Chapter 7: The Husband Who Had Been Watching Me
I read the sentence on the back of my father's letter three times.
*THE PERSON YOU MUST FEAR MOST IS THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN CALLING YOU DAUGHTER.*
Then I heard Daniel's name in my father's voice again.
"It's Daniel.""
The call had ended, but I could still hear the panic in his breathing.
I stood in the bedroom, staring at the closed door, trying to understand how the man I'd married could possibly be connected to a woman who had given birth to me thirty-four years earlier.
Daniel had been paid to marry me.
He had hidden my father's survival.
He had slept with my mother.
And now my father was warning me that he was dangerous.
I grabbed my purse, shoved the estate folder inside, and went to the window. The driveway was empty. Detective Harris had taken Daniel to the station, and my mother was downstairs speaking quietly on the phone.
I needed to leave before either of them realized I had the key.
As I reached the stairs, I heard my mother say, "No, she doesn't know yet.""
I froze.
A pause followed.
Then Patricia whispered, "I told you I'd handle it.""
I stepped into the hallway.
"Handle what?""
She spun around so quickly that her phone slipped from her hand.
"Emily! You scared me.""
"Who were you talking to?""
"Nobody.""
I looked at the phone lying on the floor.
"Then why were you whispering?""
She bent to retrieve it.
"You're exhausted. You're sick. You need to go upstairs and rest.""
I laughed without humor.
"That's the third time today you've tried to convince me I'm too sick to understand what's happening.""
She straightened.
"Because you are making decisions without thinking.""
"No. For the first time in my life, I'm thinking for myself.""
I walked toward the front door.
She grabbed my wrist.
"Emily, please. Don't go to that bank.""
My heart began pounding.
"How do you know about the bank?""
She released me.
For several seconds, she looked as though she might tell me the truth. Then she glanced at the estate folder under my arm.
"Your father left instructions," she finally said.
"He wanted you to stay away from that box until everything was settled.""
"Everything was settled six years ago, according to you.""
"Emily—"
I pulled my wrist away.
"Don't call me that like you have the right to tell me what to do.""
I left.
Outside, the humid air clung to my feverish skin. I got into my car, locked the doors, and called Detective Harris.
He answered after two rings.
"Detective Harris.""
"This is Emily Thompson. You took my husband to the station.""
"Yes. Is something wrong?""
"My father just called me. He told me Daniel is dangerous.""
The detective went quiet.
"Are you certain it was your father?""
"I know his voice.""
"Where are you now?""
"In my car.""
"Stay there. I'm sending an officer to meet you.""
I gripped the steering wheel.
"Detective, I need to tell you something else. My father says someone forged my signature on financial documents, and I think Daniel knows who did it.""
"Don't go anywhere near your husband until we speak again.""
"I wasn't planning to.""
After the call, I drove to a small coffee shop near Piedmont Park and parked where I could see the entrance. I needed somewhere public, somewhere my mother couldn't corner me and Daniel couldn't simply walk in and tell me everything was a misunderstanding.
Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed.
A text from an unknown number.
You shouldn't have taken the key.
I stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
Give it back, and you can still have a normal life.
I typed, Who is this?
The reply came immediately.
Someone who knows what happened to Laura.
My hands went cold.
I called the number.
It rang once before a man answered.
"Emily?""
"Who are you?""
"My name is Marcus Bell. We spoke earlier.""
My father's attorney.
"How did you get this number?""
"Your mother gave it to me.""
I glanced around the parking lot.
"Why are you threatening me?""
"I'm trying to keep you alive.""
"Then stop sending cryptic messages and tell me where my biological mother is.""
He exhaled sharply.
"Meet me at my office. Alone.""
"Absolutely not.""
"Then listen carefully. Daniel has been released.""
I sat up straight.
"What?""
"He was questioned and released pending further investigation. He's looking for you.""
My eyes darted toward the shop entrance.
"How do you know?""
"Because he called me five minutes ago.""
"What did he want?""
"To know whether you had the key.""
I closed my eyes.
"Marcus, who is Daniel Hayes?""
The attorney hesitated.
Then he said, "Daniel isn't the name he was born with.""
I felt the air leave my lungs.
"What?""
"His real name is Daniel Bennett.""
I gripped my phone so tightly that my fingers hurt.
"Bennett?""
"Yes.""
The same surname as my biological mother.
I whispered, "Is he Laura's son?""
"No. He's her brother.""
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Daniel wasn't simply a man hired by my father to protect me. He was my biological uncle, a man who had entered my life under a false name and married me without revealing that we shared a family connection.
The thought made my skin crawl.
"Why would my father pay him to marry me?""
"Because Laura was searching for you, and Richard believed Daniel was the only person who could keep you safe from her.""
"But he had an affair with Patricia!""
"I know.""
"And he forged my signature!""
"I suspect he did more than that.""
I swallowed.
"Where is Laura?""
Marcus's voice dropped.
"That's what the safe deposit box will tell you.""
Before I could ask another question, I heard a car door slam behind me.
I turned toward the parking lot.
Daniel stood beside my car.
He wasn't alone.
My mother was beside him, clutching a small black purse.
Daniel lifted one hand, signaling me to stay where I was.
Then he held up a photograph.
It showed a young woman with dark hair holding a newborn baby.
On the back, written in blue ink, were two words.
*EMILY'S MOTHER.*
Daniel raised his voice so I could hear him through the glass.
"Emily, before you go to that bank, you need to know what your father did to Laura.""
He turned the photograph over.
I couldn't read the writing from where I sat.
But I recognized the signature at the bottom.
It was my father's.
May you like
And beside it was a date.
The date of my birth.
