the storage facility lights suddenly flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The hallway went dark.
Somewhere outside, a metal door slammed.
Detective Reed pulled out his flashlight.
“Everyone stay together.”
We heard footsteps.
Running.
Then the sound of an engine starting.
The detective sprinted toward the exit.
Daniel followed.
I stayed beside Mom and Noah.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
May you like
One message.
YOU OPENED THE WRONG DOOR, EMILY.
