Chapter 3: The Secrets In The Folder
The woman introduced herself as Rachel Collins.
I had never met her.
But Derek knew exactly who she was.
That scared me more than anything.
“Who is she?”” I asked.
Derek said nothing.
Rachel looked at me with sympathy.
“I’m sorry you had to find out this way.””
My father stood beside me.
“Emily, Rachel was a private investigator.””
My stomach dropped.
“A private investigator?””
Rachel nodded.
“I was hired six months ago.””
I looked at Dad.
“By you?””
He looked away.
“I started suspecting something was wrong.””
My chest tightened.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because every time I asked if you were okay, you defended him.””
That hurt.
Because it was true.
Rachel opened the folder.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Records.
I didn’t want to look.
But I did.
The first picture showed Derek outside a hotel.
With another woman.
The second showed him meeting someone at a bank.
The third showed paperwork.
“What is this?””
Rachel looked at Derek.
“Your husband has been hiding money.””
Derek immediately stepped forward.
“That’s a lie.””
Rachel calmly handed me a document.
“Your joint account has been drained over the past year.””
I stared at the numbers.
My hands went cold.
“That’s impossible.””
Derek shook his head.
“She’s manipulating you.””
Rachel opened another page.
“Emily, Derek has been transferring money into an account under his mother’s name.””
I looked at Linda.
She had come back inside.
Her face was pale.
“Linda?””
She looked away.
That was the answer.
I felt something break inside me.
Not because of the money.
Because while I was working overtime to pay bills, while I was skipping things I wanted, while I was believing we were building a future…
They were planning one without me.
Derek stepped closer.
“Emily, listen to me.””
I backed away.
“No.””
“Don’t do this.””
“Do what?””
“Destroy our marriage because of some paperwork?””
I laughed.
A small, broken laugh.
“Our marriage?””
I touched my bruised cheek.
“You destroyed that.””
Derek’s expression changed.
For a second, I saw the real him.
Not the charming man my friends knew.
Not the polite man who impressed my father.
The real Derek.
A man who hated losing control.
“You think you’re leaving?”” he whispered.
My father stepped forward.
“She is.””
Derek looked at him.
“You don’t understand.””
“No,” Dad replied.
“I understand exactly.””
Derek smiled suddenly.
It was the same smile he wore when he thought he had won.
“You really don’t.””
He pulled out his phone.
“Maybe you should ask your daughter why she never told you everything.””
I froze.
“What does that mean?””
Derek looked at me.
“Tell him, Emily.””
My heart pounded.
“Tell him about the night you called me crying.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“The night you begged me not to leave.””
I felt confused.
Because I remembered that night.
I remembered crying.
I remembered being terrified.
But not for the reason he wanted people to believe.
Derek looked at my father.
“She knows she’s not innocent.””
My father looked at me.
Not suspicious.
Not angry.
Just waiting.
I whispered:
“Dad…”
Derek smiled.
“Go ahead.””
I looked down.
Because there was one thing I had hidden.
One thing I was ashamed of.
The reason I stayed.
The reason I kept forgiving.
And when I finally said the truth out loud, everyone went silent.
“I wasn’t afraid he would hurt me.””
I looked at Derek.
“I was afraid of what would happen if I exposed him.””
Rachel’s expression changed.
“What do you mean?””
I reached into my purse.
My fingers touched the small object I had hidden there for months.
A flash drive.
I placed it on the table.
“This is why Derek was never afraid of me leaving.””
May you like
I looked at my husband.
“He was afraid I would show everyone what he really did.””
