Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Knew The Truth
The older woman on the phone whispered:
"Don't let him take your daughter."
When I stepped away from Marcus in the airport terminal, I heard Jason's mother's voice shaking.
Then she said five words I never expected:
"Jason was never alone."
I froze.
For six years, I had listened to Linda Hale defend her son.
When Jason forgot anniversaries, she said he was stressed.
When he worked late and missed Clara's first steps, she said he was building a future.
When our marriage started falling apart, she told me every couple had difficult seasons.
Even when I filed for divorce, she didn't call me.
Not once.
So hearing fear in her voice felt impossible.
"Linda?"
I looked around the terminal.
People walked past us carrying bags, laughing, rushing toward gates.
Nobody knew my entire life had just shifted.
"Where are you?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"At the Baltimore airport."
"With him?"
I glanced at Marcus.
He stood several feet away, watching the crowd while Daniel spoke quietly on the phone.
"With Marcus, yes."
A sharp breath came through the speaker.
"Megan, listen to me carefully."
My grip tightened around my phone.
"Why are you scared?"
"Because I made a mistake."
The words surprised me.
"What mistake?"
A pause.
Then:
"I thought Jason was protecting our family."
My stomach twisted.
"What does that mean?"
"I thought he was trying to stop you from leaving."
"Linda."
"I didn't know what he was really doing."
The terminal suddenly felt too bright.
Too loud.
Too crowded.
"What did he do?"
She didn't answer.
That scared me more than anything.
"Linda, what did Jason do?"
Her voice cracked.
"He didn't find that photograph online."
I looked at Marcus.
He noticed my expression immediately.
"What?"
I covered the phone.
"His mother says Jason didn't find the photograph online."
Marcus's face hardened.
Daniel ended his call and walked toward us.
"What happened?"
I put the phone on speaker.
Linda continued.
"He had someone watching you."
Silence.
Even Daniel stopped moving.
"Who?" I asked.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I only found out today."
"How?"
She started crying.
"Because Jason came to my house this morning."
My heart raced.
"What did he say?"
"He told me he was finally going to fix everything."
A chill moved through me.
"Fix what?"
"You."
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
In Jason's mind, I was never a person.
I was a problem.
Something to repair.
Something to control.
"What else did he say?"
Linda hesitated.
Then:
"He said you were going to destroy his reputation."
I almost laughed.
The irony was so cruel it felt unreal.
"His reputation?"
"Megan, I know how this sounds."
"No, you don't."
My voice became sharper.
"You don't know what I went through."
"I know."
Her answer was immediate.
And that stopped me.
"I know because I found something."
"What?"
"A folder."
Daniel stepped closer.
"What kind of folder?"
Linda continued.
"Jason kept it hidden in his office."
My heart started beating faster.
"What was inside?"
"Photos."
My mouth went dry.
"Of me?"
"Yes."
The word landed like a punch.
"How many?"
"I don't know."
"Linda."
"Dozens."
I looked at Marcus.
His expression changed.
Not shock.
Recognition.
Like he had seen this kind of thing before.
"Why?" I whispered.
Linda cried softly.
"Because he was collecting proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That you were unstable."
The airport disappeared for a second.
I couldn't hear anything.
Not the announcements.
Not the people.
Not the luggage carts rolling behind me.
Nothing.
"He was building a case."
Daniel spoke quietly.
"For custody."
Linda didn't deny it.
"He wanted Clara."
My hand instinctively tightened around my daughter.
She stirred against my shoulder.
"Mommy?"
I immediately softened.
"I'm here, baby."
I held her closer.
Then I turned away from everyone.
"Linda, why are you telling me this now?"
Because the answer mattered.
Because people didn't suddenly betray their own children without a reason.
Her voice became smaller.
"Because I saw the last picture."
"What picture?"
"The one he sent today."
My eyes moved toward Marcus.
"The airplane picture?"
"No."
A pause.
"The one he took before you boarded."
My blood ran cold.
"What?"
Linda whispered:
"Jason was at the airport in Denver."
Everything inside me stopped.
"No."
"Megan—"
"No."
I shook my head.
"I would have seen him."
"He didn't want you to."
My hands started trembling.
"Why?"
Another pause.
Then Linda said:
"Because he wasn't trying to stop you from leaving."
The terminal noise came rushing back.
"What was he trying to do?"
She didn't answer.
I waited.
"Linda."
Her voice broke.
"He was trying to make sure you left with someone else."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
"You're not making sense."
"I know."
She was crying harder now.
"But Jason was happy when he saw that man sit beside you."
My eyes moved to Marcus.
"Why would he be happy?"
Linda's next words were almost silent.
"Because that was the person he wanted you to be photographed with."
Nobody spoke.
Not me.
Not Marcus.
Not Daniel.
The three of us just stood there.
Trying to understand something that didn't make sense.
Jason had manipulated the photograph.
He had created a story.
But why?
Why would he want me connected to Marcus Reed?
Unless...
Unless the photo was never about destroying me.
Unless I was just part of something bigger.
"Megan?"
Linda's voice pulled me back.
"What else do you know?"
She hesitated.
"Nothing."
I didn't believe her.
"You know something."
"Megan..."
"You know something."
A long silence followed.
Then she whispered:
"Jason wasn't working alone."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Who was he working with?"
Linda heard him.
Her breathing changed.
"You need to leave the airport."
My heart sank.
"Why?"
"Because if Jason knows Marcus is with you, then..."
She stopped.
"Then what?"
The call suddenly became muffled.
Like she had moved the phone away.
"Linda?"
No answer.
"Linda!"
A sound came through.
A door opening.
Then a man's voice.
Not Jason.
Someone else.
"Mrs. Hale?"
My entire body went cold.
Linda gasped.
Then the line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
"She hung up?"
"No," Marcus said.
His voice was low.
"Someone else was there."
Daniel immediately pulled out his phone.
"Can you call her back?"
I did.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
Voicemail.
Again.
Nothing.
Marcus looked at me.
"We need to move."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Megan."
"No."
I looked toward the exit.
"I need to know what happened to her."
"We can find out."
"How?"
Marcus didn't answer.
Because he knew the truth.
The same thing that scared me.
We had no idea who we were dealing with.
My phone buzzed.
A message.
From Jason.
I opened it.
I wish you had listened when I asked you to stay.
My fingers froze.
Then another message appeared.
You always thought I was trying to hurt you.
I wasn't.
A third message.
I was trying to protect you from what happens when people like Marcus Reed lose control.
I looked up.
Marcus was watching me.
"What did he say?"
I didn't answer immediately.
Because something in Jason's message bothered me.
Not the threat.
Not the accusation.
Something else.
A name.
Marcus.
Not "the man."
Not "your boyfriend."
He knew exactly who Marcus was.
I showed him the phone.
Marcus read the messages.
His expression changed.
For the first time since I met him...
He looked afraid.
"What's wrong?"
He didn't answer.
"Marcus."
He slowly looked at Daniel.
Then back at me.
"I never told Jason my name."
The air left my lungs.
"What?"
"I never introduced myself to him."
"Maybe he searched you."
"No."
Marcus shook his head.
"That would take time."
Daniel took the phone from him.
His face went pale.
"There's more."
"What?"
He turned the screen toward us.
The message wasn't from Jason.
It was from an unknown number.
Sent thirty seconds earlier.
A photograph.
Not of me.
Not of Marcus.
Of Clara.
Sleeping in my arms on the airplane.
But this picture had been taken from the front.
From inside our row.
May you like
And written beneath it were three words.
"She remembers everything."
