Chapter 4
Noah found out before I could tell him.
I returned to Daniel’s house around noon.
Noah was sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop open.
His face told me everything.
I stopped in the doorway.
“You searched him.”
He nodded.
Daniel sighed from behind me.
“I told him not to.”
“I searched Aunt Claire,” Noah said. “Jason came up in an old picture someone tagged.”
He turned the laptop toward me.
There it was.
Jason at a barbecue.
Melissa stood beside him.
Ethan was much younger.
Jason had one arm around Melissa.
The other held the little boy.
The photo was dated four years ago.
One year before Jason met me.
Noah looked confused.
“Is that his kid?”
“I think so.”
“You think?”
“The police are checking.”
Noah laughed bitterly.
“Of course he has a secret kid.”
I sat across from him.
“Noah.”
“What?”
“This isn’t funny.”
“I know.”
His eyes filled.
“That’s why I’m laughing.”
I understood.
The truth had become so absurd that normal reactions didn’t fit anymore.
“He told me he didn’t like kids,” Noah said.
I frowned.
“What?”
“Last month. He said some men aren’t meant to deal with kids.”
My heart twisted.
“He has a son.”
“Apparently he only meant me.”
“Noah.”
“It’s true.”
I reached toward him.
Then stopped.
He noticed.
I let my hand fall.
“I’m sorry.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I know.”
“Does it make you feel better?”
The question stunned me.
“No.”
“Good.”
Daniel entered the kitchen carrying coffee.
“Noah.”
“What? She wants me to talk.”
“He’s allowed to be angry,” I said.
Daniel put the cup down.
“He is. He’s not allowed to be cruel.”
Noah looked at me.
“I’m not trying to be cruel.”
“I know.”
He pushed his chair back.
“Can I stay here this week?”
My chest tightened.
Daniel watched me.
Noah continued.
“I don’t want to be at the house.”
“With Jason gone?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
His face hardened.
“Because everything there feels stupid now.”
“Stupid?”
“The couch he picked.”
I stayed quiet.
“The TV he mounted.”
He looked down.
“The chair Grandpa made that Jason kept telling you to throw away because it looked old.”
I felt sick.
“I won’t ever throw that chair away.”
“You almost did.”
He was right.
Jason had called it ugly.
I had moved it into the basement to avoid another argument.
Noah noticed.
Of course he noticed.
“I’ll bring it back upstairs.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I know.”
He stood.
“I just want to stay here.”
Everything inside me wanted to say no.
I wanted my son.
I wanted to fix things immediately.
I wanted to wake up tomorrow and cook him breakfast in our kitchen and somehow erase the last year.
But wanting him near me wasn’t the same as doing what he needed.
“Okay.”
Noah looked surprised.
“For how long?”
“As long as you need.”
His expression softened for half a second.
Then he looked away.
“Thanks.”
He went upstairs.
Daniel watched him leave.
Then he looked at me.
“That was the right answer.”
“It felt terrible.”
“Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then I answered.
“Hello?”
A woman spoke.
“Is this Rachel Morgan?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Melissa.”
I sat down.
Daniel saw my face.
I put the call on speaker.
Melissa continued.
“I think we need to talk.”
My mouth went dry.
“Are you Jason’s wife?”
A long silence.
“Yes.”
Daniel swore under his breath.
I closed my eyes.
Not ex-wife.
Wife.
“How long?”
“Twelve years.”
I couldn’t speak.
Melissa sounded like she had been crying.
“He told me about you yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
“He didn’t use your name before.”
“Before?”
“I knew there was someone.”
My chest tightened.
“He told you he was cheating?”
“He told me we were separated.”
“Were you?”
“Not legally.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
She went quiet.
“We’ve had problems.”
I laughed without humor.
“Apparently that’s his favorite phrase.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Melissa took a shaky breath.
“He said he was staying with a friend most nights for work.”
I stared at the table.
Most nights.
Three years.
Jason had built his entire life out of rotating lies.
“Did you know Claire?”
“No.”
“My sister.”
Melissa went silent.
“He was sleeping with my sister too.”
“Oh my God.”
“Yeah.”
She started crying.
I almost felt sorry for her.
Then I remembered the photograph.
The child.
The passports.
“Why were your passports in a bag at my mother’s house?”
“What?”
Her voice changed instantly.
“What passports?”
“Yours and Ethan’s.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Jason told me they were in our safe.”
“They weren’t.”
Melissa sounded panicked.
“I need to call the police.”
“They already have them.”
“Oh my God.”
