Chapter 2 - The Woman Behind the Messages
Before Liam could grab the envelope, I slid the documents toward my father.
“Would you read the first page, Dad?”
He hesitated, then picked it up.
The photograph showed Liam kissing a brunette outside the Hawthorne Hotel. Her hand rested against his chest, and his wedding ring was nowhere to be seen.
My mother covered her mouth.
Diane stood abruptly. “This has to be some kind of mistake.”
“Then perhaps the messages will explain it,” I said.
Liam leaned toward me. “You went through my phone?”
“No. You called me. You forgot to disconnect.”
I watched him struggle to invent another version of reality.
The printed messages were worse than the photograph. He had promised the woman a house, a wedding, and a future with my husband’s last name.
Her name was Vanessa Reed.
Diane read the first exchange and sank into her chair.
“How long?” she whispered.
“According to the messages, eight months.”
Liam slammed his palm against the table.
“This is a private matter!”
“You made it private when you betrayed me. You made it our families’ business when you brought your lies into our home.”
He turned toward Vanessa’s photograph.
Then his expression changed.
Not guilt.
Fear.
“You don't understand who she is,” he said.
I stared at him. “She's your mistress.”
“No.” He swallowed hard. “She's the daughter of a man who could destroy everything I own.”
My father frowned.
“What does that have to do with Hailey?”
Liam looked at our sleeping daughter.
May you like
For the first time that evening, he seemed genuinely terrified.
“Everything,” he whispered.
