Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN IN ROOM 214
I barely slept.
At six in the morning, I was sitting across from Daniel in his office with the photograph projected onto a screen.
He had enlarged it.
The woman was young.
Maybe thirty.
Dark hair.
Pregnant.
And wearing Bradley's coat.
“Who is she?” I asked.
“We're finding out.”
Daniel slid another document across the table.
“The clinic has a confidentiality policy, but because the payment originated from your company, we may be able to subpoena the records.”
“Do it.”
He studied me.
“Maddie, if this involves a child, things could become complicated.”
“I don't care.”
He nodded.
“Then we need to assume the worst.”
The words stayed with me.
Assume the worst.
I had spent eight years assuming the best.
Every time Bradley came home late, I assumed traffic.
Every time he received a private message, I assumed business.
Every time his family mocked me, I assumed he was caught between loyalty and marriage.
Every time he asked me to sign something without reading every page, I assumed he trusted me.
I had been generous with my trust.
He had been efficient with it.
At nine, Daniel called.
“We found the woman's identity.”
My heart began pounding.
“Her name is Claire Bennett.”
“Who is she?”
Daniel paused.
“That’s complicated.”
“Daniel.”
“She worked for Bradley's company before you bought him out.”
I frowned.
“Bradley never had a company.”
“He did.”
My stomach tightened.
“Before we met?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to it?”
“It failed.”
I stared at him.
“He told me he closed it voluntarily.”
Daniel looked at me.
“He didn't.”
He opened another file.
Bradley's former company had been investigated for financial irregularities.
Several clients had filed complaints.
One former employee had accused the company of hiding money.
The company eventually collapsed.
And Claire Bennett had been one of its accountants.
“What does that have to do with the baby?”
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“She was listed as a witness.”
I felt something cold settle in my chest.
“Witness to what?”
“Fraud.”
The room went silent.
I looked at the photograph again.
Claire was pregnant.
Maybe she knew where the money had gone.
Maybe Bradley had been paying her to stay quiet.
Or maybe there was something much worse.
Daniel continued.
“There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“The baby is due in six weeks.”
I looked at him.
“And Bradley's birthday is in six weeks.”
My voice barely came out.
“Are you saying—”
“I don't know.”
Then Daniel's assistant entered the room.
She placed an envelope on the desk.
“This was delivered by hand.”
There was no return address.
My name was written across the front.
I opened it.
Inside was a single ultrasound photograph.
On the back were four words:
YOUR HUSBAND IS THE FATHER.
I stared at the image.
A tiny shape.
A tiny heartbeat.
A life Bradley had apparently known about.
I couldn't breathe.
Then another photograph slid from the envelope.
It showed Bradley standing outside the clinic.
Beside him was Claire.
His hand was resting protectively on her pregnant stomach.
The date was three months earlier.
I remembered that night.
Bradley had told me he was traveling for a business conference.
He had kissed my forehead before leaving.
“Don't wait up.”
I had smiled.
“Drive safely.”
Now I realized he hadn't been at a conference.
He had been preparing for a life I knew nothing about.
But the final photograph was the one that destroyed whatever remained of my trust.
It showed Claire entering the clinic.
Bradley wasn't with her.
A woman was.
Barbara.
His mother.
My mother-in-law.
On the back someone had written:
She knows everything.
I looked at Daniel.
“Then this isn't just an affair.”
“No.”
“What is it?”
May you like
Daniel leaned back.
“I think your husband has been preparing to replace you.”
