Chapter 2

I scrolled all the way back to the very first transfer. June 2021. Three years ago. That was the month Emily got pregnant.

I started adding it all up. 230,000 dollars.

My hands were shaking.

I lent her 30,000 dollars and never had the heart to ask for it back.

But Andrew had sent her 230,000 dollars.

I gently set the phone down and lay back in bed.

Andrew was fast asleep beside me, breathing evenly.

I lay there, wide awake, staring at the ceiling until dawn.

*****

The next day, I called in sick.

I had to get to the bottom of this.

I went to the neighborhood where Emily lived.

She was renting in an old, run-down complex on the east side of town.

At least, that was what she always told me.

I stood outside the complex for two hours.

At ten in the morning, Emily came out.

She was holding Max's hand.

Max was three, and he'd grown up so fast.

I watched them from a distance.

Emily was on the phone, her face lighting up with genuine happiness.

I couldn't make out what she was saying. But I caught her smiling.

Her smile was pure sugar.

They walked into the mall across the street.

I didn't follow them.

Instead, I walked into the complex.

I went to the management office. "Hi, I'd like to check the property records for this complex."

The guy at the office gave me a once-over. "Who are you?"

"I'm looking to buy a place. Someone recommended this complex."

I gave him Emily's apartment number.

He checked the computer. "That unit's not for sale. The owner actually lives there."

"Who's the owner?"

"Mr. Bennett."

My heart skipped a beat. "What's his full name?"

"I can't tell you that."

I gave a small smile and pulled out sixty dollars from my purse. "I want to make sure it's someone I know."

He glanced at the money and lowered his voice. "Andrew Bennett. He bought it three years ago, paid in full."

He paid cash, no mortgage, three years ago. The same year Emily got pregnant.

I stumbled out of the office, my legs like jelly.

Andrew bought Emily a place to live and paid in full.

I had no clue what it cost.

But I'd looked up the prices in this neighborhood. At least 600,000 dollars.

A house worth 600,000 dollars. 230,000 dollars in transfers. And then there was Max.

I stood at the entrance of the complex, watching people come and go. Suddenly, I wanted to laugh.

Emily said she was renting.

Emily said she was tight on money.

Emily said it was hard managing on her own.

I lent her 30,000 dollars.

I helped her take care of Max.

I helped her organize Max's one-month celebration.

I even helped her find a nanny.

I thought I was a good friend, but I was a fool.

I had to see it for myself. Not because I didn't believe the evidence. But because I wanted to see how they acted behind my back.

*****

It was Friday.

Andrew told me he had a business dinner and wouldn't be home that night.

I said, "Okay."

At six, I got in my car and followed him.

He never showed up at any dinner.

He headed straight for the east side of town. He went to Emily's apartment complex.

I parked my car across the street from the complex.

I watched as he parked, carrying a bag, and headed inside.

Twenty minutes later, the lights came on in the window.

I couldn't take my eyes off that window.

At 7:30, I spotted a small figure pressed up against the glass.

It was Max. What was he waiting for?

At eight, I watched as a man walked over to the window and scooped Max up into his arms.

It was Andrew.

He lifted Max up, and Max laughed.

I couldn't hear what they were saying.

But then I saw Emily walk over.

She leaned in close to Andrew.

The three of them stood together by the window. They looked like a real family, just like any ordinary, happy family of three.

I sat in my car, staring at that window for what felt like forever.

Tears started streaming down my face without me even noticing.

I didn't rush over.

I didn't knock on the door.

I sat there in my car until the early hours.

Andrew came out at eleven.

He got in his car and drove off.

I knew he was heading home, back to our place. He'd lie down next to me. Then he'd say, "I drank too much at the dinner."

At midnight, I got home.

Andrew was already asleep.

I stood in the doorway, silently staring at the man lying in bed.

We'd been married for five years. I always thought we were happy.

I thought he was working overtime now and then.

I always thought Emily had bad luck.

But I didn't know a thing.

*****

I acted as if nothing had happened.

I worked by day, cooked by night, and spent time shopping with Andrew on weekends, business as usual.

He didn't suspect a thing. Because I was a damn good actress.

I spent a week gathering evidence.

Transfer records were for 230,000 dollars.

Property records showed that Andrew owned the place, and Emily was living there.

Photos showed dozens of shots of Max and Andrew together, all pulled from Emily's social media.

I found his secret WhatsApp account and the chat logs.

He had two WhatsApp accounts on his phone. One was the account I knew about. The other was a single contact. The contact was saved as "Wife." The wife was Emily.

I opened up the chat.

[Hey babe, Max called you "Daddy" for the first time today.]

[I'll come over tonight.]

[I miss you so much.]

[Me too.]

I scrolled through the messages, one by one, back to three years ago.

[I'm pregnant.]

[Keep the baby. I'll take care of you and the little one.]

[But you're already married.]

[I'll divorce her. When the time is right.]

That so-called "right time." It had been three years, and I'd been waiting for that "right time" he promised.