Chapter 2 - The Door Was Already UnlockedDaniel walked through the front door at 9:26 p.m.
He looked tired.
He loosened his tie.
Dropped his keys on the counter.
Then he noticed the broken airplane.
His expression changed.
“What happened?”
Ethan immediately looked at me.
I said nothing.
Jason leaned back on the couch.
“Accident.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Rachel?”
I stared at him.
“Jason broke it.”
Daniel sighed.
“Jason, seriously?”
Jason shrugged.
“I already said it was an accident.”
Ethan quietly gathered the broken pieces.
Daniel looked irritated rather than concerned.
Then his eyes moved to my laptop.
He saw the spreadsheet.
His face changed.
“What is that?”
I closed the computer.
“Household expenses.”
“Why?”
“I've been reviewing them.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
He stared at me.
“Rachel, what happened?”
I looked at him.
“Jason told me I wasn't his mother.”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“He's sixteen.”
“He destroyed Ethan's airplane.”
“I'll talk to him.”
“You've been talking to him for years.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Don't start.”
“I'm not starting anything.”
I pointed toward the table.
“I'm ending something.”
Jason laughed from the couch.
Daniel looked at him.
“Go upstairs.”
Jason stood.
“You're taking her side?”
“Go upstairs, Jason.”
Jason looked at me.
Then at Daniel.
Finally, he walked away.
Alyssa appeared halfway down the staircase.
She had clearly been listening.
“Dad?”
“Go back upstairs.”
She disappeared.
Daniel turned to me.
“You can't punish them because you're hurt.”
“This isn't punishment.”
“What is it?”
“Financial boundaries.”
His expression hardened.
“You're talking about cutting off their phones?”
“Yes.”
“Their school accounts?”
“Yes.”
“Their subscriptions?”
“Yes.”
“You're being ridiculous.”
I picked up the folder from my desk.
“No.”
I looked him directly in the eyes.
“I've been ridiculous for six years.”
He froze.
“What does that mean?”
I opened the yellow envelope.
“Who is Melissa talking about?”
The color drained from his face.
He didn't answer.
That was my first confirmation.
I had found something he didn't want me to find.
“Daniel.”
He sat down.
“Where did you get that?”
“It's my file.”
“What file?”
“The one with your secrets.”
He looked toward the hallway.
Then toward the stairs.
“Rachel, we need to talk privately.”
“We are talking privately.”
“No.”
His voice dropped.
“Not here.”
He walked toward me.
I didn't move.
“What did Melissa tell you?”
I held up the message.
“She said you lied to me about why the kids hate me.”
Daniel stared at the screen.
“She was trying to destroy our marriage.”
“Then why were there bank transfers?”
Silence.
“Why were there payments to Melissa?”
His face went still.
“What payments?”
I slid a bank statement across the table.
Three thousand dollars.
Then another.
Two thousand five hundred.
Then another.
Four thousand.
All transferred to an account I didn't recognize.
Recipient:
M. Collins
Melissa Collins.
Daniel sat down.
“I can explain.”
I almost laughed.
That sentence has ruined more marriages than infidelity ever could.
“Then explain.”
He rubbed his hands together.
“It wasn't what you think.”
“What do I think?”
“That you're being manipulated.”
“By Melissa?”
He hesitated.
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“Then why did you pay her?”
“To keep the peace.”
“Why?”
He wouldn't answer.
I opened the folder again.
There were photographs.
Jason at twelve.
Alyssa at ten.
Both standing beside Melissa.
In one photograph, Melissa was pointing toward the camera.
Toward whoever took the picture.
In another, Jason was holding a note.
A sentence was written across it.
Rachel doesn't care about you.
I looked up.
“Who gave them these?”
Daniel didn't speak.
“Who taught your children to hate me?”
Still nothing.
I stood.
Then I walked toward the stairs.
Daniel grabbed my wrist.
“Rachel.”
I looked down at his hand.
He released me immediately.
“You don't understand what you're opening.”
“Then tell me.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
His eyes were full of something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Not anger.
Fear.
“I promised someone.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
He looked at me.
Then whispered:
“Melissa.”
I stepped backward.
Daniel closed his eyes.
And for the first time, I realized the truth might be even uglier than betrayal.
Someone had made a promise involving my life.
A promise my husband had kept for years.
And whatever that promise was, Melissa had been confident enough to believe Daniel would never break it.
May you like
She had been right.
Until tonight.
