Chapter 5 - The Message From The Woman Who Disappeared
A phone screen lit up beside my husband’s hand and I whispered: "Jennifer is alive."
When Daniel tried to hide the second phone, Robert grabbed the device before he could erase anything. But one message was still visible: "I told you she would find out."
I finally realized Jennifer was not the woman replacing me.
She was the person who knew the truth before everyone else.
I stared at the phone in Daniel's hand.
The room felt frozen.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because one message had changed everything.
Jennifer wasn't just a name.
She wasn't just the woman Daniel planned to marry after my death.
She was watching.
She was waiting.
And somehow...
She knew I had found out.
Daniel slowly lowered the phone.
"Claire, this isn't what you think."
I almost smiled.
That sentence.
The same sentence people used when they had no explanation.
The same sentence Daniel used every time I found something he didn't want me to see.
But this time was different.
Because I wasn't the woman who accepted apologies anymore.
I looked at him.
"Then explain."
Daniel opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Robert stepped forward.
"Show her the phone."
Daniel immediately looked at him.
"No."
That one word told me everything.
Not anger.
Not confusion.
Fear.
"Dad was right," I whispered.
Daniel looked at me.
"What?"
I held his eyes.
"You are afraid."
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
The man who had spent years controlling every conversation suddenly had no words.
Robert reached out his hand.
"Give me the phone."
Daniel stepped backward.
"No."
"Why?"
Robert's voice was calm.
"Because you know what's on it."
The silence became unbearable.
Then my phone rang again.
My father.
I answered.
"Dad."
His voice was urgent.
"Claire, did you see the message?"
I looked at Daniel.
"Yes."
My father became quiet.
Then he said:
"Jennifer contacted me too."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
Daniel looked up immediately.
For the first time...
He looked scared.
Not surprised.
Scared.
"You spoke to Jennifer?"
My father ignored him.
"Claire, listen carefully. The woman you think betrayed you is not the person you should fear."
I looked at Daniel.
"Then who?"
My father paused.
"Daniel."
The answer hurt.
Even though I already knew.
Because hearing it from my father made it real.
I closed my eyes.
Trying to hold myself together.
"Dad, what did Jennifer tell you?"
"She told me she tried to warn you years ago."
Years ago.
The words echoed.
"About what?"
"About Daniel."
I looked at the photograph again.
The old picture of Jennifer standing beside Daniel and Margaret.
"What happened between them?"
My father sighed.
"Jennifer discovered something about Margaret's family."
"What?"
"That they had done this before."
A cold feeling moved through my body.
"Done what?"
"Married someone wealthy. Gained access to their assets. Then removed them from the picture."
I stared at Daniel.
"No."
My voice was barely audible.
But Daniel heard it.
He immediately reacted.
"Claire, don't listen to him."
I turned toward him.
"Why?"
He stopped.
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because he's manipulating you."
I looked at Robert.
Then back at Daniel.
"Is that what you told Jennifer too?"
Daniel's face changed.
A tiny crack.
But I saw it.
Robert took the phone from the table.
This time, Daniel didn't stop him.
Because he knew it was too late.
Robert unlocked the screen.
There were dozens of messages.
Between Daniel and Jennifer.
But they weren't romantic.
They were arguments.
Jennifer:
"You promised me you would tell her."
Daniel:
"Not yet."
Jennifer:
"She deserves the truth."
Daniel:
"She won't survive the truth."
My hands became cold.
I looked at Daniel.
"She wanted to tell me?"
He looked away.
That was enough.
Robert continued scrolling.
Then he found another conversation.
A message from six months earlier.
Jennifer:
"I know what Margaret is doing. Stop helping her."
Daniel:
"You don't understand."
Jennifer:
"No. I understand perfectly. You're becoming exactly like her."
I felt my heart sink.
Daniel wasn't just hiding Jennifer.
He was hiding the fact that Jennifer had tried to stop him.
The woman I hated...
had been trying to save me.
"Where is she?"
I asked.
Nobody answered.
I looked at Robert.
"Where is Jennifer?"
His expression became serious.
"That's the problem."
"What?"
"Nobody knows."
I stared at him.
"You said she contacted my father."
"Yes."
"Then she is alive."
"Yes."
"Then where is she?"
Robert looked at Daniel.
And Daniel looked away.
That was when I understood.
Daniel knew.
Maybe not where she was.
But he knew something.
"Daniel."
He didn't answer.
"Where is Jennifer?"
His jaw tightened.
"Claire..."
"Where is she?"
My voice was louder.
The nurse outside the room looked toward the door.
Daniel finally spoke.
"I don't know."
I watched his face.
The hesitation.
The fear.
The guilt.
He was lying.
Robert saw it too.
"You're protecting someone."
Daniel looked at him.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
Robert stepped closer.
"Because if Jennifer was truly gone, you wouldn't look terrified every time her name is mentioned."
Daniel said nothing.
My phone vibrated.
A new message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
My breath stopped.
It was from Jennifer.
Only one sentence.
"I can prove everything, but you need to leave before your husband finds the evidence."
I looked at Daniel.
He was watching me.
He knew.
He knew I had received something.
"What did she send you?"
I didn't answer.
Because I suddenly realized something.
Daniel wasn't trying to convince me anymore.
He was waiting.
Waiting for something.
Waiting for someone.
"Dad," I whispered into the phone.
"I'm not alone."
My father immediately responded.
"Claire, get away from Daniel."
Too late.
Daniel slowly walked toward the hospital door.
Robert moved in front of him.
"Where are you going?"
Daniel looked at me.
And his expression changed.
The fake husband disappeared.
The real one appeared.
Cold.
Empty.
"You should have stayed sick."
The words hit me harder than anything before.
Because for the first time...
Daniel stopped pretending.
He reached for the door handle.
The door opened slightly.
Someone was standing outside.
May you like
And Daniel whispered:
"You're late, Jennifer."