“Was Jason planning a trip?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She started breathing fast.
“Rachel, I need to get my son from school.”
The call ended.
I looked at Daniel.
“This keeps getting worse.”
He nodded.
Then Noah appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
He had heard.
Of course he had.
“Jason has a wife?”
“Yes.”
“And she didn’t know about you?”
“Not exactly.”
Noah shook his head.
“He lies about everything.”
Then he froze.
His eyes met mine.
“Mom.”
“What?”
“If he lies about everything, what did he tell you about Dad?”
I stopped breathing.
Daniel stiffened.
“What do you mean?”
Noah came into the kitchen.
“Jason was always telling Mom stuff about you.”
Daniel looked at me.
“What stuff?”
I felt trapped.
“Nothing important.”
Noah laughed.
“Seriously?”
“Noah.”
“He told her Dad was trying to take me away.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
I looked at him.
“He said you were asking around about custody.”
“I was not.”
“I know that now.”
“What else?”
I didn’t answer.
Noah did.
“He said Dad only wanted more time with me so he could pay less child support.”
Daniel’s mouth opened.
Then closed.
He looked devastated.
“That’s why you stopped letting me switch weekends?”
I looked down.
“I thought you were manipulating things.”
“Based on Jason?”
“He showed me messages.”
“What messages?”
I stared at him.
Jason had shown me screenshots.
Supposedly from Daniel.
Complaining about support payments.
Saying if Noah lived with him half the month, things would be “more fair.”
Daniel took out his phone.
“Show me.”
“I don’t have them.”
“Because they never existed.”
My stomach turned.
“He sent screenshots.”
“Rachel, I never sent you anything like that.”
Noah looked between us.
“Jason made them?”
I whispered, “Maybe.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No. Not maybe.”
He paced away.
“That bastard isolated you.”
The sentence hurt because it was true.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Jason had told me Daniel resented me.
That my mother thought I was unstable.
That Claire envied me.
That Noah manipulated me.
Meanwhile, he told each of them different stories about me.
And whenever someone raised concerns about him, I already had an explanation prepared.
Because Jason gave it to me first.
My phone buzzed.
A text from the detective.
Please call when available. We located Mr. Hayes’ storage unit.
I called immediately.
The detective answered.
“We executed a search with consent from the facility after obtaining a warrant.”
“What was inside?”
“Documents. Electronics. Some personal property.”
“What documents?”
He paused.
“Copies of your birth certificate, Social Security card, property deed, and tax returns.”
My blood turned cold.
Daniel’s face changed as he listened.
The detective continued.
“We also found documents belonging to Melissa Grant.”
“What kind?”
“Similar identity documents.”
I gripped the edge of the table.
“He was stealing from both of us.”
“We’re still investigating.”
“Did you find him?”
“No.”
My heart sank.
“But we found something else.”
“What?”
“A folder containing information about your son.”
I stood.
“What information?”
“His school schedule. Sports schedule. Copies of a medical insurance card.”
My lungs stopped working.
Daniel grabbed my phone.
“Why would he have that?”
The detective’s voice remained calm.
“We don’t know yet.”
Daniel’s expression was terrifying.
“Is Noah in danger?”
“We don’t have evidence of a specific threat.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“We recommend he remain with a parent or responsible adult at all times until Mr. Hayes is located.”
Noah was standing five feet away.
He heard every word.
His face went pale.
The detective continued.
“We’ve also notified the school.”
I took the phone back.
“Was there anything else?”
Another pause.
“Yes.”
I wanted to scream.
“What?”
“A printed email.”
“From whom?”
“It appears to be from you.”
“I never emailed him anything.”
“That’s why I’m mentioning it.”
“What did it say?”
The detective read part of it.
My stomach dropped.
It was supposedly an email from me to Jason.
It said Noah’s behavior had become impossible.
That I was afraid of him.
That I wanted Jason’s help convincing Daniel to take full custody.
I stared at Noah.
His eyes filled instantly.
“That’s fake.”
“I know.”
“You never wrote that?”
“No.”
He backed away.
“Noah.”
“You swear?”
“I swear on Grandpa’s grave.”
He searched my face.
Then he nodded.
But only barely.
The detective said, “The document appears to be part of a larger file.”
“What kind of file?”
“We’re investigating whether Mr. Hayes was preparing to use fabricated communications in a custody dispute.”
Daniel sat down heavily.
Jason hadn’t just wanted Noah out.
May you like
He had been building evidence to make it happen.
And if Noah hadn’t found that phone, I might have never known until it was too late.
