Chapter 3: The Envelope

The envelope sat on Claire’s kitchen table for ten minutes before she touched it.

Nobody spoke.

Daniel stood near the doorway.

Margaret sat with her hands folded.

Robert looked like a man waiting for a sentence.

Finally, Claire opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

An old one.

A young Daniel stood beside a teenage girl.

Claire recognized Daniel immediately.

But she didn’t recognize the girl.

On the back of the photo was a date.

Eleven years earlier.

Before their wedding.

Before their house.

Before their daughter.

“What is this?””

Daniel’s face lost all color.

“Claire…”

“No.””

She looked at him.

“You don’t get to say my name like you’re protecting me.””

Robert lowered his head.

“The girl in the picture was Emily Carter.””

Claire waited.

“And?””

Margaret whispered:

“She disappeared.””

The room went still.

Claire looked between them.

“What does that have to do with me?””

Daniel stepped forward.

“Nothing.””

Robert looked at him sharply.

“Don’t lie again.””

Daniel froze.

Claire noticed.

That was the first time anyone had openly challenged him.

Robert continued.

“Emily disappeared three days before Daniel met Claire.””

Claire’s stomach tightened.

“You told me you met him at a charity event.””

Daniel said nothing.

“You lied?””

“No.””

Margaret interrupted.

“Claire, listen.””

“No. Everyone keeps telling me to listen. Nobody answers.””

She held up the photograph.

“Why was my husband in a picture with a missing woman?””

Daniel’s eyes filled with fear.

“Because I was the last person who saw her.””

The words hit harder than the affair.

Claire slowly lowered the photo.

“Why didn’t you tell me?””

“Because I didn’t want to lose you.””

“That’s your excuse?””

Daniel shook his head.

“No.””

For the first time, he looked truly broken.

“I was scared.””

“Of what?””

He looked at Margaret.

Then Robert.

Then back at Claire.

“Of what would happen if you found out the truth.””

A phone buzzed.

Everyone looked down.

It was Claire’s phone.

Unknown number.

One message.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

A photograph appeared.

A photograph of Daniel entering a hotel.

But the date was not eleven months ago.

It was yesterday.

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