Chapter 6: The Woman Who Wasn’t His Mistress
“Call Emily.””
Michael’s head snapped toward me.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“You don’t get a vote anymore.””
“Sarah, you have no idea what you’re walking into.””
“That sentence might have worked yesterday.””
I took out my phone.
“I know enough today.””
Rebecca had Emily’s number.
That alone created another question I wasn’t ready to ask.
She gave it to me without speaking.
I called.
Emily answered almost immediately.
“Hello?””
“It’s Sarah.””
Silence.
Then a shaky breath.
“I was hoping you’d call.””
Michael moved toward me.
“Hang up.””
I stepped away.
“I need to see you.””
Emily hesitated.
“Is Michael there?””
“Yes.””
“Then don’t tell him where we’re meeting.””
Michael heard her.
His face tightened.
“Emily, stop this.””
She went silent.
“Emily?””
Finally, she said, “Lakefront Café. One hour.””
Then she hung up.
Michael grabbed his coat.
“I’m leaving.””
“No,” I said.
He stopped.
“Why?””
“Because I want you here when I come back.””
He laughed without humor.
“You think you can order me around?””
“No.””
I looked at him.
“But if you disappear now, I’ll assume every accusation is true.””
That stopped him.
An hour later, Dad drove me to the café.
He hadn’t asked questions when I called.
He simply said, “I’m coming.””
When we arrived, he parked outside.
“You want me inside?””
“No.””
“Sarah.””
“I need to hear this without anyone fighting.””
His expression softened.
“I’m sorry about last night.””
I looked at the cut on his lip.
“You scared me.””
“I scared myself.””
“Promise me.””
He nodded.
“No fighting.””
Emily was already inside.
She looked completely different.
No makeup.
Hair pulled back.
Dark circles beneath her eyes.
There was a folder on the table.
I sat opposite her.
“Tell me everything.””
Emily wrapped both hands around her coffee.
“I met Michael through work.””
“That part I know.””
“He approached me after I flagged several transactions.””
“My money?””
“Some of it.””
My stomach tightened.
“He told me you were aware.””
“I wasn’t.””
“I know that now.””
She looked ashamed.
“Michael said his marriage had ended emotionally. He said you were staying together temporarily because of finances.””
“And you believed him.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he was convincing.””
I almost laughed.
“He is.””
Emily pushed the folder toward me.
“I didn’t sleep with him at first.””
I stared at her.
“That’s not why I’m here.””
“It matters.””
“Why?””
“Because he started pursuing me after I found this.””
Inside the folder were copies of transfers.
Company accounts.
Private accounts.
My account.
Rebecca’s name appeared twice.
Then another name appeared repeatedly.
DAVID KELLER.
“The investigator?””
Emily nodded.
“He wasn’t originally investigating Michael.””
“Then who?””
“Our CFO.””
I leaned closer.
“Michael was helping him?””
“That’s what I thought.””
She pointed at one transfer.
“But then I found payments moving through accounts connected to your husband.””
“How much?””
“Over six hundred thousand dollars.””
I felt dizzy.
“That’s impossible.””
“It’s bigger than your savings.””
“Then why use my money?””
“To make some transfers look personal.””
I stared at the pages.
My marriage had become evidence.
My bank account had become camouflage.
“Did you report him?””
“I started asking questions.””
“And then he started dating you.””
Emily’s eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
The realization disgusted me.
Michael hadn’t simply betrayed me.
He had used affection like a tool.
“Why keep seeing him after you suspected?””
Emily looked toward the window.
“Because someone told me to.””
I froze.
“Who?””
“The investigator.””
“David?””
She nodded.
“He asked me not to confront Michael. He wanted to understand who else was involved.””
My mind returned to the photograph.
Michael.
Emily.
David.
“You met together.””
“Once.””
“Why?””
“Michael found out I’d spoken to David.””
“What happened?””
“He threatened to expose our relationship and claim I fabricated the financial concerns because I was jealous.””
My stomach turned.
“That’s why you stayed?””
“At first.””
She looked directly at me.
“Then I realized Michael was scared.””
“Of David?””
“No.””
“Of whom?””
Emily glanced around the café before lowering her voice.
“Someone inside your family.””
I stared at her.
“My family?””
“Michael kept receiving calls whenever I questioned the transfers. After those calls, he would suddenly know exactly what I had discovered.””
Rebecca’s message flashed through my mind.
She still doesn’t know what we did.
“Was it my sister?””
“I don’t know.””
Emily opened the folder again.
“There was one number I couldn’t identify.””
She pointed to a handwritten note.
“I finally traced it yesterday.””
My heart pounded.
“To whom?””
Emily looked at me with an expression I couldn’t understand.
“Sarah, before I tell you, you need to understand something.””
“What?””
“Your father finding us last night wasn’t an accident.””
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“What are you talking about?””
“Michael knew your father would be downtown.””
I stared at her.
“How?””
Emily swallowed.
“Because someone called Michael thirty minutes before your father saw us.””
I felt cold.
“Who?””
She slid a final page across the table.
It was a record of calls.
One number had been circled.
I recognized it immediately.
I had called that number hundreds of times.
Emily leaned closer.
“The person Michael was talking to wasn’t Rebecca.””
May you like
I couldn’t breathe.
Because the number belonged to my mother.
