Clara drove home without turning on the radio.
Her hands remained steady on the steering wheel, but her thoughts moved too quickly.
Daniel.
Laura's husband had supposedly been dead.
His name was Daniel.
Her Daniel had never mentioned another man with that name.
Marcus had given her documents, but documents could be forged. Stories could be distorted. A man who appeared from nowhere could have motives of his own.
Clara needed proof.
When she pulled into the driveway, Daniel was waiting near the front door.
He stepped forward as soon as she got out.
“Where were you?”
Clara closed the car door.
“Getting answers.”
His face tightened.
“From Marcus?”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked toward the street.
“You shouldn't have talked to him.”
“Why?”
“Because he lies.”
“So do you.”
Daniel flinched.
Clara walked past him.
Ethan was sitting at the kitchen table.
He looked relieved when he saw her.
“Mom.”
“Where's Laura?”
Daniel answered.
“She left.”
“I know.”
Clara put the envelope on the counter.
Daniel saw it.
His face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“Marcus.”
Daniel picked it up.
His hands shook slightly.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Clara watched him.
“What happened to the company money?”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
Ethan stood.
“Mom, maybe we should—”
“No.”
Clara looked at him.
“You deserve to know too.”
Daniel shook his head.
“This isn't something Ethan needs to hear.”
“He already knows more than you think.”
Ethan stared at his father.
Daniel looked defeated.
“I borrowed the money.”
“How much?”
“About forty thousand.”
“From the company?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel sat down.
“Debt.”
“What debt?”
He rubbed his palms together.
“Laura knew someone who could help.”
“Marcus?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Daniel looked at Clara.
“Her husband.”
Clara felt her heart pound.
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“Her husband was alive?”
“When I met Laura, yes.”
“And then?”
“He died.”
“When?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Four months ago.”
Clara's stomach dropped.
“Before or after I left?”
“Before.”
“Did you know him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He was a client.”
Clara stared at him.
The story was no longer about an affair.
It was about something she could barely understand.
Daniel continued.
“He owed money. A lot of it. Laura said she could get access to some accounts after he died.”
“And you believed her?”
“I was desperate.”
“You used company money.”
“Yes.”
“You used our house as collateral.”
Daniel looked down.
“Yes.”
Clara closed her eyes.
“And Laura?”
“She promised to fix everything.”
“By doing what?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Clara looked at him.
“You don't know?”
“I thought she was helping.”
“Then why was she in our bedroom?”
Daniel said nothing.
Ethan turned away.
Clara's voice hardened.
“Answer me.”
“It happened.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I slept with her.”
Ethan left the kitchen.
The door upstairs closed.
Clara stood motionless.
She had expected pain.
She had already felt it.
What she felt now was something colder.
“You knew she was lying about her husband.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I didn't know the whole story.”
“But you knew enough.”
“Yes.”
Clara picked up the envelope.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought I could fix it.”
“With another lie?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“Everything.”
Clara gave a small, bitter laugh.
“You didn't protect me. You removed me from the truth.”
Daniel's eyes reddened.
“I was ashamed.”
That was the first honest thing he had said.
Clara turned toward the hallway.
“I'm going to the study.”
Daniel stood.
“Why?”
“Because I want to see what else you were too ashamed to tell me.”
He followed her.
The study door was locked.
Clara stopped.
“Open it.”
Daniel hesitated.
“Clara—”
“Open it.”
He took a key from his pocket.
The lock clicked.
Inside, the room smelled of dust and paper.
Clara had always loved this room.
Daniel had once called it his quiet place.
Now the desk was covered with folders.
She walked to the drawers.
Daniel remained behind her.
“You don't need to do this.”
“Yes, I do.”
She opened the first drawer.
Nothing unusual.
The second contained receipts.
The third was locked.
Clara looked at Daniel.
He said nothing.
She held out her hand.
“The key.”
He slowly gave it to her.
Inside the drawer was a passport.
Laura's.
A second passport.
Another woman's name.
And several photographs.
Clara picked up the first.
It showed Laura standing beside a man.
The man was not Marcus.
It was an older man with silver hair.
On the back, someone had written:
Before Daniel.
Clara turned to Daniel.
“Who is he?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying again.”
“I swear I don't.”
She picked up the second photograph.
It showed Laura outside a courthouse.
Beside her stood Marcus.
The date was four months ago.
Clara looked at the third.
Her breath stopped.
It showed Laura entering Clara and Daniel's house.
But the date was not three weeks ago.
It was two days after Clara had left for her mother's.
She turned toward Daniel.
“Why was she here?”
Daniel stared at the photograph.
“I thought she was meeting me.”
“You weren't home.”
“No.”
“Then who let her in?”
Daniel's face went pale.
Clara looked toward the doorway.
“Ethan?”
Daniel shook his head.
“He was at school.”
“Then who?”
Neither answered.
A sound came from downstairs.
The front door opened.
Clara froze.
Daniel looked toward the hall.
Footsteps crossed the entryway.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Then Laura's voice rose from below.
“Daniel?”
Clara looked at her husband.
His face had lost all color.
Laura called again.
“Daniel, I know you're here.”
Clara stepped toward the stairs.
Daniel caught her wrist.
“Don't.”
She looked at his hand.
He released her immediately.
From downstairs came another voice.
Marcus.
“You need to come out, Daniel.”
Clara stared at the staircase.
Marcus continued.
“She knows.”
Laura answered him.
“No. She knows only what you wanted her to know.”
Clara's eyes narrowed.
That sentence mattered.
She walked downstairs.
Daniel followed.
At the bottom, Laura stood beside Marcus.
Neither looked surprised to see Clara.
Laura held a small black box.
Clara looked at it.
“What is that?”
Laura's fingers tightened around the box.
“The reason I came here.”
Clara waited.
Laura slowly opened it.
Inside was a key.
A house key.
Clara recognized it immediately.
It was the spare key she had given Daniel's brother years ago.
But Daniel's brother had moved overseas.
He had not been back in nearly a decade.
Clara looked at Daniel.
“Why does Laura have that?”
Daniel's silence answered nothing.
Laura looked directly at Clara.
“Because your husband isn't the only person who has been lying to you.”
Clara took one step forward.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Laura closed the box.
“I will.”
She looked at Daniel.
“But not here.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Laura, don't.”
Laura turned toward the door.
“It's already too late.”
She walked outside.
Marcus followed.
Clara remained in the doorway.
For the first time since she had returned home, she understood that the secret waiting for her was larger than Daniel's betrayal.
And somewhere inside that secret was the reason Laura had been able to enter her house long before anyone realized she was there.
Click here to continue reading: PART 5: Laura Finally Opened the Box, and Clara Learned Why a Spare Key Had Been Used Inside Her House Before She Ever Returned
She Came Home With Groceries, but the Silence Inside Told Clara Something Had Changed While She Was Gone
Part 4 of 12
