Chapter 7: The List of Women He Chose
“Potential Wife #3.””
Rachel’s words echoed through the phone.
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t speak.
The room around me seemed to disappear.
The table.
The walls.
The sound of traffic outside Claire’s apartment.
Everything faded beneath those three words.
Potential.
Wife.
Number three.
Finally, I forced myself to breathe.
“What did you say?””
Rachel was quiet.
“I know how it sounds.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“I need you to explain.””
Claire stood beside me, watching my face.
Rachel took a slow breath.
“After I left Daniel, I spent months trying to understand what happened. I kept asking myself how I missed the signs.””
I listened.
“Then one day, I found an old box I had left at his apartment. I went back for it because I thought he wouldn’t care anymore.””
My stomach tightened.
“He did care.””
“How?””
“He was angry that I came back.””
Rachel paused.
“He told me I had no right to enter his home.””
I looked down.
The words sounded familiar.
Ownership.
Control.
Everything had to belong to him.
“While I was there, I saw something on his desk.””
“What?””
“A folder.””
I gripped the phone tighter.
“And?””
“And your picture was inside.””
My heart dropped.
“My picture?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“I don’t know.””
Rachel’s voice became softer.
“But I remember the name written on the folder.””
I already knew I wouldn’t like the answer.
“What was it?””
“Emily Harper.””
The silence that followed felt unbearable.
Claire whispered:
“Emily…”
I barely heard her.
“Why would he have my picture?””
Rachel didn’t answer immediately.
Then she said:
“Because Daniel had been watching you before you ever met him.””
I spent the next hour asking Rachel questions.
Every answer created three more questions.
She told me Daniel had kept files.
Not normal files.
Folders.
Notes.
Information.
At first, Rachel thought it was about business.
Daniel worked in property management and investments. He was organized. He liked planning.
But then she found names.
Women’s names.
Pictures.
Basic information.
“She wasn’t the first,” Rachel said.
“Who?””
“The woman before me.””
I looked at Claire.
“What woman?””
Rachel sighed.
“Before me, Daniel dated someone named Lauren.””
“What happened?””
“She left.””
“Why?””
“Because she found the folder.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What was in Lauren’s folder?””
“I don’t know everything.””
Rachel paused.
“But I saw enough.””
I sat down.
“Enough for what?””
“To understand that Daniel wasn’t looking for love.””
My throat tightened.
“What was he looking for?””
Rachel’s answer was quiet.
“Control.””
After the call ended, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Daniel hadn’t fallen in love with me.
At least, maybe not in the way I believed.
He had studied me.
Chosen me.
Approached me.
And the worst part?
He knew exactly what would work.
He knew I valued family.
He knew I believed people deserved second chances.
He knew I would try to fix things before walking away.
He didn’t see my kindness as something beautiful.
He saw it as something useful.
That realization hurt more than the slap.
The slap was a moment.
This was a plan.
Claire sat beside me.
“What are you going to do?””
I stared at the phone.
“I don’t know.””
The answer surprised me.
Because I had always been someone who planned.
My career.
My wedding.
My future.
But Daniel had taken the future I imagined and turned it into something I no longer recognized.
Claire squeezed my hand.
“You don’t have to decide everything today.””
I nodded.
Then my phone buzzed.
Another message.
From Daniel.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
But something made me open it.
*You’re making a serious mistake.*
A second message followed.
*You don’t know what people are telling you.*
Then another.
*Come home and we can fix this.*
I stared at the screen.
Fix this.
That phrase.
The phrase every manipulative person loved.
Fix the problem.
Fix the argument.
Fix the reaction.
Never fix the behavior.
I typed a response.
Then deleted it.
Typed again.
Deleted again.
Finally, I sent one sentence.
*I know exactly what happened.*
The reply came immediately.
*No, you don’t.*
I looked at the message.
And something inside me became clear.
Daniel was still trying to convince me.
