Chapter 2: The Phone From My Dead Wife
Nobody moved.
The phone kept ringing in my hand.
Sarah.
The name I had not seen on a screen in four years.
The name I had written on a tombstone.
The name I had cried over until there were no tears left.
My first instinct was that this had to be some cruel trick.
A mistake.
Anything except what it looked like.
“Michael,” Vanessa said quickly, stepping forward, “don’t answer that.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
Her face tightened.
“Because you don’t understand.””
My mother looked between us.
“Then explain.””
Vanessa swallowed.
“I can explain everything.””
“No,” I said.
My voice surprised even me.
“You’ve had eight months to explain.””
The phone stopped ringing.
For three seconds, the church was silent.
Then it started ringing again.
This time, I answered.
“Hello?””
Nobody spoke.
The screen showed darkness.
Then a woman’s face appeared.
A woman I knew.
A woman I had spent years trying to forget.
Sarah.
Except she wasn’t in a grave.
She was sitting in a room somewhere, looking older, tired, and terrified.
My entire body went cold.
“Michael?””
Her voice came through the speaker.
Someone behind me gasped.
My mother grabbed the back of a chair.
“Sarah?””
The woman on the screen covered her mouth.
“Mom?””
My mother started crying.
“No…”
Sarah looked directly at me.
“I didn’t know if I would ever get to talk to you again.””
I couldn’t speak.
My brain couldn’t understand what my eyes were seeing.
“Sarah,” I whispered.
Vanessa suddenly lunged forward.
“Give me that phone.””
I stepped away.
“No.””
Her expression changed.
The sweet woman I had married disappeared.
For the first time, I saw someone else.
Someone desperate.
Someone trapped.
“Michael, you need to listen to me.””
Sarah’s voice came from the phone.
“Don’t listen to her.””
Vanessa looked at the screen.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.””
Sarah laughed bitterly.
“You always say that when you’re scared.””
The guests began whispering.
Phones were coming out.
People were recording.
I didn’t care.
My world had already fallen apart.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Why did you tell me Sarah was dead?””
Her face went pale.
“I didn’t.””
“Yes, you did.””
I stepped closer.
“You told me Sarah died during childbirth complications.””
Sarah looked down.
“I didn’t die.””
My chest tightened.
“Then where have you been?””
The church doors suddenly felt too small.
The room felt like it was closing around me.
Sarah looked at Lily.
“Is she there?””
I turned.
My daughter was standing beside my mother.
Crying silently.
“Yes.””
Sarah closed her eyes.
“Lily.””
My daughter covered her mouth.
“Mommy?””
That single word destroyed me.
Because I realized something.
For four years, Lily had believed her mother was gone.
And now she was hearing her voice.
Alive.
Sarah wiped tears from her face.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.””
Lily took one step forward.
“Why didn’t you come home?””
The question was simple.
But it carried four years of pain.
Sarah looked broken.
“Because Vanessa made sure I couldn’t.””
Everyone turned toward Vanessa.
She shook her head.
“That’s a lie.””
Sarah looked at her.
“You threatened me.””
“I saved you.””
“You kidnapped me.””
The church erupted.
People shouted.
Nobody knew what to believe.
I raised my hand.
“Enough.””
Everyone became quiet.
I looked at Sarah.
“Tell me everything.””
She took a deep breath.
“Four years ago, after Lily was born, Vanessa came to the hospital.””
I frowned.
“Why would Vanessa be there?””
Sarah looked at me.
“Because she was working with someone you trusted.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Sarah hesitated.
Then she said:
“Your brother.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
My brother Daniel.
The person who stood beside me at Sarah’s funeral.
The person who helped me raise Lily.
The person who introduced me to Vanessa eight months ago.
“No,” I whispered.
Sarah continued.
“Daniel told Vanessa about your money. About the house. About the life insurance.””
My hands curled into fists.
“They planned everything.””
Vanessa suddenly shouted.
“Stop lying!””
Sarah looked at her.
“You were never pregnant.””
Vanessa went silent.
“You were using my identity,” Sarah continued.
“You were planning to take my daughter and my husband’s life.””
I looked at Lily.
My daughter.
My heart broke when I remembered every time she told me she didn’t like being alone with Vanessa.
Every time she looked scared.
Every time I ignored her.
“Lily,” I whispered.
She looked at me.
“I tried to tell you.””
Those words hurt more than anything.
I lowered my head.
“I know.””
“No,” she said quietly.
“You didn’t.””
A tear fell down my face.
She was right.
Then Sarah’s expression suddenly changed.
“Michael.””
“What?””
“You need to leave that church.””
I looked confused.
“Why?””
She looked behind me.
“Because Vanessa didn’t come here just to fake a pregnancy.””
My heart stopped.
“What else did she do?””
Sarah’s voice became urgent.
“She came here because today was the last day before…”
The phone screen suddenly glitched.
Sarah disappeared.
The call ended.
I stared at the black screen.
“Before what?””
Nobody answered.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
*If you want to know what Vanessa planned after the wedding, come alone.*
And beneath the message was a photo.
A photo taken inside my house.
A photo of Lily’s bedroom.
With someone standing beside my daughter’s bed.
May you like
Someone I recognized.
Daniel.
