Chapter 7 - The First BetrayalBen didn't move.
Neither did I.
Dad stood behind us.
“Did you write that?”
Ben shook his head.
“No.”
Dad picked it up carefully.
“Then someone wants us to think he did.”
Ben looked at me.
“I told you to let this go.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You told me to keep quiet while your family rewrote what happened to our daughter.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From whom?”
He didn't answer.
Dad stepped between us.
“Enough.”
Ben's eyes filled with frustration.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
Ben looked at me.
“There are people your father can't protect you from.”
Dad's expression hardened.
“You're right.”
Ben looked surprised.
Dad continued.
“But you are not one of them.”
Ben looked away.
I felt something break inside me.
Not trust.
That had already cracked.
This was different.
It was certainty.
The certainty that the marriage I'd believed in had been built on secrets.
That night, Ben slept in the guest room.
I didn't sleep.
At 3:17 a.m., I heard footsteps downstairs.
I grabbed my phone.
The house was dark.
I went halfway down the stairs.
Ben stood in the kitchen.
He was holding a folder.
I almost called out.
Then I saw him meet someone at the back door.
Gary.
My heart stopped.
Gary handed him an envelope.
Ben whispered:
“She knows about the account.”
Gary answered:
“Then you're out of time.”
I covered my mouth.
Ben glanced toward the staircase.
I stepped back.
Silence.
The back door opened.
Gary left.
Ben turned.
I rushed upstairs.
I climbed into bed and closed my eyes.
Seconds later, the bedroom door opened.
Ben stood there.
He watched me.
Then quietly closed the door.
I waited.
He left.
I opened my eyes.
My phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
You just watched your husband take money from Gary.
Then a video arrived.
I played it.
It showed the meeting downstairs.
But the camera angle was impossible.
It had been filmed from inside our own kitchen cabinet.
Someone had been watching us for months.
Then a second video appeared.
This one was older.
Three months earlier.
Ben stood beside Gary.
Linda was with them.
They were discussing me.
And I heard Gary say:
“She'll never know about the second account.”
Linda answered:
“Then make sure she keeps trusting Ben.”
The video ended.
I felt numb.
The person filming us wasn't helping me.
They were manipulating me.
I couldn't tell whether they wanted justice...
or wanted me to destroy my own family.
At dawn, I called Dad.
“I know who is involved.”
“Who?”
“Ben.”
Silence.
Then Dad said:
“Are you sure?”
“I saw him.”
Dad's voice became grim.
“Then don't confront him.”
“Why?”
“Because if Ben is working with them, he may not be the person in charge.”
I stared at the ceiling.
“Who is?”
Dad hesitated.
Then said:
“Your mother.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
May you like
Dad's voice cracked.
“She may still be alive.”
