Chapter 4: The Other Woman in the Parking Lot
For a moment, I thought I had misheard her.
Vanessa Miller stood beside my car, clutching her phone with both hands. The photograph on the screen showed Daniel smiling with his arm around her waist, wearing the navy jacket I'd bought him for our fifth anniversary.
The same jacket he had worn when he told me he was attending a business conference in Austin.
I lowered my window another inch.
“Say that again.””
Vanessa swallowed.
“Daniel told me he was divorced. He said his ex-wife had been taking money from his business accounts, and he was fighting to recover what she stole.””
I stared at her.
“His ex-wife?””
“Yes.””
“I'm his wife.””
Her face went white.
“Oh, my God.””
She stumbled backward, nearly dropping her phone.
“No. No, that's impossible. He showed me divorce papers.””
“What did they look like?””
“Official. They had signatures and a court seal. He said the divorce had been finalized almost two years ago.””
I laughed once, without humor.
“Two years ago, I was sitting beside him in a hospital waiting room while his father underwent surgery. We were married then. We are married now.””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“I'm so sorry.””
I wanted to hate her. It would have been easier to blame the woman standing outside my car than to confront the fact that my husband had built an entirely separate life behind my back.
But she looked as though the ground had disappeared beneath her feet.
“How long?”” I asked.
She lowered her eyes.
“About fourteen months.””
Fourteen months.
More than a year of hotel reservations, expensive dinners, and weekends when Daniel had supposedly been working late.
Fourteen months of me believing my marriage was going through a difficult season while he was apparently telling another woman that our marriage no longer existed.
“Did you know about the credit card?”” I asked.
“What credit card?””
“The one Daniel tried to use inside the restaurant tonight. The charges on it total more than forty-seven thousand dollars.””
Vanessa shook her head quickly.
“I never saw a credit card. Daniel paid for everything himself.””
“Everything?””
“The hotels. The jewelry. The trips.”” She hesitated.
“He bought me a handbag last Christmas, but he said it came from a bonus he'd received.””
I remembered the designer boutique charge.
My throat tightened.
“Do you still have it?””
“The handbag?””
“Yes.””
She looked confused.
“It's at my apartment.””
“I need you to understand something. If Daniel used my money to buy it, I may need the purchase records. I'm not asking you to hand over anything right now. I just need the truth.””
Vanessa nodded slowly.
Then she opened her phone and scrolled through a series of messages.
“Look at this.””
The first message was from Daniel, dated eleven months earlier.
Once the divorce settlement is finished, we'll stop hiding. I just need to make sure Sarah doesn't take everything.
Another message appeared beneath it.
My lawyer says she's entitled to nothing if we can prove she misused the joint funds.
I read the words twice.
Daniel had been preparing a story in which I was the villain long before I knew there was another woman.
“Did he ever tell you why he couldn't introduce you to his family?”” I asked.
Vanessa nodded.
“He said his mother was controlling and would never approve of him moving on so quickly. He told me he wanted to protect me from the drama.””
A bitter smile touched my lips.
“His mother invited thirty-two people to dinner tonight. I paid for every decoration, the cake, the private room, and almost the entire evening's food.””
Vanessa looked horrified.
“He told me he was taking his mother out for her birthday. He said he was paying.””
Of course he had.
Daniel had been taking credit for my generosity with his family while using my money to maintain his secret relationship.
I leaned back against the headrest.
“Vanessa, I need to ask you something difficult.””
“Anything.””
“Did Daniel ever tell you he planned to leave me?””
“He said the divorce was already final. He told me he was waiting for some financial issues to be resolved before we could move in together.””
I closed my eyes.
For fourteen months, he'd been telling her I was his ex-wife and telling me he was working to secure our future.
Neither of us had known we were living inside the same lie.
Vanessa suddenly looked down at her phone.
“There's something else.””
She opened an email and turned the screen toward me.
It was a message from Daniel, sent three days earlier.
Don't worry about the apartment deposit. I'll handle it after Mom's birthday. I have a plan to get Sarah to transfer the money without asking too many questions.
My blood ran cold.
“What apartment deposit?””
Vanessa's voice trembled.
“We've been looking at places. He said he wanted us to start fresh.””
“Using my money?””
“He didn't say that.””
I pointed toward the message.
“He said he had a plan to get me to transfer it.””
Vanessa began crying.
“I swear, I didn't know. I thought he was dealing with his divorce. I thought—”
“I believe you didn't know we were still married,” I interrupted.
“But I can't promise you anything beyond that. We both need to find out exactly what he has done.””
She wiped her cheeks.
“What are you going to do?””
I looked toward the restaurant's glass doors. Through them, I could see Daniel moving between the tables, speaking urgently to the manager while Patricia gestured angrily at someone.
For years, I had mistaken avoiding conflict for keeping the peace.
I was finished doing that.
“First, I'm going to protect my money,” I said.
“Then I'm going to find out why my husband needed to make me look like a thief.””
Vanessa nodded.
“I'll give you everything I have.””
Before she could say more, my phone vibrated.
Daniel.
This time, I answered.
“Where are you?”” he demanded.
“In the parking lot.””
“Good. Come back inside. Now.””
“No.””
“Sarah, I'm serious. Mom is having a breakdown, and the manager is threatening to involve the police.””
“Then perhaps you should stop trying to pay a restaurant bill with my stolen credit card.””
His breathing changed.
“You don't understand what you're doing.””
“Then explain it.””
He lowered his voice.
“Come home. We can talk privately. You don't want to make a mistake you'll regret.””
I glanced at Vanessa.
She was watching me, her face pale.
“Daniel,” I said, “I think I've made enough mistakes by trusting you.””
I ended the call.
For three seconds, neither Vanessa nor I moved.
Then her phone chimed.
She looked at the screen, and every trace of color drained from her face.
“Sarah,” she whispered.
“He just sent me a message.””
She turned the phone toward me.
Whatever Sarah tells you, don't believe her. She's dangerous when she thinks she's losing control.
Beneath the message was another line.
And whatever you do, don't tell her about the money I moved before the divorce.
Vanessa looked up.
“What money?””
I stared at those final words.
Before the divorce.
May you like
There had never been a divorce.
And suddenly, I understood that the affair might be the smallest part of what Daniel had been hiding.
