Chapter 2
The Man Beside My Missing Wife
I stared at the blurred figure standing beside Elena.
My fingers hovered over the screen.
Maya gripped my arm.
"Dad, zoom in."
I swallowed.
Then I enlarged the image.
The man wore dark sunglasses.
His hair was closely cropped.
A silver watch glittered on his wrist.
And there was a small scar running beneath his left ear.
I knew that scar.
I'd seen it hundreds of times.
My stomach dropped.
"Daniel?"
Maya looked confused.
"Who?"
I couldn't breathe.
"Your uncle Daniel."
My younger brother.
The man who had disappeared from our lives two months after Elena's boating accident.
He'd told me he was leaving Georgia to work overseas.
He'd sent a few messages.
Then stopped answering.
I'd spent the last year believing he wanted distance from our family's grief.
Now he was standing beside my missing wife.
At a seaside hotel.
I felt something cold move through my chest.
"That's impossible."
Maya looked at me.
"What?"
I turned the phone toward her.
She stared.
Then covered her mouth.
"Uncle Daniel?"
Lily nodded.
"I remember him."
I looked at her.
"You do?"
She pointed toward the screen.
"He gave me a teddy bear."
I remembered.
Daniel had visited us shortly after Elena disappeared.
He'd brought Lily a stuffed bear with a pink ribbon.
At the time, I'd thought he was trying to comfort her.
Now every memory felt suspicious.
Claire suddenly moved toward the hallway.
I turned.
"Where are you going?"
She stopped.
"I need some air."
My voice hardened.
"Sit down."
She stared at me.
"Marcus."
"Please."
For several seconds, she didn't move.
Then she slowly returned to her chair.
Maya stood beside me.
I could feel her trembling.
"Dad, call Uncle Daniel."
I nodded.
I opened my contacts.
His number was still saved.
I pressed it.
The call rang.
Once.
Twice.
Then a recorded message announced the number was no longer in service.
I tried again.
Same result.
I looked at Claire.
"Do you know where Daniel is?"
She shook her head too quickly.
"No."
I studied her face.
"You're sure?"
"Of course."
I wanted to believe her.
But something about her expression told me she was hiding more than fear.
I looked at Maya.
"Take Lily upstairs."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Maya."
"Dad, I'm not leaving."
I understood.
For fourteen months, she'd been waiting for someone to tell her that her mother was coming home.
Now she had proof that Elena might be alive.
And I was asking her to leave the room.
I took a breath.
"Then take your sister to the couch."
Maya nodded.
Lily climbed into her lap.
I turned toward Claire.
"Tell me what you know."
She stared at me.
"About what?"
"Elena."
Her expression changed.
"Marcus, she's dead."
I held up the phone.
"Then explain this."
Claire looked away.
"Maybe it's someone who resembles her."
I stepped closer.
"With her necklace?"
She swallowed.
"People can buy similar jewelry."
I shook my head.
"Not that necklace."
My voice cracked.
"I designed it."
Claire's eyes filled.
For a moment, I thought she might finally tell me something.
Instead, she whispered, "You need to let Elena go."
The words hit me like a slap.
I stared at her.
"What?"
She looked down.
"You've spent fourteen months grieving."
"And you think that means I should ignore this?"
"No."
She hesitated.
"I just don't want you getting hurt."
I laughed bitterly.
"Hurt?"
My voice rose.
"My daughters buried an empty coffin!"
Lily began crying.
I immediately lowered my voice.
I knelt beside her.
"I'm sorry, baby."
She reached for me.
I hugged her.
Then I looked at Maya.
Her face was wet with tears.
"Are we going to find Mom?"
I swallowed.
"Yes."
Claire closed her eyes.
I noticed.
And suddenly, I remembered something.
The day Elena disappeared, Claire had been the last person to speak with her.
At least, that was what she'd told me.
I stood.
"Claire."
She looked up.
"What?"
"Where were you the afternoon Elena went missing?"
Her face tightened.
"At work."
I frowned.
"You told me you were at the marina."
She froze.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then she laughed nervously.
"I stopped there briefly."
I felt my stomach twist.
"Why?"
"To give Elena something."
"What?"
She hesitated.
"Some documents."
I stared.
"What documents?"
"Marcus, it was over a year ago."
I stepped backward.
"You remember the necklace."
She said nothing.
"You remember everything about that day."
Her eyes filled.
Then she whispered, "Please don't do this."
I felt the truth moving closer.
Something ugly.
Something I'd been refusing to see.
I opened Elena's old social-media account.
The page had remained untouched since the accident.
Her last post showed our family at the beach.
Maya holding a seashell.
Lily sitting on my shoulders.
Elena smiling beside us.
I stared at it.
Then I checked her messages.
I still had access because we'd shared our family tablet.
Most conversations were ordinary.
School schedules.
Work appointments.
Messages from friends.
But one conversation had been deleted.
The contact name remained.
CLAIRE BENNETT.
I looked up.
"Why did you delete your messages with Elena?"
Claire's face went pale.
"I didn't."
I stared at her.
"Then who did?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
I no longer believed her.
I called Detective Olivia Grant, the investigator who had handled Elena's disappearance.
She answered after several rings.
"Mr. Williams?"
"Detective, I think my wife is alive."
A long silence followed.
Then she said, "Tell me everything."
I explained the video.
The necklace.
Daniel.
Claire's behavior.
Grant listened carefully.
Then asked me to send the recording.
I did.
Five minutes later, she called back.
Her voice had changed.
"Marcus, where did you find this?"
I explained.
She took a breath.
"The location matches a lead we received months ago."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"What lead?"
She hesitated.
"An unidentified woman was reportedly seen at a South Carolina medical facility."
I couldn't breathe.
"Did she look like Elena?"
"Possibly."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"We couldn't verify her identity."
I looked toward Maya.
She was watching me.
Hope and terror filled her face.
Grant continued.
"Marcus, I need you to remain calm."
I swallowed.
"Why?"
"Because there's something else."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
She paused.
"Your brother Daniel was listed as a person of interest in an unrelated financial investigation."
I froze.
"Financial?"
"Yes."
I looked toward Claire.
She had started crying silently.
Grant continued.
"And several accounts connected to that investigation contain transactions from your family's business."
I stared at the phone.
My business.
The construction company I'd spent fifteen years building.
Then Grant asked one final question.
"Marcus, does Claire Bennett still have access to your company accounts?"
I looked at Claire.
May you like
She covered her face.
And suddenly, I realized the woman sitting at my dinner table might know exactly why my wife had disappeared.
