Chapter 3 - The Woman in My Robe
Amanda stood outside the storage unit wearing jeans, a gray sweater, and the same gold bracelet from Daniel’s hidden photograph.
She looked terrified.
Not guilty.
Terrified.
“Please don’t scream,” she said.
I almost laughed.
“You’re worried I’ll scream?”
“Claire—”
“You were in my bedroom.”
Her face crumpled.
“I know.”
“You wore my robe.”
“I know.”
“You kissed my husband while my five-year-old son was in the house.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
No excuse.
No denial.
That surprised me more than anything.
I held up the hospital bracelet.
“Who is Baby Boy Hart?”
Amanda went pale.
“My son.”
“Where is he?”
She looked at the concrete floor.
“He died.”
The anger inside me stumbled.
Not disappeared.
But stumbled.
“When?”
“He was three days old.”
Silence filled the storage corridor.
I lowered the bracelet.
Amanda wiped her face.
“His name was Noah.”
I said nothing.
She stepped into the unit.
“Daniel and I dated before he met you.”
“I figured that out.”
“We were together almost two years.”
“Then why did he marry me?”
“Because he thought we were finished.”
“You were pregnant.”
“I didn’t know until after you were engaged.”
I stared at her.
“You expect me to believe Daniel didn’t know?”
“He knew before the wedding.”
There it was.
Another blow.
“When?”
“Three weeks before.”
Exactly when Daniel had become distant.
Amanda continued.
“I told him. He panicked. He said he loved you, but he also said he would take responsibility for the baby.”
“By marrying me?”
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“He wanted to postpone the wedding.”
I felt something cold move through me.
“Then why didn’t he?”
“Margaret.”
Of course.
“What did Margaret do?”
Amanda looked behind her as if afraid someone might appear.
“She told him postponing would destroy you. She told him nobody knew whether the baby was his. She said I had been with someone else after Daniel and I broke up.”
“Had you?”
“Yes.”
“So the baby might not have been Daniel’s.”
“Yes.”
I held up the bracelet.
“Then why is his name written here?”
“Because the hospital asked who I believed the father was.”
“Did you test?”
Amanda’s eyes filled.
“Noah died before we could.”
I hated the pity that came into me.
It felt like betrayal of my own anger.
“What does any of this have to do with you sleeping with my husband now?”
Amanda recoiled.
“I didn’t sleep with him.”
I stared at her.
“You kissed.”
“Yes.”
“In my bedroom.”
“Yes.”
“Wearing my robe.”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t sleep together.”
“No.”
I almost turned away.
Then she said, “The robe was an accident.”
“Don’t insult me.”
“I spilled coffee on my dress. Margaret told me to use the robe while she tried to clean it.”
“In my bedroom?”
“She brought me upstairs.”
“And Daniel?”
“He came home.”
“Convenient.”
“I didn’t expect him.”
“And the kiss?”
Amanda looked sick.
“He kissed me.”
“You didn’t stop him.”
“Not quickly enough.”
That answer, at least, sounded honest.
“Why were you here?”
“To talk about Richard.”
The older man.
“What does Richard want?”
“Money.”
“For what?”
“Silence.”
“About Noah?”
“About something else.”
My skin prickled.
Amanda sat on a cardboard box.
“Daniel and Richard’s business didn’t end because of a disagreement. Richard stole money.”
“How much?”
“Almost eight hundred thousand dollars.”
I stared.
“Daniel discovered it after your wedding. Richard threatened to expose the pregnancy and claim Daniel had hidden a child from you if Daniel went to police.”
“That makes no sense. Daniel could have told me.”
“He should have.”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because Margaret convinced him he would lose you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So instead, they built seven years of lies.”
Amanda nodded.
“Yes.”
At least she didn’t defend them.
“What changed sixteen months ago?”
“Richard came back.”
“Why?”
“He needed money again.”
“And you?”
“He contacted me first.”
“Why?”
“Because I had proof.”
“What proof?”
Amanda pointed toward the boxes.
“These records.”
I looked around.
“Who rented this unit?”
“I did.”
“Then why send me here?”
Her eyes sharpened.
“I didn’t.”
Silence.
“You’re not the anonymous sender?”
“No.”
My phone suddenly felt heavy in my pocket.
“Who knew about this unit?”
“Me. Daniel. Margaret. Richard.”
“Anyone else?”
Amanda hesitated.
“One person.”
“Who?”
“Daniel’s father.”
I frowned.
“Robert?”
Daniel’s father had died four years ago.
Amanda nodded.
“He knew everything.”
