Chapter 3
I heard Daniel's voice and forgot how to breathe.
For eleven months, I had been desperate to hear him speak again.
I'd saved his old voicemails.
I'd watched our wedding video until I knew every word by heart.
Sometimes I played recordings just to remember how he laughed.
But this wasn't the Daniel I remembered.
He looked frightened.
His eyes kept moving toward the office door.
And he was talking about my father.
"Your father has been stealing from my company."
I pressed a hand against my chest.
"No."
My voice came out as a whisper.
Daniel continued.
"I didn't want to believe it either."
On the screen, he held up several documents.
"Arthur has been using our construction accounts to move money into private investments."
I looked toward Dad.
He sat on the sofa with his head lowered.
I wanted him to deny it.
I wanted him to laugh and say Daniel had misunderstood.
But he said nothing.
On the recording, Daniel continued.
"At first, I thought it was an accounting error."
He swallowed.
"Then I found forged invoices."
My stomach tightened.
Daniel had worked as financial director for Bennett Construction, my father's development company.
He'd joined the business shortly after we married.
Dad had always called him the son he'd never had.
They spent weekends discussing investments and construction projects.
I thought they loved each other.
Daniel's voice broke.
"Arthur moved more than eight hundred thousand dollars through companies that don't appear to provide any services."
I turned toward my father.
"Eight hundred thousand?"
He closed his eyes.
I looked back at the laptop.
Daniel was holding up another document.
"This isn't just about money. Some of the payments went to a company controlled by Vanessa."
My sister stumbled backward.
"That's a lie!"
I stared at her.
"Let him finish."
Daniel continued.
"Vanessa signed several invoices claiming her marketing company completed work it never performed."
I felt sick.
Vanessa had opened a marketing agency two years earlier.
She drove a luxury SUV.
She wore expensive clothes.
She traveled constantly.
And whenever I asked how her business was growing so quickly, she told me I was jealous.
Daniel leaned toward the camera.
"I confronted Arthur yesterday."
My pulse accelerated.
"He told me to forget everything."
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"He said if I reported the fraud, I'd destroy the family."
My mother made a wounded sound.
Daniel continued.
"I told him I wouldn't lie."
He paused.
"Then he threatened to make sure I never worked in this city again."
I looked at Dad.
He wouldn't meet my eyes.
My hands began shaking.
I remembered the week before Daniel died.
He'd been distracted.
He stopped sleeping.
He kept his laptop locked.
When I asked what was wrong, he kissed my forehead and said he was dealing with a difficult project.
I thought he was stressed.
I never imagined he was afraid of my own family.
Then Daniel said something that made the room go completely silent.
"Nia, if Arthur tells you I was having an affair, don't believe him."
My mother gasped.
My stomach twisted.
Three days after Daniel's funeral, Dad told me he'd discovered messages suggesting Daniel had been involved with another woman.
He said he hadn't wanted to hurt me.
But he thought I deserved the truth.
I spent months grieving a man I believed had betrayed me.
I stopped wearing my wedding ring.
I refused to look at our photographs.
I even told Lily that Daddy had made mistakes, but he loved her.
Now I stared at the screen in horror.
Daniel continued.
"Arthur threatened to create a story about another woman if I exposed him."
I looked at my father.
"You told me he cheated."
He began crying.
"Nia..."
"You let me believe my husband was unfaithful!"
I could barely hear my own voice.
My mother stood.
"Sweetheart, please calm down."
I turned toward her.
"Did you know?"
She started crying harder.
I stared at her.
"Did you know those messages were fake?"
She whispered, "I found out after the funeral."
My knees weakened.
Eleven months.
Eleven months of heartbreak.
Eleven months of wondering why I hadn't been enough.
I turned back toward Daniel.
His face filled the screen.
"There is one more thing."
I froze.
"I've been receiving messages from an unknown number."
He held up his phone.
"They know where Lily goes to school."
My stomach turned.
"They've mentioned our daughter."
I immediately wrapped my arm around Lily.
She looked at the screen.
"Daddy?"
Her little voice shattered me.
I pulled her closer.
Daniel continued.
"I don't know whether Arthur is responsible for those messages."
He took a shaky breath.
"But I won't take chances with my family."
My tears fell onto the keyboard.
"If anything happens to me, I've left copies of everything."
He looked directly at the camera.
"Nia, please keep Lily safe."
I began sobbing.
Then he whispered, "I love you both."
The recording ended.
I sat motionless.
My father had stolen money.
My sister had helped him.
My mother had hidden the truth.
And Daniel had died believing someone might hurt us.
I slowly turned toward Arthur.
"Did you threaten my husband?"
He covered his face.
I took a step closer.
"Look at me."
He lowered his hands.
His eyes were red.
"Nia, I made mistakes."
I stared at him.
"Mistakes?"
He swallowed.
"I borrowed money from the company."
"You forged invoices."
"I was going to pay everything back."
"Daniel found out."
He nodded.
"And you threatened him."
Dad began crying.
"Yes."
The admission felt like a knife.
I looked at Vanessa.
"And you helped him?"
She stared at the floor.
"I signed paperwork."
"Knowing it was false?"
She didn't answer.
I turned toward my mother.
"And you lied about Daniel cheating?"
She sobbed.
"I thought I was protecting you."
I shook my head.
"You were protecting yourselves."
Lily pressed closer against my leg.
I looked down at her frightened face.
Suddenly, my anger became something sharper.
My daughter had been living inside this family's secrets.
And I hadn't known.
I closed the laptop.
Then I picked up my phone.
Vanessa stepped forward.
"What are you doing?"
I looked directly at her.
"Calling the police."
My father stood.
"Nia, please. We can settle this privately."
I shook my head.
"No more private conversations."
Then Lily tugged my blouse.
"Mommy?"
I knelt.
"What, baby?"
She looked toward Grandpa.
Then whispered, "I heard him talking about Daddy's car."
My heart stopped.
"What did he say?"
She began crying.
"He said somebody fixed it so Daddy couldn't come home."
May you like
I stared at my daughter.
And suddenly, Daniel's accident didn't feel like an accident anymore.
