Chapter 4: The Missing Page
I folded Rachel’s letter just as Vanessa reached the top of the stairs.
My heart was pounding so loudly I was sure she could hear it.
She stood there in the hallway, staring at me.
Then her eyes moved to the wooden box in my hands.
For the first time since I married her, Vanessa looked afraid.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Afraid.
“What are you doing?”” she asked.
I closed the box slowly.
“What did you do with the rest of this letter?””
Her face went pale.
“What letter?””
I held up the torn page.
“The one Rachel wrote before she died.””
Vanessa didn’t answer.
That silence told me more than any confession could have.
I stepped closer.
“You had this the entire time.””
She looked away.
“Daniel, you don’t understand.””
“No, I understand perfectly.””
“You’re jumping to conclusions.””
I laughed quietly.
“Am I?””
I held up the envelope.
“Claire said Rachel gave this to you.””
Vanessa’s lips parted.
“Claire shouldn’t have told you that.””
“That’s your concern?””
She rubbed her forehead.
“Daniel, Rachel was sick. She wasn’t thinking clearly.””
The words made my blood run cold.
“You’re blaming Rachel?””
“I’m saying she was scared.””
“She was dying.””
“Yes.””
“And you’re using that to dismiss what she wrote?””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“You don’t know what was happening back then.””
“Then tell me.””
She froze.
“Tell me everything.””
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then she sighed.
“Rachel was paranoid.””
I stared at her.
“About you?””
“She was worried about everyone.””
“That’s not what you said.””
Vanessa looked toward the stairs.
“Can we not do this right now?””
I tightened my grip on the letter.
“No.””
My voice was firm.
“Not anymore.””
Downstairs, I heard a small sound.
A floorboard creaking.
Someone listening.
I turned.
“Emma?””
A tiny face appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
My daughter was holding her stuffed rabbit.
“Daddy?””
I immediately walked toward her.
“Why are you awake?””
She looked at Vanessa.
Then back at me.
“Is Mom mad?””
The question broke my heart.
I knelt down.
“No, sweetheart.””
But Emma didn’t look convinced.
“She gets mad when people ask questions.””
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“Emma, go back upstairs.””
Emma flinched.
That tiny reaction was enough.
I noticed it.
Vanessa noticed me noticing it.
“Daniel,” she said sharply.
But I was already standing.
“Don’t.””
Her expression hardened.
“Don’t what?””
“Don’t talk to her like that.””
For a moment, the woman standing in front of me felt like a stranger.
The same woman who used to pack Emma’s lunch.
The same woman who held her at our wedding.
The same woman I trusted.
“How long?”” I asked.
Vanessa frowned.
“What?””
“How long have you been doing this?””
Her eyes narrowed.
“Doing what?””
“Making her afraid of you.””
Vanessa scoffed.
“That’s ridiculous.””
Emma grabbed my hand.
“Daddy…”
I looked down.
She was crying silently.
Not because Vanessa yelled.
Because she expected it.
That was when I knew.
Something had been happening for much longer than one slice of pizza.
I carried Emma back upstairs and stayed beside her until she fell asleep.
When I came back down, Vanessa was sitting at the kitchen table.
The missing page was in front of her.
I stopped.
“How did you get that?””
She didn’t look up.
“You left it on the counter.””
I walked closer.
“What did you tear off?””
She touched the page.
“You don’t want to know.””
My stomach tightened.
“Try me.””
Vanessa looked at me.
“Rachel thought I was trying to replace her.””
“She was your friend.””
“She was jealous.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“She was.””
“Rachel loved you.””
Vanessa smiled bitterly.
“You didn’t know everything about her.””
“Neither did you.””
Her expression changed.
And then she said something I never expected.
“Rachel knew about my past.””
The room went silent.
“What past?””
Vanessa stood.
“The reason I couldn’t have children.””
I blinked.
“What does that have to do with Emma?””
She looked toward the stairs.
“Everything.””
I stared at her.
“What are you saying?””
Vanessa picked up the torn page.
“Rachel found out something about me.””
“What?””
She walked closer.
Something cold settled in her eyes.
“Something that would have changed the way you looked at me forever.””
Before I could answer, my phone rang.
It was Claire.
I picked up immediately.
“Claire?””
Her voice was shaking.
“Daniel, I remembered something.””
“What?””
“When Rachel gave Vanessa that journal…”
I looked at Vanessa.
“She didn’t give her the whole thing.””
My heart stopped.
“What do you mean?””
“There was another envelope.””
I grabbed the edge of the table.
“Where?””
Claire hesitated.
“She told me she hid it somewhere Vanessa would never look.””
I looked around the house.
“Where?””
Claire whispered:
“In the room Emma was born in.””
May you like
My blood turned cold.
Because Emma’s nursery was the one room in the house Vanessa had always refused to let me enter.