That meant he was afraid.
Two days later, I met with an attorney.
Margaret arranged the appointment.
She insisted.
“You need someone who understands what he’s done.””
The attorney, a woman named Julia Bennett, reviewed the documents I brought.
The forged signature.
The agreement.
The financial paperwork.
The messages between Daniel and Vanessa.
She didn’t react dramatically.
That worried me.
People only stay calm when they’ve seen things like this before.
Finally, she placed the papers down.
“Emily, do you know if Daniel had access to your personal information before the wedding?””
“I don’t know.””
Julia looked at the documents.
“Because this wasn’t created after the wedding.””
“I know.””
“It appears someone was preparing this before you were married.””
I nodded.
My stomach turned.
“What does it mean?””
“It means we need to find out what else exists.””
“What else?””
“Financial records. Communication history. Any agreements you didn’t knowingly sign.””
I swallowed.
“Can he force me to give up everything?””
Julia looked directly at me.
“No.””
The certainty in her voice helped.
“But we need evidence.””
Evidence.
That word followed me everywhere.
Evidence that I wasn’t crazy.
Evidence that what happened mattered.
Evidence that Daniel’s version of reality wasn’t the truth.
That evening, Margaret called.
Her voice sounded urgent.
“Emily, you need to come over.””
“What happened?””
“I found something.””
“What?””
“I found Daniel’s old laptop.””
I froze.
“Where?””
“He left it here months ago.””
“And you looked through it?””
“No.””
She paused.
“Not until today.””
I drove to her house with Claire.
When we arrived, Margaret was waiting at the door.
She looked terrified.
Not nervous.
Terrified.
“What did you find?””
She didn’t answer.
She led us upstairs.
Inside the guest room was a laptop sitting on the desk.
“I turned it on.””
Claire frowned.
“Wouldn’t it be password protected?””
Margaret nodded.
“It was.””
“Then how did you get in?””
Margaret looked at me.
“Daniel used the same password for years.””
My stomach tightened.
“What was it?””
She hesitated.
“Vanessa’s birthday.””
I stared.
“That’s strange.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he told everyone Vanessa depended on him.””
Margaret opened the laptop.
A password screen appeared.
She typed.
The computer unlocked.
My chest tightened.
There were folders everywhere.
Work.
Taxes.
Photos.
Personal.
Then I saw one folder.
No name.
Just a number.
*03.*
Margaret clicked it.
Inside were documents.
Pictures.
Notes.
My blood ran cold.
The first file was titled:
*Emily Harper — Evaluation.*
I covered my mouth.
Claire stepped closer.
“What the hell?””
Margaret opened the file.
There were pages.
Descriptions.
Observations.
Things Daniel had written.
My daily routines.
My workplace.
My family.
My personality.
My fears.
My weaknesses.
I felt sick.
Then Claire found another document.
She read silently.
Her face changed.
“What?””
She looked at me.
“Emily…”
“What?””
She turned the screen toward me.
The document was dated two weeks before Daniel proposed.
The title was:
*Marriage Timeline.*
I scrolled down.
The first sentence was enough.
*Step one: Build trust.*
The next:
*Step two: Create dependence.*
My hands went cold.
Then:
*Step three: Introduce Vanessa slowly.*
I stopped.
The final line was at the bottom.
A line written only days before our wedding.
*Step four: After marriage, remove outside influence.*
Claire whispered:
“He planned this.””
I couldn’t answer.
Because there was one more file.
A video file.
Created the night before our wedding.
The title was:
*If Emily refuses.*
I stared at it.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Margaret whispered:
“Don’t open that.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
Her eyes filled with fear.
“Because I think that video was never meant for you to see.””
I moved the cursor anyway.
And before I could press play, the laptop screen suddenly went black.
A notification appeared.
A remote connection had been activated.
Someone was accessing the computer.
Then a message appeared across the screen.
May you like
Only five words.
*I know you found it.*
