Chapter 2 - The Person Who Knew Our Secret
The man standing in the hospital doorway held Emily’s medical file and looked at me like he already knew I was going to ask questions.
"Daniel."
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it thousands of times.
At business meetings.
At family dinners.
At my own wedding.
"Victor..."
My best friend stepped into the room.
The same man who had stood beside me when I married Emily.
The same man who had told me to let her go when our marriage started falling apart.
The same man who had looked me in the eyes three months ago and said:
"Sometimes love means knowing when to walk away."
Now he was standing beside my unconscious ex-wife.
Holding a file with her name on it.
I looked at the folder.
Then at him.
"Why do you have Emily's medical records?"
Victor didn't move.
For the first time in my life, I saw fear on his face.
Not guilt.
Not surprise.
Fear.
"Daniel, you need to listen to me."
I stepped away from Emily's bed.
"No."
My voice was colder than I expected.
"You need to answer me."
The monitor beside Emily continued beeping.
Slow.
Steady.
The only sound between us.
"Why do you have her file?"
Victor looked toward Emily.
Then back at me.
"Because I was the one who found her."
My eyes narrowed.
"You found her?"
He nodded.
"I was driving home when I saw the accident."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He looked away.
That was enough.
That small movement told me everything.
"You knew."
Victor swallowed.
"I knew about the pregnancy."
The words hit harder than I expected.
I felt like someone had punched the air out of my chest.
"You knew?"
He didn't answer.
"You knew Emily was pregnant... and you didn't tell me?"
"Daniel—"
"No."
I stepped closer.
"You don't get to say my name like you still have the right."
His expression changed.
Pain.
But I didn't care.
Not anymore.
For ninety-three days, I had lived with the belief that Emily had chosen to leave me.
For ninety-three days, I had blamed myself for failing her.
And now I was finding out the one person I trusted most had known something that could have changed everything.
"How long?"
Victor looked confused.
"What?"
"How long did you know?"
Silence.
Then:
"Fourteen weeks."
I stared at him.
Fourteen weeks.
Almost the entire time since our divorce started.
"You knew before we signed the papers."
Victor looked down.
And that was his answer.
I turned away.
My hands were shaking.
Emily and I didn't divorce because we stopped loving each other.
We divorced because I believed she wanted freedom.
Because Victor told me she had someone else.
Because he showed me messages.
Pictures.
Evidence.
Everything looked real.
Emily refusing to talk.
Emily crying.
Emily avoiding my calls.
I thought she had already moved on.
So I did the one thing I thought would protect both of us.
I let her go.
But what if everything I believed was fake?
"What did you do?"
Victor looked up.
"What?"
I turned around.
"What did you do to us?"
His face changed.
"Daniel, you don't understand."
"Then explain."
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
That was when the door opened again.
A doctor walked in.
"Mr. Carter?"
I looked at him.
"Yes."
He glanced between me and Victor.
"Are you family?"
I hesitated.
The answer should have been simple.
But it wasn't.
"I was her husband."
The doctor looked at the paperwork.
"Former husband?"
The word felt like a knife.
I nodded.
The doctor sighed.
"Emily is stable, but her condition is complicated."
"What does that mean?"
"She suffered a head injury. The baby appears stable at the moment, but the next twenty-four hours are important."
I looked at Emily.
The baby.
My baby.
A child I didn't even know existed.
A child who had been growing while I was signing divorce papers.
"Can she wake up?"
The doctor looked at the monitor.
"We don't know."
Then he left.
I stood there.
Unable to move.
Victor walked closer.
"Daniel."
I didn't look at him.
"Leave."
"Please."
"Leave."
He stayed silent.
Then I heard footsteps.
He walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he stopped.
"I never wanted this to happen."
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because I couldn't believe those words came from him.
"That's the problem, Victor."
I finally looked at him.
"I don't know what you wanted anymore."
He left.
The door closed.
And for the first time that night, I was alone with Emily.
I sat beside her bed.
The woman I had lost.
The woman carrying my child.
The woman who had been trying to tell me something.
I looked at the wedding ring inside the evidence bag.
SHE KNEW EVERYTHING.
Those words kept repeating in my head.
Everything.
What did Emily know?
What secret was big enough to destroy our marriage?
My phone vibrated.
I almost ignored it.
But then I saw the name.
Unknown Number.
One message.
I opened it.
My blood went cold.
A picture appeared.
It was a photo of Emily and me.
Taken on our wedding day.
But someone had circled my face.
Under the picture were four words.
YOU WERE NEVER THE TARGET.
I stared at the screen.
My hands became numb.
Then another message arrived.
This time there was no picture.
Only a sentence.
THE NEXT PERSON THEY WILL SILENCE IS...
I stopped breathing.
Because before the message finished loading, Emily's heart monitor suddenly changed.
The line jumped.
May you like
Her fingers tightened around mine.
And her eyes opened.