“Everything?”
“About me. Noah. Richard.”
I remembered Robert Mercer differently from Margaret.
Quiet.
Warm.
He had never interfered.
He had adored Ethan.
“What did he do?”
“He told Daniel to confess to you.”
My chest tightened.
“When?”
“Before he died.”
Daniel had never told me.
Amanda reached into her handbag.
She pulled out a sealed envelope.
My name was written on it.
Claire.
The handwriting was familiar.
Robert’s.
I had seen it on birthday cards.
My hands shook.
“What is this?”
“Robert gave it to me.”
“Four years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you give it to me?”
“Margaret begged me not to.”
Of course she did.
I took the envelope.
It was still sealed.
Amanda stood.
“You should read it alone.”
“No.”
I ripped it open.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
Claire,
If you are reading this, then my son has failed to do what I told him was right.
I stopped.
Amanda watched me.
I continued.
There are truths about Daniel’s past that belong to you because you married him without knowing them. He loved another woman before you. That woman became pregnant. Daniel may have fathered the child. The baby died shortly after birth. Daniel allowed fear and my wife’s interference to convince him that silence would protect your marriage.
It will not.
Secrets do not protect families. They make prisoners of them.
There is more.
My hands went cold.
Daniel’s former partner, Richard Cole, stole money from their company. Daniel concealed evidence because Richard threatened to expose the pregnancy. By protecting himself, Daniel may have protected a crime.
I begged him to tell you.
He said he would.
If he has not, then understand this: I loved my son, but love does not require blindness.
Protect yourself.
And protect any children you may have.
Robert Mercer.
I lowered the letter.
Amanda whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I looked at her.
“Why come back now?”
“Because Richard started threatening me again.”
“For money?”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel?”
“He tried to fix it privately.”
“Again.”
“Yes.”
I folded the letter.
“And Margaret?”
“She thinks she can still control everything.”
That I believed.
I asked the question I had been avoiding.
“How many times did you kiss Daniel?”
Amanda looked directly at me.
“Twice.”
My jaw tightened.
“The first?”
“Six months ago.”
“The second?”
“Yesterday.”
“Did he initiate both?”
“Yes.”
“Did you want him to?”
Long pause.
“Part of me did.”
It hurt more because she didn’t lie.
“And did you love him?”
“I loved who he was eight years ago.”
“What about now?”
“I don’t know him now.”
Neither did I.
My phone vibrated.
Another anonymous message.
You’re hearing Amanda’s version.
Ask why she was paid $120,000.
I looked up.
Amanda saw my face change.
“What?”
I turned the screen toward her.
All color left her face.
“So,” I said. “Why were you paid one hundred twenty thousand dollars?”
She sat down again.
“Claire—”
“Answer.”
“It wasn’t hush money.”
“What was it?”
“Insurance.”
“For Noah?”
“Yes.”
“From Daniel?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Amanda began crying.
“Robert.”
Daniel’s father.
“Why?”
“Because he knew Noah might have been his grandson.”
That didn’t explain why the sender framed it suspiciously.
“Show me proof.”
Amanda searched one box and pulled out bank paperwork.
A trust distribution.
$120,000.
Estate-related transfer.
Robert Mercer Family Trust.
Beneficiary: Amanda Hart.
Purpose: medical and bereavement expenses related to Noah Hart.
It appeared legitimate.
But one note was attached.
HAND DELIVER ONLY.
DO NOT INFORM MARGARET.
I looked at Amanda.
“Margaret didn’t know?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Robert didn’t trust her.”
That landed hard.
I folded the papers.
“Who do you think is sending me messages?”
Amanda looked toward the hallway.
“Richard.”
“Why help me?”
“He isn’t helping you.”
“Then what?”
“He wants you angry enough to destroy Daniel.”
“Daniel seems to be doing a good job himself.”
Amanda almost smiled, but didn’t.
Then her phone rang.
She checked it.
Her expression froze.
“What?”
She held up the screen.
Margaret.
Amanda answered on speaker.
“Hello?”
Margaret’s voice came immediately.
“Where are you?”
Amanda looked at me.
“Why?”
“Because Claire knows.”
My heart stopped.
Margaret continued.
“And Daniel just found out she accessed the archive.”
Amanda’s eyes widened.
Then Margaret said something worse.
“Get out of the storage facility now. Richard is already on his way.”
A metal door slammed downstairs.
Heavy footsteps entered the corridor.
Amanda whispered, “He’s here.”
May you like
The elevator bell rang.
And someone stepped onto our floor.
