Chapter 3: The Message He Never Wanted Me to Hear
For three seconds, I forgot how to breathe.
Daniel stood beside the kitchen counter, one hand resting on the old phone.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
“USB drive?”” I repeated.
He nodded toward the bedroom.
“The one hidden inside the coat.””
My stomach dropped.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
The man who had supposedly spent three years protecting me had just walked into my apartment and asked about evidence that could destroy him.
I forced myself to laugh.
“Daniel, what are you talking about?””
He didn't laugh with me.
“Don't do that.””
“Do what?””
“Pretend you don't know.””
He took one step closer.
I moved toward the kitchen island, putting it between us.
Daniel noticed.
His jaw tightened.
“I gave you that coat, Nia. I know what was inside it.””
I swallowed.
“Then why didn't you take it?””
For the first time, he looked surprised.
Only briefly.
Then he smiled.
“Because I didn't think you'd find it.””
I stared at him.
“You planted it?””
“Marcus did.””
The name hung between us.
Daniel walked to the refrigerator and opened it.
He took out a bottle of water, twisted the cap, and drank.
It was such an ordinary action that it frightened me more than shouting would have.
“Sit down,” he said.
“I'm fine.””
“Sit down, Nia.””
I remained standing.
He placed the bottle on the counter.
“Three years ago, Marcus stole company money. When I confronted him, he panicked. He disappeared before the police could question him.””
“That's not what he told me.””
Daniel's eyes sharpened.
“What did he tell you?””
I realized my mistake immediately.
He knew.
His expression changed.
“You spoke to him.””
I said nothing.
Daniel laughed softly.
“Oh, Nia.””
He rubbed his forehead.
“I was hoping he'd have the decency to leave you alone.””
“You knew he was alive?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Does it matter?””
The question was so cruelly simple that I almost couldn't process it.
“Does it matter?”” I repeated.
“I kept you safe.””
“You told me he was dead!””
“I told you what you needed to believe.””
I felt something inside me crack.
For three years, I had visited the river.
For three years, I had left flowers beside the bridge where his car had been found.
For three years, I had apologized to a man who wasn't dead for not being able to save him.
And Daniel had watched.
“You let me mourn him.””
Daniel sighed.
“I let you move on.””
I slapped him.
The sound echoed through the apartment.
He slowly turned his face back toward me.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then he smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
“You really should have stayed out of this.””
I backed away.
“I'm calling the police.””
“Go ahead.””
He pulled out his phone.
“Who do you think they'll believe?””
I stared at him.
Daniel tapped the screen.
“Your boyfriend's business partner? A respected businessman who helped fund the investigation? Or a woman who has spent three years struggling with the disappearance of a man who apparently keeps calling her from unknown numbers?””
“You're insane.””
“No, Nia. I'm prepared.””
He placed his phone on the counter.
“Three years ago, you signed the documents. Everything was legal. Your signature is on every page.””
“You lied to me.””
“I gave you a way out.””
“You stole from me.””
“I managed what you couldn't.””
His voice had grown colder.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
“Do you know what Marcus did when I offered him a deal?””
I didn't answer.
“He refused.””
Daniel shook his head.
“He could have walked away with enough money to start a new life. Instead, he decided to play hero.””
“What did you do to him?””
Daniel looked toward the window.
“I gave him exactly what he wanted.””
My eyes filled with tears.
“You tried to kill him.””
He didn't deny it.
He simply picked up his water bottle again.
“Where's the drive?””
I took another step backward.
“I don't have it.””
Daniel looked at my coat.
Then at me.
“Don't lie.””
“I threw it away.””
He smiled.
“You're a terrible liar.””
He moved toward the bedroom.
I followed him, keeping enough distance to avoid touching him.
“Daniel, stop.””
He ignored me.
He opened the closet and searched the pockets of the camel coat.
Then he turned the coat inside out.
“Where is it?””
“I told you. I don't have it.””
He threw the coat onto the bed.
Then he began opening drawers.
He pulled out my jewelry box, dumped it onto the mattress, and scattered earrings and necklaces across the sheets.
“You're making a mistake,” he said.
“No. You made the mistake.””
He stopped.
I met his eyes.
“Marcus is alive. And he knows what you did.””
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Marcus doesn't know anything.””
“He knows about the accounts.””
“He has no proof.””
“He knows about the documents.””
“He has no proof.””
“He knows you tried to kill him.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“And you think a USB drive is going to save him?””
He grabbed my wrist.
“Listen to me carefully. Whatever Marcus has told you, whatever story he's invented, you are going to forget it.””
I pulled against his grip.
“Let go.””
“You're going to tell him you don't want to see him.””
“Let go of me!””
He released me suddenly.
My wrist burned.
Daniel took a deep breath and straightened his shirt.
Then, almost casually, he said:
“I was going to propose to you next month.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
He looked toward the living room.
“I bought a ring.””
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“You were going to marry me?””
“Yes.””
“After everything?””
He turned back.
“I thought you'd understand eventually. Marcus was never going to come back. I was the one who stayed.””
