Chapter 4: The Man Who Had Been Watching Me
I stared at the photograph until the words beneath it stopped looking like words.
*“You should ask your husband why he was watching you before Vivian ever touched you.””*
My fingers went cold.
I looked at the image again.
It was taken outside the Oakmont Luxury Hotel.
I could see myself standing near the entrance.
My face was turned toward Marcus.
My hand was protecting my stomach.
I remembered that exact moment.
I remembered begging him to tell me the truth.
I remembered waiting for the man I loved to choose me.
But now I was seeing something I hadn’t noticed.
The angle.
The distance.
The person who took the photograph had been standing almost directly across from me.
Watching.
Waiting.
“Emma?””
Natalie’s voice pulled me back.
I looked up.
“What?””
“You’re shaking.””
I quickly placed the phone on the table.
“Who sent this?””
Natalie looked at the screen.
“I don’t know.””
“You’ve never seen this number?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
I picked up the phone again and stared at the unknown contact.
My first instinct was to call.
My second instinct was to throw the phone away.
Because a part of me was exhausted.
Exhausted from discovering new pieces of a nightmare every few hours.
First Vivian.
Then Natalie.
Then Ethan.
Now someone had been secretly watching me.
“How much more is there?”” I whispered.
Natalie looked at me sadly.
“I asked myself that same question.””
I looked at her.
“What happened when you tried to leave?””
Her expression changed.
For the first time, I saw fear.
Not sadness.
Not regret.
Fear.
“I disappeared from his life.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“I stopped answering his calls. I moved apartments. I changed my number.””
“And?””
“And three days later, he found me.””
My stomach tightened.
“How?””
She looked down.
“He had someone track me.””
A cold silence fell between us.
“Are you sure?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“Because the person who found me told me.””
“Who?””
Natalie hesitated.
Then she answered.
“Marcus.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“He admitted it?””
“He said he was worried about me.””
I almost laughed.
“Worried?””
Natalie nodded.
“He said he couldn’t let someone he cared about disappear.””
I looked away.
Because I knew that sentence.
Marcus used words like that.
Words that sounded like love.
Words that hid control.
“What happened after he found you?”” I asked.
Natalie wrapped both hands around her coffee cup.
“He convinced me to come back.””
“Why?””
“Because he told me he had chosen me.””
My jaw tightened.
“But he didn’t.””
“No.””
She looked at me.
“He chose whatever benefited him.””
Those words stayed between us.
Because they were true.
For years, I had believed Marcus’s greatest flaw was that he worked too much.
I had defended him.
I had told people, “He’s under pressure.””
I had explained his absence.
His mood changes.
His obsession with success.
I had protected him.
And now I wondered if I had been protecting the wrong person.
My phone buzzed again.
This time, it was a call.
Marcus.
I stared at his name.
Natalie watched me carefully.
“Are you going to answer?””
I didn’t know.
Part of me wanted to.
Part of me wanted to hear his voice.
The familiar voice that had comforted me through every difficult moment.
The voice that had said, “I love you.””
But another part of me was afraid.
Because what if I heard the same voice and realized I still loved him?
I answered.
“Emma.””
His voice came immediately.
Soft.
Concerned.
Almost perfect.
“Where are you?””
I looked at Natalie.
Then at the folder on the table.
“I’m getting coffee.””
“Alone?””
The question was too quick.
Too sharp.
I noticed.
“You sound worried.””
“I am worried.””
“About me?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
That familiar warmth.
That tiny piece of the old Marcus trying to survive.
Then I remembered him standing beside Vivian.
I remembered him telling me to leave.
“I want to ask you something.””
“Okay.””
“Were you watching me yesterday?””
Silence.
Only for a second.
But I heard it.
The hesitation.
“What are you talking about?””
“I received a photograph.””
Another pause.
“From who?””
I almost smiled.
Because he didn’t ask what photograph.
He asked who sent it.
“You knew there was a reason someone would send me something.””
“Emma, listen to me.””
“No.””
My voice became stronger.
“You listen.””
The café around me faded away.
“I have spent years listening to you explain things. I listened when your company struggled. I listened when you said you were too busy. I listened when I found another woman’s bracelet in your jacket.””
“Emma—”
“I listened when you told me I was imagining things.””
His breathing changed.
“You’re upset.””
“I’m awake.””
The line went quiet.
Then Marcus said something that made my heart stop.
“You need to come home.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“Because we need to talk face-to-face.””
“No.””
“Emma.””
“I’m not coming home until I understand what’s happening.””
His voice changed.
Not much.
Just enough.
The softness disappeared.
“You’re making a mistake.””
I looked at the phone.
There it was.
The real Marcus.
“You don’t get to decide that.””
“Emma, you don’t know what you’re dealing with.””
The words sent a chill through me.
“What does that mean?””
He didn’t answer.
“Marcus?””
“I’m trying to protect you.””
I laughed quietly.
“From what?””
Silence.
Then:
“From people who want to hurt me.””
I looked at Natalie.
She looked back at me.
And somehow, without speaking, we both understood.
Marcus wasn’t worried about me.
He was worried about what I knew.
“I have to go,” I said.
“Emma, wait.””
I ended the call.
My hands were still shaking.
But this time, it wasn’t because I was afraid.
It was because I was angry.
For the first time in years, I wasn’t trying to save Marcus.
I was trying to save myself.
“What now?”” Natalie asked.
I looked at the folder.
“What happened to Ethan?””
Natalie became quiet.
“I don’t know everything.””
“But you know something.””
She nodded.
“Someone else does.””
“Who?””
She hesitated.
Then reached into her bag and pulled out another piece of paper.
An address.
I looked at it.
“Who lives there?””
Natalie looked at me.
“The person who helped Ethan before he disappeared.””
I folded the paper.
“Then I’m going.””
Natalie immediately shook her head.
“Emma, you’re pregnant.””
“I know.””
“You need to be careful.””
“I have been careful my entire marriage.””
My voice cracked.
“And look where that got me.””
Natalie looked like she wanted to say something.
Instead, she simply nodded.
Before I left, she grabbed my arm.
“Emma.””
I turned.
“There’s one more thing.””
“What?””
She looked terrified.
“Marcus doesn’t just hide things.””
I waited.
“He removes problems.””
The words followed me out of the café.
The rain had stopped.
But the sky remained gray.
I drove home slowly.
Every turn felt different now.
Every memory had a question attached to it.
When I arrived, I expected the house to be empty.
Instead, Marcus was waiting.
Standing in the living room.
The moment I walked in, I knew something was wrong.
Because he wasn’t angry.
He wasn’t defensive.
He looked scared.
“Emma.””
I closed the door behind me.
“What happened?””
He stepped forward.
Then stopped.
“I need you to listen to me.””
I stared at him.
“Why?””
“Because someone is lying to you.””
I almost laughed.
“Who?””
His eyes moved toward the folder in my hand.
Then back to me.
“Natalie.””
My heart froze.
“How do you know I saw Natalie?””
Marcus said nothing.
And that silence answered the question.
He knew.
He had always known.
“How?”” I whispered.
His face changed.
“Emma…”
“How did you know where I was?””
Another silence.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
And for the first time since I knew him…
Marcus looked afraid.
He answered.
“Hello?””
I watched his face lose color.
“What?””
A pause.
“No, that’s impossible.””
He looked at me.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Ethan Cole is alive.””
