Chapter 7: The Other Husband
Dad read the paper three times.
Then he put it down like it had burned his fingers.
“Eight years ago?””
Marcus nodded.
“That’s what the document says.””
“But Amanda and I got married four years ago.””
“I know.””
I sat on Denise’s couch with my knees pulled against my chest.
Most of the words didn’t make sense.
Marriage license.
Divorce record.
Beneficiary.
But I understood Dad’s face.
He looked like someone had pulled the floor out from under him.
“Does this mean Amanda has two husbands?””
Nobody answered immediately.
Finally, Marcus sat across from me.
“It means we need to verify some things.””
Dad paced toward the window.
“Where did these papers come from?””
“That’s the problem.””
Marcus turned the photocopies over.
“No letterhead on the envelope. No note explaining who collected them. Whoever hid this wanted you to find it, but apparently didn’t want their name attached.””
Dad rubbed both hands over his face.
“Rachel?””
“Maybe.””
I remembered something.
“Aunt Rachel didn’t know about the toolbox.””
Both men looked at me.
“How do you know?”” Dad asked.
“When Marcus opened it, she looked surprised.””
Marcus nodded.
“He’s right.””
Dad stared at the brown envelope.
“Then who?””
His phone rang.
Everyone jumped.
Dad looked at the screen.
“Rachel.””
He answered.
“Where’s Lily?””
Rachel was speaking so loudly I could hear her.
“She’s with me. She’s okay.””
“Where are you?””
“At Amanda’s house.””
“Our house.””
“Daniel, whatever. Listen to me. Amanda just called.””
Dad straightened.
“From where?””
“She wouldn’t say.””
“What did she want?””
Rachel hesitated.
“She wants Lily.””
I stood.
“No.””
Dad looked at me.
Rachel continued.
“She told me to bring Lily to a motel off Highway 17.””
Marcus was already reaching for his own phone.
“Which motel?””
“The Green Pine.””
Dad shook his head.
“Don’t go.””
“I wasn’t planning to.””
“Lock the doors. Don’t let Amanda take Lily until we understand what’s happening.””
Rachel lowered her voice.
“Daniel, there’s something I need to tell you.””
Dad closed his eyes.
“What now?””
“I know Michael.””
“You already admitted that.””
“No. I mean I knew him before you.””
Dad slowly sat down.
Marcus leaned closer.
Rachel continued.
“He and Amanda were together years ago. I thought it ended.””
“Were they married?””
Silence.
“Rachel?””
“Yes.””
The word landed harder than shouting.
Dad’s eyes closed.
I looked at him.
“Dad?””
He reached for my hand.
Rachel started crying through the phone.
“I’m sorry. She told me they got divorced.””
“When?””
“Before she met you.””
“Did you ever see divorce papers?””
“No.””
Dad laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“Of course not.””
“She said Michael left her when Lily was a baby.””
Dad’s head snapped up.
“What?””
Rachel stopped.
Marcus and Dad exchanged a look.
“Rachel,” Marcus said, “who is Lily’s father?””
“I don’t know.””
“Rachel.””
“I swear!””
Her voice cracked.
“Amanda always said it was her ex-boyfriend, Chris. But the timing…”
“What timing?”” Dad asked.
Rachel whispered, “Michael was still around when she got pregnant.””
My hand tightened around Dad’s.
“Is Michael Lily’s dad?””
Dad looked at me.
“I don’t know, buddy.””
Marcus spoke into the phone.
“Rachel, did Amanda contact Michael recently?””
“Yes.””
“How recently?””
“About six months ago.””
Dad stood.
“That’s when the withdrawals started.””
Rachel went quiet.
Marcus wrote something down.
“What did Amanda tell you?””
“That Michael was helping her invest.””
“Invest Ethan’s money?””
“I didn’t know where it came from!””
Rachel sounded desperate.
“She said Daniel kept everything locked down and she needed financial independence.””
Dad looked sick.
“Thirty-two thousand dollars isn’t independence.””
Marcus corrected him.
“Possibly more.””
Dad stared at him.
Marcus opened his laptop.
“I checked the account information you forwarded while you were driving. The withdrawals total forty-eight thousand, seven hundred.””
Dad stopped breathing for a second.
My mother’s money.
Even I understood that number was huge.
Then Rachel gasped through the phone.
“Wait.””
“What?”” Dad asked.
“Someone’s outside.””
Marcus stood.
“Rachel, lock the door.””
“I already did.””
We heard movement.
Then Lily’s frightened voice.
“Aunt Rachel?””
Rachel whispered, “Stay behind me.””
Dad grabbed his coat.
“Who is it?””
Rachel walked toward a window.
“I can’t see.””
A knock sounded through the phone.
Three times.
Dad froze.
Someone outside Rachel’s house called, “Amanda?””
Rachel frowned.
“That’s not Amanda.””
Marcus asked, “Male or female?””
“Male.””
Another knock.
“Rachel, I know you’re in there.””
Rachel sucked in a breath.
“Oh my God.””
“What?”” Dad demanded.
“I know that voice.””
She backed away from the door.
Lily began crying.
Dad was already moving.
“Marcus, drive.””
We rushed toward the front door.
Marcus stopped Dad.
“Ethan stays here.””
“No!””
Dad crouched.
“Buddy.””
“Lily needs me.””
“She needs you safe.””
“But—”
“Please.””
The fear in his face silenced me.
He hugged me.
Then he and Marcus disappeared outside.
Denise locked the door behind them.
I stood at the window watching their car vanish.
The phone call had ended.
For ten minutes, nothing happened.
Then fifteen.
Twenty.
I sat beside Denise clutching a blanket.
At twenty-eight minutes, Dad called.
Denise answered immediately.
“Daniel?””
I watched her face.
“What happened?””
She listened.
Then looked at me.
“Is Lily okay?”” I shouted.
Denise put the phone on speaker.
Dad’s voice filled the room.
“Lily’s safe.””
I almost collapsed with relief.
“Where’s Amanda?””
“We don’t know.””
“And Michael?””
Dad went silent.
“Dad?””
Marcus spoke instead.
“The man at the door wasn’t Michael.””
“Then who?””
Another pause.
Dad finally answered.
“A private investigator.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“He was looking for Amanda too.””
Dad sounded confused.
“He says someone hired him three months ago to investigate Amanda and Michael.””
“Who hired him?””
“That’s what we asked.””
May you like
Dad inhaled slowly.
“And he gave us a name none of us expected.””
