Chapter 3 - The Secret From Before Our Life Began
That night, I waited until Emily was fast asleep, then I sat across from Claire at the kitchen table. The box of chocolates I’d brought home sat untouched between us.
“Start from the beginning,” I said. “Everything.”
Claire stared at her hands. They were trembling.
“Marcus and I were together when we were nineteen. We were young, stupid. We thought we were in love.”
She paused, swallowing hard.
“My parents hated him. Said he was trouble. They threatened to cut me off if I didn’t end it. And then… I found out things about him. Things that scared me. He had debts—big ones. Dangerous people were looking for him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this when we met?”
“Because I wanted to forget it ever happened!” Her voice cracked. “I changed my number, moved across the state, started over. And then I met you. You were kind, steady… everything he wasn’t. I thought I’d left that part of my life behind forever.”
“When did he come back?”
“Three weeks ago.” Claire looked up, her eyes glistening. “He showed up at the door. Said he’d found me at last. Said I owed him half a million dollars—money he claimed was ‘his share’ of things we did together. I told him he was crazy. I told him to leave.”
“And he didn’t.”
“No. He said if I didn’t pay, he’d make sure I regretted it. I thought he was just bluffing. I never thought… never in a million years…” She broke off, sobbing quietly into her hands.
“Emily,” I said, the word tasting like ash. “He went after Emily.”
Claire nodded, tears spilling over.
“He said if I didn’t give him the money by today, he’d take something from me that mattered just as much. I didn’t believe him. I really didn’t. But when he showed up at the gate… I panicked.”
“What happened at the pool, Claire? Emily said you were holding her down.”
She flinched as if I’d struck her.
“I wasn’t holding her down. I was trying to keep her still so he wouldn’t notice her! He said if I made a sound, if I tried to call for help, he’d come into the house and take her himself. I was trying to protect her, Daniel! I thought if I kept her quiet, kept her close, he’d just go away.”
Her story sounded desperate. Fragile. And yet…
“Then why did she say she couldn’t breathe?”
Claire looked away.
“I held her too tight. I know I did. I was so scared I’d lose her, I hurt her instead. And I’m sorry. God, I am so sorry.”
There was real pain in her face. I wanted to believe her. I wanted to grab her and hold her and tell her we’d be okay. But something niggled at the back of my mind—something about the way Marcus had looked at me at the pool. Not angry. Not threatening.
Knowing.
“Claire,” I said slowly. “Is there anything else? Anything at all you haven’t told me?”
She hesitated just a fraction too long.
“No. That’s everything.”
I didn’t believe her.
But I didn’t push her—not then. Instead, I reached across the table and took her hand. It was ice cold.
“We’ll figure this out. Together. But you have to promise me—no more secrets. Not about this. Not about anything.”
She nodded, but her eyes didn’t meet mine.
“I promise.”
As I stood up to turn off the lights, I caught a glimpse of her reflection in the kitchen window. She wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at her phone—at a message that had just appeared on the screen.
And she didn’t delete it. She read it, her face pale, and typed a reply.
May you like
Right then, I knew.
The truth was worse than anything she’d told me so far.
