I stared at the boy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For several seconds, I couldn’t make sense of what he had just said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My husband was paying him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To watch me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The words seemed ridiculous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continue reading on next page\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
David and I had been married for twenty-two years. I knew his habits, his routines, the way he took his coffee, the way he rubbed his forehead when he was worried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I knew the sound of his footsteps on the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I knew the expression he made when he was trying not to laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I knew the man I had married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least, I thought I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“How do you know my husband?” I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boy glanced toward the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I don’t.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Then how do you know he was paying you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Because he gave me money.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My heart started beating faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boy looked down at his shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“To follow you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I felt a strange chill move through me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Follow me where?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Your house. Your work. The grocery store. Sometimes the hospital.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I couldn’t breathe for a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You’ve been following me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Not every day.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Then who told you to do this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boy looked directly at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Your husband.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I immediately shook my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“No.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word came out before I could stop it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“No, that’s not possible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boy didn’t argue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, he reached into the pocket of his worn jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He held it toward me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What is that?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Something he gave me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn’t want to take it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every instinct told me to walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But another part of me\u2014the part that had spent twenty-two years believing I knew my husband better than anyone\u2014needed an explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took the paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn’t a letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My name was written at the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below it were dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coffee shop I visited every Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grocery store where I usually stopped after work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even the lake cabin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at the final line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tuesday\u2014gas station.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My hands began to shake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why would he need to know where I go?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The boy swallowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That’s what I wanted to know too.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “How long have you been doing this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “About three months.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt dizzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For three months, someone had been watching me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And apparently, my husband knew about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “How much did he pay you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The boy looked embarrassed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Not much.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “How much?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Twenty dollars here. Fifty sometimes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This couldn’t be happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David wasn’t a cruel man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He wasn’t controlling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had never given me a reason to believe he was secretly tracking me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there was something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something the boy wasn’t telling me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why did you decide to tell me today?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The teenager looked toward the highway again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because I saw something.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He lowered his voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Your husband wasn’t the only person who was watching you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What does that mean?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The boy took a step closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Last week, another man came to me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Who?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I don’t know his name.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What did he want?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “He asked me questions about you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What kind of questions?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Where you lived. When you left work. Whether you were alone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Did you tell him?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “No.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer came quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I believed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why not?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He shrugged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because your husband told me never to give that information to anyone else.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at the paper again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was something written on the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A phone number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I recognized it immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was David’s private work number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why did he give you this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The boy shook his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I don’t know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Then how did you know it was him?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because he met me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “When?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “At the bus station.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My mind was racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had so many questions that I didn’t know which one to ask first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, I asked the only thing I could think of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What’s your name?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He hesitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Jordan.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Jordan, I need you to tell me the truth.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I am.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why would my husband pay a teenager to follow his wife?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan looked at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Maybe he wasn’t trying to hurt you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I almost laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Then what was he trying to do?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan’s expression changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Keep you safe.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That’s what he told me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The parking lot suddenly seemed too quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gas station lights hummed above us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cars passed on the highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything looked completely ordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But my entire understanding of my life had just shifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Safe from what?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan didn’t answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Jordan.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He looked at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Please.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He took a deep breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Your husband thinks someone is trying to get close to you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Who?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I don’t know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Then why didn’t he tell me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan looked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because he thought you wouldn’t believe him.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt anger rising inside me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Of course I wouldn’t believe him! He hired a stranger to spy on me instead of talking to his own wife!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan flinched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I immediately regretted raising my voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was just a kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A kid who appeared to have been caught in the middle of something much bigger than himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I took a breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Did David ever meet you somewhere besides the bus station?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Twice.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Where?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Near your hospital.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My heart stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “He wanted me to watch the parking lot.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Watch for what?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan’s answer came quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “A black SUV.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My mind immediately went to the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the past several weeks, I had noticed the same dark SUV parked across the street from the employee entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’d assumed it belonged to a visitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe a delivery driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe someone waiting for a patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had never thought twice about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I remembered something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The SUV had been there on three separate occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Always in roughly the same place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Always facing the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Did you see the SUV today?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It’s here.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My eyes moved across the parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At first, I didn’t see anything unusual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I noticed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A dark SUV parked near the far end of the lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Is that it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That’s the one.