Chapter 6: The Woman in the Photograph
I didn’t sleep that night.
How could I?
My husband had betrayed me.
My mother had lied to me.
My father had returned from the dead with secrets.
And somewhere in the middle of all of it was a woman named Hannah.
A woman I had never heard of.
A woman who had apparently vanished before Cole entered my life.
By sunrise, the baby shower decorations were still hanging around the house.
The balloons had started shrinking.
The flowers were beginning to wilt.
Everything looked like a memory of something that had never been real.
I sat at the kitchen table while Daniel made coffee.
It was strange seeing him move around the house again.
The same house he had missed.
The same kitchen where my mother had betrayed me.
“Dad.””
He looked up.
“Yes?””
“Why didn’t you come back sooner?””
Pain crossed his face.
“I tried.””
“What does that mean?””
He set the coffee down.
“Your mother convinced everyone I was gone.””
My chest tightened.
“Everyone?””
He nodded.
“She told people I needed treatment. That I wanted privacy.””
I stared at him.
“You let me believe you were dead?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“I know what it looked like.””
“No.””
I looked away.
“You don’t.””
He sat across from me.
“I was sick, Sarah.””
My anger softened slightly.
“What kind of sick?””
“Depression. Fear. Shame.””
I swallowed.
“After finding out about them?””
He nodded.
“I couldn’t handle losing my daughter and my wife at the same time.””
I looked toward the living room.
Where Cole had slept on the couch.
Where Darla had cried.
Where my entire world had fallen apart.
“Where are they now?””
“Cole left early this morning.””
I frowned.
“He left?””
Daniel nodded.
“After I showed him the documents.””
My stomach tightened.
“What documents?””
He looked at me.
“The ones showing Hannah wasn’t just someone from his past.””
I froze.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel reached into his bag.
He pulled out a photograph.
A young woman stood beside Cole.
She was smiling.
She looked happy.
On the back of the photo was a date.
And a name.
*Hannah Whitmore.*
I stared at it.
“She looks familiar.””
Daniel watched me carefully.
“You’ve seen her before.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
My fingers tightened around the photograph.
“When?””
He leaned forward.
“Think.””
I looked at the picture again.
The woman’s face.
The eyes.
The smile.
Then suddenly, something clicked.
A memory from years ago.
A woman at a hospital.
A woman crying beside a vending machine.
A woman who had looked at me and said:
“Please don’t trust him.””
I stood up.
“No.””
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.””
“That was her?””
“Yes.””
My heart started racing.
“But she was alive.””
Daniel’s face became serious.
“She was.””
“Then what happened?””
Before he could answer, my phone rang.
The screen showed an unknown number.
My hands went cold.
I answered.
“Hello?””
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then a woman’s voice whispered:
“Sarah?””
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it once before.
At the hospital.
“Who is this?””
The woman took a shaky breath.
“My name is Hannah.””
I couldn’t speak.
“I know what Cole did.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Where are you?””
Silence.
Then she whispered:
“Somewhere Cole never wanted you to find.””
The call ended.
And seconds later, another message appeared.
An address.
May you like
And one sentence.
*Come alone if you want the truth about your husband.*
