Chapter 6 - The Affair That Never HappenedDaniel drove home alone.
Kate begged him not to.
“Call the police.”
“I will.”
“Then don't go near Vanessa.”
“She isn't there.”
“You don't know that.”
Daniel looked at Sophie sitting at the kitchen table.
Her ruined hair made his decision easier.
“I need documents.”
“What documents?”
“Everything from the separation.”
Kate frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if Vanessa created those messages, I need to know what else she created.”
Daniel had kept the divorce paperwork even though the divorce was never finalized.
Megan died before the court date.
The files were locked in his home office.
He found them exactly where he remembered.
At first, everything looked familiar.
Attorney letters.
Financial statements.
Printed screenshots of the anonymous texts.
Photographs.
Daniel had stared at those photographs until he hated the woman he loved.
He pulled out the worst one.
Megan leaving the Regent Hotel with Marcus Webb.
Marcus had been Daniel's college roommate.
Tall.
Handsome.
Recently divorced.
The anonymous sender had included one sentence.
Ask your wife what room 614 looks like.
Daniel had confronted Megan that night.
She had denied everything.
Marcus had denied it too.
Daniel hadn't believed either of them.
Now he called Marcus for the first time in three years.
Marcus answered on the fifth ring.
“Hello?”
“It's Daniel.”
Silence.
“I know.”
“I need to ask you something.”
“You're about three years late.”
Daniel swallowed the insult.
“I deserve that.”
Another silence.
“What do you want?”
“The hotel.”
Marcus exhaled slowly.
“Don't.”
“Please.”
“What about it?”
“What were you doing there with Megan?”
Marcus laughed once.
No humor.
“Do you finally care?”
“Yes.”
“You accused me of sleeping with your wife.”
“I know.”
“You punched me.”
“I know.”
“You didn't come to her funeral.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I know.”
That was the part he hated most.
Daniel had stood outside the church.
He couldn't go in.
Too angry.
Too guilty.
Too destroyed.
Kate had taken Sophie.
Daniel had spent the funeral sitting in his car.
“Tell me,” he said.
Marcus was quiet.
Then:
“Megan was meeting a lawyer.”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“She thought somebody was stalking her.”
“Who?”
“She didn't know yet.”
“Why were you there?”
“I drove her.”
“Why didn't she drive herself?”
“Because someone slashed one of her tires the night before.”
Daniel gripped the desk.
“What?”
“She told you.”
“No.”
“She said she did.”
Daniel searched his memory.
Nothing.
Maybe Megan had tried.
Maybe that was one of the calls he refused to answer.
Marcus continued.
“The lawyer's office was inside the hotel because they were renovating his building. Room 614 was being used as a temporary office.”
Daniel sat down.
“There was no affair.”
“No.”
“Ever?”
“No.”
The word destroyed something inside Daniel.
He pressed his hand against his mouth.
Three years.
He had spent three years believing Megan betrayed him.
“She showed you messages,” Marcus said.
“Yes.”
“Fake.”
“I know that now.”
“Do you?”
Daniel looked through the documents.
“Vanessa.”
Marcus went silent.
“What did you say?”
“Vanessa Cole.”
Marcus didn't answer.
“Marcus?”
“You married her?”
Daniel's stomach dropped.
“You know her too.”
“Megan brought her to my birthday once.”
“How well?”
“Well enough to know she was obsessed with your life.”
Daniel stood.
“What does that mean?”
“She talked about you constantly.”
“I never met her.”
“She had.”
“No.”
“Daniel, she absolutely had.”
“When?”
Marcus thought.
“Charity gala. Maybe five years ago.”
Daniel remembered a corporate fundraiser.
Hundreds of guests.
Megan had introduced him to dozens of people.
Vanessa could have been one.
“She told Megan you were perfect,” Marcus continued. “At first it sounded harmless.”
“And then?”
“She started making comments.”
“What kind?”
“That Megan didn't appreciate you. That she'd kill to have a man like you.”
Daniel stared out the office window.
“Did Megan confront her?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Right before the anonymous messages started.”
Daniel felt sick.
There it was.
Motive.
Opportunity.
Obsession.
He looked down at one of the printed screenshots.
Something suddenly bothered him.
The format.
He photographed it and texted it to Aaron.
Can you tell if this was edited?
The response came two minutes later.
Probably. Send original file if you have it.
Daniel searched the old email account where the screenshots had arrived.
The messages still existed.
He forwarded everything.
While waiting, he found another envelope inside the divorce file.
He didn't remember it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
Megan's handwriting.
Daniel—
If you ever decide to believe me, ask Vee why she was outside Sophie's school.
Daniel read the sentence twice.
The rest of the page had been torn away.
He heard something behind him.
A floorboard creaked.
Daniel turned.
Vanessa stood in the office doorway.
He hadn't heard her enter the house.
Her eyes went straight to the letter in his hand.
“You were never supposed to find that.”
Daniel slowly stood.
“Why were you outside my daughter's school?”
Vanessa's face remained expressionless.
“Because Megan wouldn't listen.”
“To what?”
“That she was going to lose you either way.”
Daniel stepped toward her.
Vanessa didn't move.
Then she said something that frightened him more than anything so far.
“You still think this was about stealing you from Megan.”
May you like
Her lips formed a small, bitter smile.
“It wasn't.”
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