Chapter 3
Michael left without answering me.
I stood in the doorway watching his car disappear.
Linda started gathering her things.
I turned.
“Don’t move.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Excuse me?”
“You’re not leaving with one dollar of my money.”
“That money wasn’t—”
“It came from my drawer.”
I picked up the scattered bills.
“Take your wallet. Take your keys. Leave the cash.”
Linda stared at me.
“You think you’re powerful now?”
“No.”
I stood.
“I think I finally caught you.”
She stepped closer.
“You have no idea what you caught.”
“Then explain it.”
Silence.
“Why did Michael react like that?”
“He just discovered his wife has been lying for seven years.”
“He asked when Grace contacted me.”
“So?”
“He knew something.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“Were you stealing for Michael?”
Linda’s face barely moved.
But it was enough.
My chest tightened.
“Oh my God.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You were.”
“No.”
“Then where did my money go?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is literally my money!”
Her mouth tightened.
I reached for my phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling the police.”
Linda laughed.
“You wouldn’t.”
“Watch me.”
Her confidence disappeared.
“Emily.”
I tapped the screen.
She grabbed my wrist.
I pulled away.
“Touch me again and I’ll add assault to the list.”
“You’re destroying your marriage.”
“No. I’m asking why my mother-in-law has been stealing from my bedroom.”
“Michael needed help.”
There it was.
I stopped moving.
“What kind of help?”
Linda realized too late what she had said.
“Linda.”
“He’ll tell you.”
“How much?”
“Emily—”
“How much?”
She sighed.
“I don’t know.”
“Try again.”
“I said I don’t know.”
“Four thousand from me?”
Her eyes shifted.
“More?”
Nothing.
My stomach dropped.
“How much does Michael owe?”
Her voice became almost inaudible.
“Thirty-eight thousand.”
I thought I had misheard her.
“What?”
“It was forty-six.”
The floor seemed to tilt.
“What does my husband owe forty-six thousand dollars for?”
Linda sank into the chair beside the hallway table.
For the first time, she looked old.
Not intimidating.
Not superior.
Just tired.
“Sports betting.”
I stared at her.
“No.”
“He thought he could fix it.”
“No.”
“He had a winning streak last year.”
“No.”
“He borrowed money to cover losses. Then he borrowed more.”
“Stop.”
“He came to me in June.”
June.
Three months ago.
The same month Grace’s first letter arrived.
The same month money started disappearing.
“He said you controlled the finances.”
“I manage our bills.”
“He said you’d leave if you knew.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“So you stole from me.”
“I helped my son.”
“You robbed his wife.”
“I was going to put it back.”
“With what?”
She didn’t answer.
I laughed bitterly.
“And every time I asked Michael where my money went, he told me I was forgetful.”
Linda looked away.
That hurt worse than the theft.
Michael had watched me search drawers.
He had watched me count and recount.
He had watched me question myself.
He had kissed me goodnight while knowing exactly why the money was disappearing.
My phone rang.
I looked down.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then something in my chest tightened.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A man spoke.
“Emily?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Daniel Carter.”
Everything inside me stopped.
Grace’s adoptive father.
I turned away from Linda.
“Daniel?”
“I’m sorry to call without warning.”
“No. It’s okay. Is Grace okay?”
Silence.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Daniel?”
“She’s missing.”
The room disappeared around me.
“What?”
“She left school at lunch. She didn’t come home.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Have you called the police?”
“Yes.”
“Her friends?”
“Yes.”
“Daniel, where would she go?”
Another silence.
Then he said the words that terrified me.
“I think she’s coming to you.”
I looked toward the front door.
“To me?”
“She found your address.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. I thought the agency kept it private.”
My eyes moved to Linda.
Linda was watching me.
“What’s happening?” she whispered.
I ignored her.
“Does Grace drive?”
“No.”
“Bus?”
“Probably.”
Daniel exhaled shakily.
“She’s been angry with me since Sarah died.”
My chest hurt at the mention of Grace’s adoptive mother.
Sarah had died from cancer eight months earlier.
That was the reason Daniel had finally agreed to open communication between us.
“She thinks I’ve been keeping her from you.”
“You haven’t.”
“She doesn’t believe that.”
“I’ll call you if she comes here.”
“Emily.”
“Yes?”
His voice changed.
“There’s something else.”
I closed my eyes.
“What?”
“This isn’t the first time I tried to contact you.”
I stopped breathing.
“What do you mean?”
“I called two years ago.”
My eyes opened.
“You did?”
“A man answered.”
My stomach turned cold.
“What man?”
“Your husband.”
I stared at Linda.
She was watching my face carefully.
“What did he say?”
Daniel hesitated.
“He said you didn’t want contact.”
I had to grab the wall.
“No.”
“He knew who Grace was?”
“I told him why I was calling.”
My vision blurred.
Daniel kept talking.
“I said I was Grace Carter’s father and that Grace was the daughter you had placed for adoption. He was silent for a long time.”
“What else did he say?”
“He said you’d built a new life.”
My throat tightened.
“He told me bringing Grace into it would hurt you.”
I covered my mouth.
“He said you had asked him to handle the call.”
“I never knew you called.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
My voice cracked.
“You didn’t know.”
I could hear Linda breathing behind me.
I turned.
Her face had changed.
She knew.
Maybe not about Daniel’s call.
But she knew enough.
“Daniel, I’ll find her.”
“Call me the second you hear anything.”
“I will.”
I ended the call.
Linda stood.
“Emily—”
“Two years.”
“What?”
“Michael has known for two years.”
Her mouth opened.
“He knew about Grace.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Look at me.”
“I am.”
“Did you know?”
“I swear.”
For the first time that day, I believed her.
And somehow that was worse.
Because Michael had hidden this from both of us.
My phone buzzed.
A text.
Unknown number.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Are you Emily?
A second message appeared.
My name is Grace.
My knees nearly gave out.
May you like
Then came another.
I’m outside.
