Chapter 3
At 10:00 AM the next morning, Daniel arrived at the house right on time, bringing his lawyer with him.
If this had been the old me, my first reaction to this scene would have been panic.
I would have questioned where I had fallen short, obsessed over how to save the marriage, and feared Sophie losing a complete family.
But now, I simply sat on the sofa, watching the man who had been with me for twenty years place a document on the coffee table.
He had even prepared a fountain pen ahead of time.
Everything was meticulously organized.
It felt like a goodbye he had rehearsed a thousand times.
"Emily, I hope we can keep this dignified."
Daniel sat across from me. He wore a dark gray suit and still looked like the man I had once fallen for—mature, reliable, successful.
But all I saw now was a man calculating his wife’s worth for his own gain.
"This agreement is merely a framework for both of your future lives."
The lawyer beside him opened the file.
"Mrs. Carter, you and Mr. Carter have built a life together for many years, and your asset situation is quite complex. Therefore, we recommend dividing the assets in advance."
I looked down at the document.
The first page read: Marital Property Division Agreement.
I let out a soft laugh. "In advance?"
I looked up at Daniel. "When did we decide to get a divorce?"
Daniel avoided my gaze.
The movement was subtle, but I caught it.
I knew every single one of his habits after seventeen years.
When he lied, he would adjust his cuffs first. When his conscience pricked him, he would avoid prolonged eye contact.
Every tell he displayed right now signaled one thing: he had already made up his mind. He was just waiting for my signature.
"Emily." Daniel sighed. "Our problems didn't form overnight. You must know we've felt more like business partners these past few years."
Hearing that felt utterly ridiculous.
Partners?
If I were his business partner, would he hide the company's most vital documents? If I were his partner, would he have a pregnant mistress waiting outside?
"So your solution is to have me sign on the dotted line and walk away?" I asked.
Daniel fell silent for a moment. Then he said, "It's a release for you, too."
A release.
The word echoed future Sophie's warning: The day you signed that divorce agreement was also the day you lost everything.
It turned out that in Daniel's eyes, erasing me from his life wasn't abandonment. It was a release.
I didn't lose my temper. I had one final question.
"Daniel, what if I don't sign?"
For the first time, his expression shifted. Not with anger, but with surprise.
In his mind, I was always the one who compromised for the family. The woman who would take a step back the moment he said, "It's for the sake of our child."
The lawyer adjusted his glasses. "Mrs. Carter, if you refuse to negotiate, the subsequent proceedings will become much more complicated."
I turned my gaze to the lawyer. "Complicated in what way?"
The lawyer paused. "It will involve the assessment of corporate assets."
I nodded. "Excellent. Then let's talk about corporate assets."
Daniel frowned. "Emily, there’s no need to make this ugly."
"Ugly?" I looked directly at him. "You bring a lawyer into our home, demand I sign away my rights, and then tell me not to make it ugly?"
Daniel’s face darkened. "You're emotionally unstable right now."
That sentence confirmed everything. He still viewed me as a woman entirely ruled by her emotions—someone who needed him to make decisions for her.
I didn't argue further. Arguing was pointless. Evidence was the only thing that mattered.
Daniel stayed behind after sending the lawyer off. He stood in the living room, watching me gather the documents from the table.
"Emily, what do you actually want?" This was the first time he had asked me that.
I froze.
In the past, he always knew what I wanted because my desires were simple: our family together, our daughter growing up healthy, and his career thriving. I had never demanded a mansion or expensive gifts.
But now, I suddenly realized I had never truly thought about what I wanted.
"I want the truth," I said.
The look in Daniel's eyes shifted. "What truth?"
"For instance, Vanessa."
The room went dead silent for a few seconds. The composure on Daniel's face fractured for a fleeting moment before he recovered.
"You're misunderstanding things. She's just an employee."
I pulled out my phone, opened the airport photo, and set it on the table.
The moment Daniel saw the photo, his color completely changed.
He didn't ask where it came from, nor did he ask why I was investigating him. His immediate reaction was: "Emily, are you tracking me?"
Looking at him, the reality clicked. A truly innocent man would explain the photo first. Instead, he chose to accuse me.
"How long has she been pregnant?" I asked.
Daniel didn't answer, but his silence spoke volumes.
After Daniel left that evening, I logged into the mysterious email account again. I didn't know why, but part of me wanted to see if future Sophie would appear once more.
At 1:00 AM, a new message hit the inbox.
No subject line. Just a single video file.
I clicked it open.
This time, Sophie wasn't crying. She sat there looking even more exhausted than in the previous video.
"Mom..."
Sophie looked directly into the camera.
"I know you are going to want answers."
I held my breath.
"But before you search for them, I need you to understand something."
Her voice became softer.
"The life you remember..."
"May not be the life you were supposed to have."
My fingers tightened around my phone.
"What does that mean?"
The video continued.
"For years, you believed you gave up your dreams because you chose your family."
"But what if someone else made that choice for you?"
I froze.
Daniel's face appeared in my mind.
Every time I had sacrificed something.
Every time he told me it was necessary.
Sophie looked away for a moment.
"Mom, Dad didn't just hide things from you."
"He made sure you never asked the right questions."
My heart started beating faster.
"What questions?"
The video paused.
For a few seconds, Sophie said nothing.
Then she looked back at me.
"Ask yourself this."
"Why was Dad so desperate for your signature?"
"Why did he need you to believe you owned nothing?"
I stared at the screen.
Because suddenly...
that was the question I had never asked.
Sophie took a breath.
"Mom..."
"The first answer is almost never the truth.
"If you really want to understand..."
"Stop asking what happened."
"Ask when everything began."
The video ended.
I sat there as her final words echoed in my mind.
Not a document.
Not yet.
A question.
Why had Daniel been so desperate to erase my signature?
For seventeen years, I had believed I was the person who walked away from my own career.
But what if I had never been given the choice?
I opened my laptop.
Not because I already knew what I was looking for.
Because for the first time...
I no longer believed Daniel's version of our marriage.
I searched for nothing that night.
I simply sat there, staring at the blank screen.
If Daniel had lied to me once...
How many other lies had I accepted without question?
Just then, my phone rang.
It was Daniel.
I hesitated for a second before answering. On the other end of the line, his voice had lost its calm for the very first time.
"Emily. Did you open the safe in the study?"
My heart sank instantly.
My first reaction was confusion.
Then something colder replaced it.
He wasn't asking because he was worried.
He was asking because he was afraid.
Immediately after, Daniel asked in a low voice, "Did you find that old agreement?"
I gripped the phone, offering no reply.
I never answered.
On the other end of the line...
Daniel kept waiting.
Not for forgiveness.
For confirmation.
Had I found it?
Only then did I realize...
Whatever that agreement was...
Daniel feared it more than he feared losing me.
And for the first time in seventeen years...
I decided not to tell him what I knew.
Because I wasn't the one searching anymore.
He was.