Chapter 5 - Eli Had Seen More Than Anyone RealizedLandon booked a suite at a hotel ten minutes from the house.
Not because he wanted luxury.
Because it was the first place he could think of where Eli would have a separate room.
He didn’t want his son hearing him cry.
Eli sat cross-legged on the hotel bed eating chicken fingers.
Landon had ordered his favorite meal.
The boy barely touched it.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Is Mom mad?”
Landon looked at him.
“No.”
“Are you mad?”
Children always found the question adults avoided.
“A little.”
“At me?”
Landon immediately moved closer.
“Never.”
Eli nodded.
Then looked at his plate.
“Did Uncle Wyatt do something bad?”
Landon felt his throat tighten.
“I’m figuring that out.”
“He hides funny.”
“What?”
Eli smiled slightly.
“His feet were showing.”
Landon forced a smile.
“They were.”
“I knew it was him because of his tie.”
“I know.”
“Mom told me before not to talk about Uncle Wyatt.”
The room went silent.
Landon put down his water.
“When?”
Eli’s face became cautious.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Eli thought.
“Sometimes when Uncle Wyatt came over.”
“How often?”
“Lots.”
Landon kept his voice neutral.
“Lots like three times?”
Eli shook his head.
“More.”
“Ten?”
Eli shrugged.
Six-year-olds did not count betrayal.
“What did Uncle Wyatt do when he came over?”
“Sometimes he played video games with me.”
Landon’s chest tightened.
“What else?”
“Mom said grown-ups had talking.”
“Where?”
“Upstairs.”
Landon looked toward the window.
He hated himself for asking.
But he needed to know.
“Did Uncle Wyatt stay overnight?”
Eli frowned.
“Sometimes.”
Landon stopped breathing.
“What do you mean?”
“When you were on airplane work.”
Business trips.
“How many times?”
“I don’t know.”
Eli took a bite.
“Uncle Wyatt snores.”
Landon looked away.
The hotel room blurred.
He had traveled frequently after becoming CEO.
Dallas.
New York.
Phoenix.
London twice.
Every time he called home.
Every time Melanie said everything was fine.
Every time Eli told him about school.
And sometimes Wyatt had been sleeping inside Landon’s house.
Maybe inside Landon’s bed.
“Dad?”
Landon turned back.
“Yeah?”
“Are you crying?”
He wiped his face.
“A little.”
“Why?”
Landon considered lying.
Then chose a child-sized truth.
“Sometimes grown-ups hurt each other.”
“Did Mom hurt you?”
Landon’s instinct was to protect Melanie.
Even now.
Especially now.
“She made a choice that made me very sad.”
“Did Uncle Wyatt?”
“Yes.”
Eli looked thoughtful.
Then:
“He said you didn’t like us.”
Landon became still.
“What?”
“Uncle Wyatt.”
“What did he say?”
Eli sensed the change.
“Dad?”
“You’re not in trouble. Tell me.”
“He said you like work more.”
Landon’s stomach dropped.
“When?”
“When he stayed.”
“What exactly did he say?”
Eli shrugged.
“That you’re always gone because you like your office.”
Landon felt anger unlike anything he had experienced upstairs.
Wyatt hadn’t only entered his marriage.
He had been shaping how Landon’s son saw him.
“Did Mom say that too?”
Eli shook his head.
“Mom told Uncle Wyatt to stop.”
That mattered.
Not enough.
But it mattered.
“What else?”
Eli looked down.
“Uncle Wyatt said maybe someday he’d live with us.”
Landon couldn’t speak.
Eli continued innocently.
“I said you already live with us.”
Landon shut his eyes.
Wyatt had imagined replacing him.
Maybe planned it.
Maybe the affair had never been temporary.
His phone rang.
Melanie.
He almost ignored it.
Then remembered his promise not to use Eli as punishment.
He answered.
“Hi.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yes.”
“Can I talk to him?”
Landon handed the phone over.
“Mom.”
Eli’s face brightened.
Melanie’s voice came faintly through.
Landon walked toward the window.
Chicago lights spread below.
He heard Eli say:
“We’re at a hotel.”
Then:
“Dad cried.”
Landon closed his eyes.
After five minutes, Eli handed the phone back.
“Mom wants you.”
Landon stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
“What?”
Melanie was crying.
“Landon, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t have room for that tonight.”
“Eli told me he said you cried.”
“Wyatt told our son I didn’t like him.”
Silence.
“What?”
“Apparently your boyfriend has been explaining my work schedule to my six-year-old.”
“He is not my boyfriend.”
“What would you prefer?”
Melanie didn’t answer.
Landon continued.
“Eli says Wyatt stayed overnight.”
More silence.
“How many times?”
“Landon.”
“How many?”
“Three.”
He almost laughed.
Three was already too many.
“Did he sleep in our bed?”
She cried.
“Yes.”
Landon put one hand against the bathroom counter.
He felt nauseated.
“Okay.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying that.”
“I don’t know what else to say.”
“Then say nothing.”
He started to end the call.
Melanie suddenly said:
“Wyatt has been lying to me too.”
Landon paused.
“What?”
“I went through his bag after you left.”
“You’re still at the house with him?”
“No. He left.”
“What did you find?”
“A second phone.”
Landon frowned.
“What second phone?”
“He must have left it when he grabbed his jacket.”
“Can you open it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I know his passcode.”
Of course she did.
“What’s on it?”
Melanie’s voice changed.
Fear.
“Messages.”
“With who?”
“I don’t know. The contact is saved as O.”
“What do they say?”
Melanie read:
“‘The wife got you access. Good.’”
Landon felt cold.
Another message.
“‘Once the files are copied, we can force Landon out.’”
Silence.
Then Melanie whispered:
“There’s one more.”
“What?”
She struggled to speak.
“‘Don’t get attached to Melanie. She’s useful until this is finished.’”
Landon stared at his own reflection.
His wife had betrayed him.
But the man she betrayed him with had apparently been betraying her too.
And whoever “O” was—
May you like
they weren’t trying to destroy only Landon’s marriage.
They were trying to take his company.
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