Chapter 3: The Secret Hidden in Emily’s Phone
Michael smiled when he entered the hospital room.
It was the same smile he had worn at the funeral.
The same calm expression he used when everyone else was falling apart.
But now I saw something different.
Control.
“Daniel,” he said softly.
“You look exhausted.””
I didn’t answer.
My eyes stayed on him.
Emily pulled her hand away from mine.
A tiny movement.
But I noticed.
Michael noticed too.
“I’m glad you’re awake, Emily.””
She stared at him.
“Are you?””
His smile disappeared for half a second.
Then returned.
“Of course.””
I stepped between them.
“Why were you here that night?””
Michael looked confused.
“What night?””
“The night Emily collapsed.””
He sighed.
“Daniel, we already talked about this.””
“No. You talked. I listened.””
The room became silent.
Michael looked at Emily.
“She’s been through a trauma. Maybe she’s confused.””
Emily’s face tightened.
“I’m not confused.””
Michael walked closer.
“Emily, you were unconscious. You don’t know what happened.””
Her eyes filled with anger.
“I know enough.””
The tension in the room felt unbearable.
A nurse entered and immediately sensed something was wrong.
“Everything okay?””
I looked at Michael.
“No.””
Michael left after a few minutes, but his calmness bothered me more than anger would have.
People who were innocent usually wanted answers.
Michael wanted control.
That evening, Detective Collins returned.
She placed a small evidence bag on the table.
“We found something.””
Inside was Emily’s phone.
I frowned.
“Her phone was at the house.””
“Yes,” Sarah said.
“But we found deleted messages.””
Emily looked nervous.
“What messages?””
Sarah glanced at her.
“We’re still recovering them.””
Emily grabbed my arm.
“Daniel, there’s something you need to know.””
“What?””
She looked toward the door.
“Michael wasn’t the only person involved.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who else?””
Emily hesitated.
Then she whispered a name.
“Maria.””
I stared.
“Maria?””
Emily nodded.
“She knew.””
My mind raced.
The woman who smashed my wife’s coffin.
The woman everyone thought was crazy.
“What did she know?””
Emily closed her eyes.
“She tried to warn me.””
The detective looked surprised.
“Explain.””
Emily took a shaky breath.
“Three days before I collapsed, Maria told me she saw Michael searching through my office.””
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
She looked at me.
“But I found something missing afterward.””
“What?””
“My life insurance documents.””
The room went quiet.
I felt like the floor disappeared.
Sarah immediately wrote it down.
“Who was the beneficiary?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I already knew.
Michael.
The next morning, I returned home with Detective Collins.
The house looked exactly the same.
But everything felt different.
Someone had walked through these rooms with a secret.
Someone had almost buried my wife alive.
I went into my office.
The drawers were open.
Documents were scattered everywhere.
Then I noticed something strange.
A small envelope hidden beneath my desk.
My name was written on it.
Not in my handwriting.
I opened it slowly.
Inside was a single photograph.
My blood turned cold.
It was Emily.
Taken the night she collapsed.
Standing beside her was Michael.
And another person.
A person I never expected to see.
May you like
On the back of the photograph were six words.
*“Ask Maria who really saved Emily.””*
