Chapter 5: The Secret My Wife Buried
For a few seconds, nobody breathed.
The sentence on the paper burned into my mind.
*Grant, if Natalie finds this before you do, you are already too late.*
My father’s handwriting.
My father’s warning.
My wife’s name.
I looked at Natalie.
She looked back at me.
And for the first time since I had known her, I saw something I had never seen before.
Not anger.
Not confidence.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Grant,” she whispered.
I folded the letter slowly.
“What did my father mean?””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
The silence was an answer.
“Natalie.””
“I can explain.””
I almost laughed.
Everyone said that when the truth was already too ugly.
“Explain what?””
She stepped toward me.
“Please.””
“No.””
My voice sounded unfamiliar.
“You don’t get to say please.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I didn’t want this to happen.””
“What didn’t you want to happen?””
“For you to find out like this.””
“Find out what?””
She looked at the envelope.
Then at Evelyn.
Then back at me.
“I was trying to protect you.””
I shook my head.
“My father wrote that if you found this first, I was too late.””
“That’s because he misunderstood.””
“Misunderstood what?””
She didn’t answer.
Outside, Elliot Voss knocked once.
Not aggressively.
Almost patiently.
Like he knew everything happening inside that house.
“Grant,” he called.
My fists tightened.
“Stop listening to him.””
Natalie looked at me.
“I agree.””
The fact that she agreed made me even more suspicious.
I turned to Evelyn.
“You knew about Natalie.””
Evelyn nodded.
“I suspected.””
“Suspected?””
“She was looking into your records.””
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
Natalie interrupted.
“Because Raymond was digging into things that could destroy your life.””
Evelyn looked at her.
“No.””
Natalie’s expression hardened.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.””
“I know exactly what I’m talking about.””
“Then tell him.””
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Tell him why you accessed his original records six weeks ago.””
Natalie went quiet.
I looked at her.
“Answer.””
She wiped her eyes.
“I was trying to find information about your brother.””
The words landed harder than I expected.
“My brother.””
She nodded.
“I found out Raymond had been searching for him.””
“How?””
“Your father contacted me.””
Again.
Again, my father had been talking to my wife behind my back.
“How long?””
“Six months.””
My chest tightened.
“You knew for six months?””
“I was going to tell you.””
“But you didn’t.””
“No.””
“Why?””
She looked away.
“Because your father asked me not to.””
I stared.
“My father asked my wife to keep secrets from me?””
“He was afraid.””
“Of what?””
Her voice dropped.
“Of what would happen if you knew too much too soon.””
I looked at Evelyn.
“Is that true?””
Evelyn hesitated.
That hesitation hurt more than a lie.
“Yes.””
My stomach turned.
“So everyone knew something except me.””
Nobody answered.
The rain outside grew heavier.
Elliot’s voice came through the door.
“Grant, this is exactly what Raymond wanted to avoid.””
I stepped toward the door.
“You keep saying my father’s name like you knew him.””
“I did.””
“You’re the reason he was afraid?””
A pause.
Then:
“No.””
His voice became colder.
“I’m the reason he survived.””
Evelyn whispered, “Don’t listen.””
I turned.
“Why?””
“Because Elliot Voss is a professional liar.””
The lock on the door clicked.
Everyone froze.
“He’s opening it,” Natalie whispered.
Evelyn grabbed my arm.
“There’s a back exit.””
I looked at her.
“You know this house?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Her face tightened.
“Because I was here before.””
Before.
The word followed me.
Before what?
Before Margaret?
Before Dad?
Before my entire life?
I moved toward the kitchen.
Natalie followed.
I noticed she was holding something.
“What’s in your hand?””
She looked down.
A small flash drive.
My father’s.
“Where did you get that?””
“His truck.””
“You searched his truck?””
She looked ashamed.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he told me something was going to happen.””
“What?””
“That someone was coming for you.””
I stared at her.
“And you didn’t think I deserved to know?””
“I thought I could handle it.””
“You thought you could handle my life?””
Her face fell.
“No.””
She whispered:
“I thought I could save our marriage.””
The words confused me.
“What does this have to do with our marriage?””
She looked at the flash drive.
“Everything.””
The back door opened slightly.
Cold air rushed in.
Evelyn motioned for us to move.
We stepped outside into the rain.
My father’s backyard looked completely different in the darkness.
The wooden fence.
The old shed.
The garden my father had built himself.
All the places I remembered from childhood suddenly felt like they belonged to someone else.
Like my memories had been borrowed.
We reached the fence.
Then I stopped.
“Wait.””
Evelyn looked back.
“What?””
I looked at Natalie.
“Why did my father write your name on that envelope?””
She froze.
“I don’t know.””
“You’re lying.””
Her eyes filled.
“Grant…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Everyone keeps telling me pieces of the truth.””
I pointed at Evelyn.
“You tell me I’m not who I thought I was.””
Then at Natalie.
“You tell me you were secretly helping my father.””
I stepped closer.
“But nobody tells me why.””
Natalie looked down.
Then she said something that made the entire world go quiet.
“Because Raymond thought I was the reason your brother disappeared.””
I stared.
“What?””
Her voice broke.
“He thought I knew where he was.””
“You did?””
“No.””
“Then why would he think that?””
She looked toward the house.
Because behind the curtains, a shadow moved.
Elliot.
Waiting.
Watching.
Natalie whispered:
“Because my father was involved.””
I felt like I had been hit.
“Your father?””
She nodded.
“My father worked with Elliot Voss.””
The rain poured harder.
“Who is Elliot Voss?””
Natalie looked at me.
“Your father’s best friend.””
I froze.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“That’s impossible.””
“My father and Raymond were partners.””
“In what?””
Natalie looked terrified.
“An organization.””
“What organization?””
She swallowed.
“One that handled private adoptions.””
My heart dropped.
“What does that mean?””
“It means children disappeared.””
I couldn't speak.
She continued.
“And sometimes records were changed.””
Evelyn’s voice was barely audible.
“Raymond found out.””
Natalie nodded.
“He tried to expose them.””
“And my brother?””
Her eyes met mine.
“He was one of the children.””
I felt sick.
“Why didn't my father tell me?””
“Because he believed someone inside your life was reporting back to them.””
The words hung there.
Inside my life.
Someone close.
Someone I trusted.
I looked at Natalie.
She looked away.
My phone vibrated.
A message.
From the hospital.
I opened it.
*Mr. Mercer, your father has regained consciousness. He is asking for you urgently.*
Then another message arrived.
Different number.
Unknown.
*Don’t go to the hospital.*
I stared.
A third message appeared.
*Raymond is awake because he wants to tell you who betrayed him.*
My blood ran cold.
I looked up.
“Who sent this?””
Nobody answered.
Then my phone rang.
The hospital.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A nurse’s voice.
“Mr. Mercer, you need to come quickly.””
“Why?””
There was panic in her voice.
“Because your father woke up.””
I held my breath.
“And?””
“He gave us one name.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What name?””
The nurse hesitated.
Then whispered:
“He said the person who betrayed him was standing beside you.””
I slowly turned.
Natalie was staring at me.
And in her hand, the flash drive had cracked open.
Inside the broken casing was a tiny piece of paper.
May you like
One name was written on it.
*GRANT MERCER.*