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn’t think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I grabbed my purse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Get in my car.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan looked startled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Get in.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because I’m not standing here.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n We hurried toward my car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I unlocked the doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan climbed into the passenger seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I got behind the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before I could start the engine, the SUV moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It rolled toward the exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then it stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The driver’s window lowered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn’t see the person’s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For several seconds, neither of us moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then the SUV drove away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I sat frozen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan whispered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That’s him.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Who?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The man who asked me about you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned toward him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Are you sure?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Absolutely.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My hands tightened around the steering wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I reached for my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wanted to call David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wanted to demand answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But something stopped me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if Jordan was right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if David had been trying to protect me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or what if this was all a lie?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn’t know what to believe anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then my phone rang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jordan looked at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Are you going to answer?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I pressed the button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Hello?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then David spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rachel.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n His voice sounded different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost frightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Where are you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’m at the gas station.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Are you alone?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt a cold sensation run through me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rachel, listen to me carefully.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My husband had never spoken to me like that before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Don’t go home.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My heart stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Do not go home.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “David, what is happening?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I can’t explain this over the phone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Then explain it now.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rachel\u2014”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “No.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My voice broke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You don’t get to do this anymore. You don’t get to secretly follow me, hire people to watch me, and then tell me not to go home without explaining why.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n David went silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could hear his breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then he said something that made my blood run cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Did you talk to the boy?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Yes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n David inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rachel, you need to leave.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because if he told you what I think he told you, then they know you know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Who are they?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n David didn’t answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “David!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, he spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The people who have been looking for you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt my entire body go cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why would anyone be looking for me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because of something that happened before we met.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I wanted to tell you. I tried. But every time I got close, something happened.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What happened?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Someone broke into our cabin.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My eyes widened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Three months ago.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I remembered the lake cabin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The broken window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David had told me it was probably teenagers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had believed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “They weren’t looking for money.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could barely breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What were they looking for?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Documents.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What documents?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Your father’s.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My father had died twelve years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had left me almost nothing except the cabin and a few boxes of old papers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At least, that’s what I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why would anyone want my father’s documents?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n David’s voice became quieter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because your father knew something.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was staring at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Something about what?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n David said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rachel, you need to understand something. I didn’t hire that boy to spy on you because I didn’t trust you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Then why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because I was afraid someone else was watching you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why didn’t you tell me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because I thought if you knew, you’d become frightened and make a mistake.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt tears forming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You don’t get to decide what I can handle.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I know.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n His voice cracked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I’m sorry.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a moment, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I asked the question that had been haunting me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why did Jordan tell me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n David was silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “David?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because I told him to.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I opened my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I told him that if anything happened to me, he was supposed to tell you everything.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My heart began racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Everything?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Yes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why would you say that?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a long silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then David whispered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because I don’t think I have much time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn’t move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What are you talking about?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rachel, listen to me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n His voice sounded exhausted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Go to the lake cabin.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Why?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There’s a locked room beneath the stairs.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stared ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There’s no room beneath the stairs.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There is.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suddenly remembered the old storage area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The small wooden door that had always been painted shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David had told me it was part of the original construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What’s inside?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Everything I found.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “About what?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Your father.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n My breathing stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “David, what did my father do?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He didn’t answer immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he finally spoke, his voice was barely audible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rachel, your father didn’t leave you that cabin by accident.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The line went silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “David?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “David!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The call had ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stared at my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I looked at Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Jordan asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What are you going to do?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked toward the road where the black SUV had disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I looked at my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I thought about the locked door beneath the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For twenty-two years, I had believed my marriage was built on trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I was beginning to wonder if it had been built on a secret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And as I started the car, I realized something even more unsettling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David hadn’t been afraid of me discovering that he had been watching me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had been afraid of me discovering why<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And somewhere beneath an old lake cabin, my husband’s secret was waiting for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I had no idea that the person who had been watching me wasn’t trying to find out what I knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were trying to find out what my father had left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I stared at the boy. For several seconds, I couldn’t make sense of what he had just said. My husband…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7650"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7651,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7650\/revisions\/7651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tbdig.com\/benetv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}