I shook my head.
“You stayed because you wanted what he had.””
Daniel's face darkened.
“I stayed because I loved you.””
“No. You stayed because I was useful.””
He raised his hand as if he might strike me.
Then he stopped.
His phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
Something changed in his expression.
He answered.
“What?””
A man's voice came through faintly.
Daniel listened.
Then he looked directly at me.
“Are you sure?””
Another pause.
“Where?””
He ended the call.
For several seconds, he simply stood there.
Then he picked up his coat.
“Don't leave this apartment.””
I almost laughed.
“Or what?””
He ignored me and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he turned around.
“One more thing, Nia.””
“What?””
“Marcus isn't the only person who disappeared three years ago.””
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel opened the door.
“You should ask your mother.””
Then he left.
My mother had been dead for eight months.
A sudden stroke.
That's what the doctors had said.
She had collapsed in her kitchen while preparing dinner, and by the time the ambulance arrived, it was too late.
Daniel had handled most of the arrangements.
He had helped me choose the funeral home, contacted relatives, and even paid the outstanding hospital bills.
I had thanked him.
I had told him I didn't know how I would have survived without him.
Now I stood in my bedroom, staring at the scattered jewelry, hearing his final words over and over.
You should ask your mother.
My phone vibrated.
Marcus.
*Are you safe?*
I typed:
*Daniel knows about the USB.*
His reply came immediately.
*Did he take it?*
*No.*
*Good. Where is it?*
I hesitated.
Then I typed:
*Somewhere he won't find it.*
A pause.
*Nia, listen. I need you to leave the apartment. Now.*
*Why?*
*Daniel just called someone. He's going to send people to your building.*
I looked toward the front door.
My hands started shaking.
*He said something about my mother.*
There was a long silence.
Then Marcus called.
I answered.
“Nia, I need you to listen without interrupting.””
“Marcus, what happened to my mother?””
He exhaled.
“Three months before I disappeared, your mother came to see me.””
I sat on the edge of the bed.
“Why?””
“She had discovered something about Daniel.””
“What?””
“She found out he had been using company money to pay for something. Something that wasn't business-related.””
“What was it?””
“A private medical facility.””
I frowned.
“Why would Daniel be paying a medical facility?””
“Because someone was being kept there under a false name.””
My throat went dry.
“Who?””
Marcus lowered his voice.
“I don't know. Your mother found the records, but before she could give them to me, Daniel found out.””
I gripped the phone.
“Are you saying Daniel had something to do with her death?””
“I don't know, Nia. But I know she was afraid of him.””
I covered my mouth.
My mother had never mentioned any of this.
Not once.
“Where are you?”” I whispered.
“I can't tell you over the phone.””
“Marcus, please.””
“There's something else. The USB drive isn't the only evidence. Your mother left something with a lawyer before she died.””
“What lawyer?””
“Someone named Evelyn Shaw.””
I searched the name on my laptop.
A law firm appeared.
A small office in the city center.
But before I could click the website, a message arrived from Marcus.
*Don't contact her from your phone. Daniel may be monitoring it.*
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
*Nia, there's a photograph on that USB. Open the folder called MOTHER.*
I retrieved the drive from the hiding place where I'd tucked it earlier.
My hands shook as I inserted it into my laptop.
Several folders appeared.
ACCOUNTS.
TRANSACTIONS.
CORRESPONDENCE.
MOTHER.
I clicked the last one.
There was a single image.
An old photograph.
My mother stood in front of a building I didn't recognize.
She was holding a little girl.
A child of about five years old.
The girl had dark curly hair and wore a yellow dress.
My mother was smiling.
But the thing that made my heart stop was the man standing behind them.
Daniel.
Younger.
Perhaps twenty-five.
His arm rested on my mother's shoulder.
I zoomed in.
The little girl looked familiar.
Not because I remembered her.
Because I saw my own childhood face in hers.
I called Marcus.
He answered immediately.
“What did you find?””
I couldn't get the words out.
“Marcus, who is that little girl?””
He went silent.
Then he said something I never expected.
“Nia, that's your sister.””
I shook my head.
“I don't have a sister.””
“You do.””
“My mother had one child.””
“Nia—”
“No. You're wrong.””
Marcus's voice softened.
“Your mother told me about her. She was born before you. She disappeared when she was five.””
I stared at the photograph.
“Disappeared?””
“Your mother believed she was dead. But she found evidence three months before I vanished that suggested otherwise.””
My vision blurred.
“Where is she?””
Marcus took a shaky breath.
“I think Daniel knows.””
At that exact moment, a new notification appeared on my laptop.
An incoming email.
No subject.
No sender name.
Just one attached photograph.
I clicked it.
It showed a hospital room.
A woman sat on the edge of a narrow bed, staring directly at the camera.
She looked older than the little girl in the photograph.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
My eyes.
Below the photograph were six words.
*Nia, if you're seeing this, I'm alive.*
May you like
And beneath them was a name.
*CLAIRE REED.*
