Chapter 3: The Person Nicole Was Protecting
I didn’t wake Nicole when I left the bedroom.
I didn’t wake anyone.
I just sat there in the darkness, staring at the photo until my eyes burned.
Nicole standing outside the hotel.
Nicole smiling.
Nicole with a man I knew.
The worst part wasn’t that she had kept a secret.
The worst part was that I knew the person in the picture.
My brother.
Ethan.
My own brother was standing beside my wife.
I drove to the office because I needed somewhere to think.
The city moved around me like nothing had changed.
Cars honked.
People walked with coffee cups in their hands.
Parents dropped kids off at school.
Everyone was living normal lives.
Mine had cracked open overnight.
At nine in the morning, Nicole called.
I stared at the screen.
Then answered.
“Where are you?””
Her voice was careful.
“Michael, we need to talk.””
“That’s interesting.””
“Please don’t do this over the phone.””
“Do what?””
Silence.
Then she whispered, “I know about the picture.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“How?””
“Because the person who sent it wanted you to see it.””
My heart stopped.
“You know who sent it?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Another silence.
“Ethan.””
I closed my eyes.
“Why would Ethan send me a picture of you with him?””
Nicole didn’t answer.
That told me everything.
I drove home.
When I walked inside, Nicole was sitting at the kitchen table.
The same kitchen where I had found Maya yesterday.
The same kitchen where my entire family had changed.
“Where’s Maya?”” I asked.
“Upstairs.””
“Good.””
Nicole looked exhausted.
“I can explain.””
“I’m listening.””
She folded her hands.
“Ethan was helping me.””
I almost laughed.
“Helping you do what?””
She looked down.
“When Jordan was diagnosed with his anxiety problems, I didn’t know what to do.””
I frowned.
“Jordan’s anxiety?””
She nodded.
“The appointments. The specialists. The therapy.””
I stared at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because you were always working.””
The accusation hurt.
But I refused to let it distract me.
“So Ethan helped you.””
“Yes.””
“At a hotel?””
Her eyes filled with frustration.
“It wasn’t like that.””
“Then what was it?””
Nicole looked toward the stairs.
“Maya knows.””
I felt a chill.
“What does that mean?””
“She saw things she didn’t understand.””
I stood up.
“What things?””
Before Nicole could answer, footsteps came from behind me.
Maya.
She had heard everything.
“I understood enough.””
Nicole closed her eyes.
“Maya, please.””
“No.””
My daughter walked into the kitchen.
For the first time, she wasn’t scared.
“I know why you made me stay home.””
Nicole whispered, “Don’t.””
Maya looked at me.
“She wasn’t meeting someone for herself.””
I waited.
“She was hiding Jordan.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What?””
Maya took a deep breath.
“Jordan isn’t scared when Mom leaves.””
Nicole looked horrified.
“Maya.””
“He’s scared because he knows.””
“Knows what?”” I asked.
Maya’s eyes moved toward Nicole.
“She’s been taking him to see someone.””
My heart pounded.
“Who?””
Nobody answered.
Then the front door opened.
Jordan walked in holding a small backpack.
Behind him was Ethan.
My brother looked at me.
And I immediately knew something was wrong.
Because Ethan wasn’t angry.
He wasn’t guilty.
He looked sad.
“Michael,” he said quietly.
Nicole stood.
“Ethan, not now.””
But he ignored her.
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a folder.
“I should have told you months ago.””
My hands went cold.
“What is that?””
Ethan looked at Nicole.
Then at Maya.
Then back at me.
“It’s the reason Nicole asked your daughter to miss school.””
He placed the folder on the table.
I opened it.
Inside was a document with Jordan’s name at the top.
But underneath his name was a detail I had never seen before.
A detail that made me realize my wife had not been hiding where she was going.
May you like
She had been hiding why she was going there.
And the next page revealed the truth about my son.
