Chapter 4
After hanging up on Moses, I felt my nerves finally loosen up a little.
Just as I was about to let out a sigh of relief, I forced it back down.
Now was definitely not the time to let my guard down.
I forwarded the email to Moses without changing a thing.
On WhatsApp, Moses replied: [Got it, Mitch. Give me a sec. This guy's hiding pretty deep.]
He also sent a dog head emoji, a cigarette dangling from its mouth.
I stared at that dog emoji.
For a moment, I could almost picture Moses right now, frowning as he hammered away at his keyboard.
I hoped Moses would come through with some good news.
Waiting was pure torture.
I couldn't just sit around doing nothing.
I shot a glance at the tightly closed study door, almost like I could see straight through it to Roxy in the bedroom.
I wondered what she was up to now.
Did she feel guilty?
Or was she chilling with a face mask on, watching some boring TV show as usual?
I took a deep breath and opened up our family's shared photo album on my computer.
The most recent pictures were everyday stuff.
There were shots of her cooking, the new potted plants she bought, and some blurry selfies we took together at the supermarket over the weekend.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Then I opened up her Facebook.
It was set to show content from only the last three days.
The latest post was from yesterday—a cup of coffee with the caption, [Another day, feeling full of energy.]
I clicked on her profile picture, zoomed in, and took a closer look.
It was her, smiling brightly, with the café downstairs from her office in the background.
My fingers moved on their own, scrolling through her old posts: food photos, travel shots, the occasional selfie.
Life looked so calm and peaceful.
If it weren't for that email, I probably would've thought this was what real happiness looked like.
But now, all those beautiful moments looked fake to me, like they'd been run through some phony filter.
I hopped over to Amazon and logged into her account.
The password was still our anniversary date.
She must've been sure I'd never bother checking this stuff.
Her latest order was a black lace nightgown.
The style was a perfect match for the one in the photo.
It was ordered a week ago.
My heart sank like a stone.
So she herself bought that nightgown.
I wondered who she was trying to impress with something like that.
It obviously wasn't for me.
It had been ages since there was any real "surprise" between us.
I kept scrolling.
There were a few more new outfits, all from brands I didn't even recognize, clearly expensive.
I had no idea when she started pursuing that.
She always used to say clothes needed to be practical, that we should save up and pay off the mortgage early.
I clicked on the link for one of the dresses.
The model was wearing it, flashing a radiant, flirtatious smile in an upscale restaurant.
Someone in the comments asked: [Did your boyfriend buy this for you? It looks amazing!]
The seller replied: [Yeah, lots of pretty girls buy this for dates.]
The word "date" stabbed me right in the eyes.
I closed Amazon, feeling a wave of nausea hit me.
Just then, my phone buzzed.
It was Moses.
[Mitch, I've got a lead. The sender used some overseas anonymous email service, with layers of encryption, and the IP is all over the place.] Moses wrote.
My heart leapt into my throat.
[But...] Moses continued sending texts.
[I dug something out of the photo's EXIF data. The camera model, and...]
[There's a really fuzzy GPS tag left. It's not precise at all, but it more or less points to the CBD in the new district here.]
The CBD in the new district?
That was exactly where my company was.
[Also...] Moses' text messages kept coming.
[Looks like the photo was taken sometime between three and five in the afternoon on a weekday.]
Roxy was supposed to be at work then.
Unless she'd taken some time off.
I quickly pulled up the company's attendance system to check her recent records.
Last Wednesday afternoon, she took half a day off.
Her reason? She was feeling unwell.
My fist clenched involuntarily.
My nails dug deep into my palm, a sharp pain shooting through it.
A coincidence?
There was no way this was a coincidence.
Just then, there was a knock on the study door.
"Darling, are you asleep? I heated up some milk for you," Roxy said.
Her voice was still as gentle as flowing water.
I closed all the windows and wiped my browsing history instantly.
"Not yet, I'll be right there."
I opened the door, and Roxy was standing there in those familiar cotton pajamas I knew so well, holding a glass of milk.
She wore the right amount of concern on her face.
If it weren't for all that evidence, I probably would've let myself get fooled by that innocent look of hers again.
"Thanks," I said, taking the milk from her. My fingers accidentally brushed against hers.
Her hand was still as cold as ever.
"Still worried about work?" she asked.
Her voice was soft as she reached out to smooth the hair on my forehead.
I instinctively turned away from her.
Her hand froze in mid-air, and a flicker of hurt crossed her eyes.
"You should get some sleep," I said, taking a sip of the milk. The warm liquid slid down my throat, but it couldn't thaw the ice in my heart. "We have work tomorrow."
Without a word, she nodded and walked away.
As I watched her back, an absurd thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Did she already know I'd be checking up on her?
Was that why her acting was so flawless?
However, I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind.
If she were really that clever, she wouldn't have left so many loopholes for me to find.
Right now, all the clues in my hands were a tangled mess.
What was that email sender after?
Were they showing off? Or did they want to destroy me for good?
I tried not to think about it, but my mind kept spiraling back no matter what.
I knew I couldn't keep freaking myself out.
I needed more evidence.
Other than Moses, I needed more backup.
Guince was a wild card who had his own ways. Maybe he could get his hands on some "special" information for me.
I dug up that almost-forgotten number from my contacts.
On the other end, a lazy voice with a bit of a rascal edge answered.
"Hello? Who's this? Why wake me up in the dead of night?"
"Guince, it's me, Mitchell," I said.
Guince let out a sly chuckle. "Well, if it isn't Mitch! Long time no see. What made you think of me tonight? Need me to carry you in a game again or something?"
I dropped my voice to a whisper. "Not here to game tonight.
"I've got a job, and I need your help."
"Oh? What kind of job? If the money's good, I'll do everything it takes to get the job done."
"Look into someone for me. And... track down where some photos came from."
There was a brief silence at Guince's end.
"Mitch, this job... sounds kind of exciting."
"Money's not an issue."
"Just what I wanted to hear, Mitch! Shoot me everything you know, and I'll get on it right away."
After hanging up, I felt like a hunter who had cast an inescapable net.
Then I thought of Roxy.
I stared at the photo of us on the nightstand.
In the picture, she was smiling so sweetly, clinging to my arm like she couldn't live without me.
If everything that happened was real, I would never let her off the hook.