Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Knew David First
The basement lights went out.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
The darkness felt different from before.
This wasn't just an old house losing power.
This felt intentional.
Like someone wanted us standing there.
Blind.
Waiting.
I heard Emily breathing beside me.
Fast.
Uneven.
"Mom..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
I reached for her hand.
"I'm here."
Claire turned on her phone flashlight.
The beam moved across the basement walls.
The laptop screen was still black.
The message remained burned into my mind.
Ask your daughter why she never told you about Sarah.
I looked at Emily.
She wouldn't look back.
That scared me more than anything David had done.
Because Emily had always looked at me when she was afraid.
When she was hurt.
When she needed help.
But now...
She looked guilty.
"Who is Sarah?" I asked again.
Emily closed her eyes.
"Mom..."
"No."
My voice came out stronger than I expected.
"I need the truth."
She swallowed.
Claire stepped away.
She knew this was no longer her story to tell.
Emily sat down on the basement stairs.
Her hands covered her face.
"Sarah was my best friend."
The words hung in the air.
I waited.
"Before David."
I felt a strange confusion.
"Before David?"
Emily nodded.
"She knew him before I did."
The basement suddenly felt colder.
"What does that mean?"
Emily looked at the floor.
"Sarah introduced us."
I stared at her.
"You never told me that."
"I know."
"Why?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because I didn't want you to know how everything started."
I sat beside her.
"Then tell me now."
For a moment, Emily said nothing.
Then she began.
"Three years ago, before I met David, Sarah was going through a difficult time."
I listened carefully.
"She worked with him."
"As his assistant?"
Emily nodded.
"She was the first person who told me he was different."
Claire looked shocked.
"She warned you?"
Emily looked at her.
"Yes."
The room went silent.
I looked between them.
"Then why did you marry him?"
Emily wiped her tears.
"Because I didn't believe her."
Her voice broke.
"Sarah told me David wasn't the man everyone thought he was."
She looked at the laptop.
"She told me he collected information about people."
"She told me he used their weaknesses against them."
I felt anger rising.
"But you ignored her?"
Emily nodded slowly.
"I thought she was jealous."
The confession seemed to hurt her more than anyone else.
"David was perfect at the beginning."
She looked at me.
"He knew exactly what to say."
I remembered.
The flowers.
The compliments.
The perfect image.
"I thought Sarah was trying to ruin my happiness."
Emily's voice became quieter.
"So I stopped talking to her."
My heart sank.
"What happened to Sarah?"
Emily looked at Claire.
Then back at me.
"She disappeared."
The same word.
The same fear.
Claire stepped forward.
"David told everyone she left the company."
Emily nodded.
"But I never believed that."
I looked at Claire.
"You knew?"
Claire looked ashamed.
"I suspected."
"Then why didn't you tell us?"
She looked down.
"Because I was afraid."
That answer was becoming too familiar.
Everyone was afraid of David.
Everyone except David.
I walked back to the desk.
I opened the laptop again.
The folder system was still there.
I searched for Sarah.
A folder appeared immediately.
No password.
No protection.
Just her name.
SARAH MILLER.
Emily stood up.
"Mom, maybe we shouldn't..."
But I clicked it.
Inside were documents.
Photos.
Messages.
Videos.
The first file was dated three years ago.
The day before Emily met David.
I opened it.
A recording started.
Sarah's voice filled the basement.
"If anyone finds this, it means David succeeded."
Emily covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
"I spent two years trying to understand how he operates."
A pause.
"He doesn't hurt people because he's angry."
The audio crackled.
"He hurts people because it gives him control."
I looked at Claire.
She was frozen.
Sarah continued.
"David creates situations where people look unstable."
"He pushes them until they react."
"Then he uses their reaction as proof that they are the problem."
My hands tightened.
It was exactly what he did to Emily.
Exactly what he did to everyone.
The recording continued.
"But there is one person he fears."
A pause.
"Emily's mother."
I looked up.
Me.
Sarah knew about me.
"She sees things other people ignore."
"She asks questions."
"She doesn't accept his version of reality."
Emily started crying.
"Why didn't she tell me this?"
Claire answered quietly.
"Maybe she tried."
I looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
Claire walked toward the laptop.
"There are missing files."
She pointed.
"Someone deleted part of the folder."
I looked closer.
There were gaps.
Numbers missing.
Files removed.
"Can you recover them?"
Claire nodded slowly.
"Maybe."
She reached for the keyboard.
Then stopped.
"What?"
She pointed at the screen.
A new notification had appeared.
A live connection request.
Someone was accessing the laptop.
Someone outside the room.
Claire whispered:
"He knows we're here."
The screen changed.
A video call opened.
David appeared.
He wasn't angry.
He wasn't shouting.
He was sitting calmly in his office.
Wearing the same suit from the restaurant.
Like this was just another business meeting.
Emily stepped backward.
"No..."
David smiled.
"Hello, Emily."
Nobody answered.
His eyes moved toward me.
"Hello, Mrs. Carter."
I felt a chill.
He knew my name.
Of course he did.
"You broke into my house."
I stared at the screen.
"No."
I looked around the basement.
"You built this."
David smiled slightly.
"I was hoping you would find it."
Emily looked confused.
"What?"
David leaned closer to the camera.
"Sarah always believed your mother would eventually discover the truth."
His expression changed.
"She was right."
The room went silent.
I stepped closer.
"What did you do to Sarah?"
For the first time, David's smile disappeared.
Only for a second.
Then it returned.
"That's the question you should ask your daughter."
Emily froze.
I turned toward her.
"What does he mean?"
David continued.
"Tell her, Emily."
Emily's face turned pale.
"Tell her why Sarah disappeared."
My daughter looked like she couldn't breathe.
"Tell her what happened that night."
I stared at Emily.
"Emily?"
She didn't answer.
David watched us.
Enjoying every second.
Then he said:
"Because your daughter wasn't the only person Sarah tried to save."
The video suddenly ended.
The laptop screen went black.
Emily stood completely still.
Then she whispered:
"Mom..."
I looked at her.
"What?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Sarah didn't disappear because of David."
A pause.
May you like
"She disappeared because of me."
Before I could respond, someone knocked on the basement door upstairs.
