Chapter 3: The Third Man
I stared at the photograph until the faces blurred.
Daniel.
Marcus.
And a stranger.
Three men standing on a wooden deck beneath the bright July sun.
Daniel was holding a coffee mug.
Marcus had sunglasses pushed onto his head.
The third man wore a dark polo shirt and stood slightly behind them.
They looked relaxed.
Normal.
That was somehow the worst part.
“Who is he?”” I asked.
Emily shook her head.
“I don’t know his name.””
“But you recognize him?””
“Yes.””
Her voice cracked.
“He was there.””
Dr. Patel closed the door again.
Karen moved closer.
“Emily, you said earlier only Daniel and Marcus were at the house.””
“I thought that was true.””
“What do you mean?””
“I didn’t see him when we arrived.””
Emily wrapped both arms around herself.
“I saw him later.””
I crouched beside her.
“You don’t have to force yourself to remember everything tonight.””
“I want to.””
“Sweetheart—”
“I want you to understand.””
Her eyes met mine.
“Because Daniel is going to lie.””
The certainty in her voice frightened me.
Karen asked, “When did you first see the man in the photograph?””
Emily stared at the picture.
“The next morning.””
“Where?””
“Downstairs.””
Her breathing became shallow.
Dr. Patel immediately intervened.
“We can stop.””
Emily nodded.
“I don’t remember enough anyway.””
“That’s okay,” Karen said.
“You’ve told us what you can.””
I looked again at the unknown number.
“Who sent this?””
Another message arrived.
*Do not take Emily home.*
I typed before anyone could stop me.
*Who are you?*
The reply came almost immediately.
*Someone who should have spoken sooner.*
I called the number.
It rang twice.
Then someone answered.
A woman.
“Sarah?””
“Who is this?””
A pause.
“My name is Chloe Reed.””
Marcus’s daughter.
I stood.
“Chloe?””
Emily’s head snapped toward me.
“Yes,” the woman said.
“Please don’t hang up.””
“You were supposed to be at the lake house.””
“I know.””
“Daniel told me you were there.””
“I know that too.””
My legs weakened.
I sat down.
“Why would he say that?””
Chloe inhaled slowly.
“Because Dad told him to.””
Emily began crying again.
I put the phone on speaker.
Karen gestured for me to remain calm.
“Chloe,” I said, “what happened that weekend?””
“I wasn’t there.””
“Then how do you know anything?””
“Because I came by Sunday morning.””
Emily froze.
Chloe continued.
“I’d left some work equipment there the week before. Dad thought I was in Milwaukee. I didn’t tell him I was coming.””
“What did you see?””
Silence.
“Chloe?””
“I saw Emily.””
My throat tightened.
“How was she?””
“She looked sick.””
Emily covered her mouth.
“I asked if she was okay. Your husband answered for her.””
I remembered Daniel doing that constantly.
At restaurants.
At family gatherings.
Whenever Emily became quiet.
She’s tired.
She has homework.
She’s being dramatic.
Always an explanation ready.
“What else?”” I asked.
“There were three men at the house.””
“Your father, Daniel, and the man in the photograph?””
“Yes.””
“Who is he?””
Another pause.
“His name is Victor Lang.””
The name meant nothing to me.
“What does he have to do with my daughter?””
“I don’t know everything.””
“Then tell me what you do know.””
“My father does business with him.””
“What kind of business?””
“Real estate. Investments. Private deals.””
Karen was writing notes.
“Why did you send the photograph?””
“Because I saw Daniel at Dad’s house this afternoon.””
I looked toward the door.
“What?””
“He came over around forty minutes ago.””
Daniel had left the hospital.
And gone directly to Marcus.
Of course.
“What were they doing?””
“I couldn’t hear everything. But they were arguing.””
“About Emily?””
“Yes.””
Emily whispered, “I knew it.””
I took her hand.
“What did they say?””
“My dad kept saying Daniel promised this would never come back on him.””
A chill ran through me.
“And Daniel?””
“He said they needed to keep their stories straight.””
Karen stopped writing.
Even Dr. Patel looked at me.
“Chloe,” I said carefully, “why are you helping us?””
For the first time, her voice broke.
“Because I should have helped Emily in July.””
Emily stared at the phone.
“I saw how scared she looked that morning. I asked Dad what happened. He told me she’d gotten sick.””
Chloe began crying.
“I believed him because believing him was easier.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Emily whispered, “You asked me if I wanted a ride.””
Chloe went silent.
“You remember?””
“Yes.””
“I should have taken you.””
“My stepdad said no.””
Stepdad.
Emily had called Daniel Dad since she was nine.
Hearing her change the word told me something inside her had already separated him from our family.
Chloe continued.
“There’s something else.””
“What?””
“Dad has cameras around the property.””
I stood.
“Security cameras?””
“Yes.””
“Would they show who arrived and left?””
“They should.””
“Do you have access?””
“I used to.””
“Used to?””
“Dad changed the password Sunday afternoon.””
Of course he had.
“But I automatically backed up some footage to my laptop months ago because I was helping him troubleshoot the system.””
My pulse accelerated.
“Chloe, do you still have footage from that weekend?””
“I don’t know.””
“Please check.””
“I already am.””
I could hear keyboard clicks through the speaker.
Then silence.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Emily squeezed my hand.
Finally Chloe inhaled sharply.
“Oh my God.””
“What?””
“I have part of Saturday night.””
Karen leaned toward the phone.
“Chloe, please don’t delete or alter anything.””
“I won’t.””
“What does it show?”” I asked.
“Sarah…”
“What does it show?””
Her voice became unsteady.
“It shows Victor arriving at 10:42 p.m.””
Emily shut her eyes.
“And?””
“It shows him leaving the next morning.””
My stomach twisted.
“What about Daniel?””
Another silence.
Then Chloe said something I hadn’t expected.
“Daniel left the house that night.””
I stared at Emily.
“What?””
“He drove away at 11:06.””
Emily looked confused.
“That can’t be right.””
“When did he come back?”” I asked.
“Not until 6:18 the next morning.””
The room seemed to tilt.
Daniel had left his seventeen-year-old stepdaughter at that house with two adult men.
Then lied about it.
Emily whispered, “Mom…”
“I’m here.””
Her eyes suddenly widened.
“There was something Daniel said in the car Sunday.””
“What?””
“I forgot until now.””
“What did he say?””
She gripped my hand.
“He told me that if anyone ever asked where he was Saturday night, I had to say he never left.””
Before I could answer, my phone rang.
Daniel.
I rejected it.
He called again.
Rejected.
Again.
Then a voicemail notification appeared.
Karen said, “Don’t delete it.””
I played it on speaker.
Daniel’s voice filled the room.
“Sarah, you’re hearing one side of this. Emily is confused. Come home and I’ll explain everything.””
A pause.
Then his voice lowered.
“And before you accuse me of anything, ask Emily why she begged me not to call the police that morning.””
The voicemail ended.
I looked at my daughter.
She was staring at the phone.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
May you like
“Emily?””
She whispered, “Because he told me what would happen to you if I did.””
