Second Wife To A Murderer

The Borrowed Knife

Whitney’s POV

My hands would not stop shaking on the wheel. I had driven for almost an hour before I realized I had no idea where I was going.

I drove without a destination, the same image kept playing over and over in my head: Robert’s face when he walked into Anna’s apartment. There was no shock in his face, it looked like something he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

I pulled into an empty church parking lot and sat there with the engine ticking, trying to breathe. My phone buzzed against my thigh. A missed call. Unknown number. And under it, there was a voicemail already waiting, it probably came in while I’d been driving in circles not knowing my destination.

I honestly didn’t want to listen but my finger mistakenly pressed play.

A woman’s calm voice filled the car. “This is the Charleston non-emergency line confirming a tip received regarding a possible domestic disturbance at the following address…” She read Anna’s street number. “The caller was a male who sounded concerned. Officers have been notified.”

The message ended. For a second I felt choked, like I almost urinated on myself. The air in my car suddenly felt hot even with the Air condition on.

I listened to it again. And again, my thumb pressing the play button over and over, hoping I’d misheard it, hoping I’d confirm that the address isn’t Robert’s house. The very house he bought for him and his mistress Anna.

Nobody else knew where I’d gone that night. Nobody else knew the house address. I checked the timestamp… it was within twenty minutes of me leaving the house.

I remember hearing Robert talking to someone over the phone about having a bad feeling and someone needing to check on something.

“s**t! That bastard.”

Robert must have called them, behind my back. He betrayed me.

The man who assured me he would protect me had pointed the police straight at the scene and, from the way the dispatcher spoke, he also pointed them straight at a woman who looked like me.

I’ll fix this, he’d told me, forehead pressed to mine like a vow. You just have to do exactly as I say. Meanwhile behind my back he has been doing the opposite.

He has been setting me up.

I drove home immediately. When I stepped through the door, Robert was coming out from the kitchen, sleeves rolled with two mugs already set out like he’d been waiting for me.

“There you are,” he said. He walked up to me and reached for my hands, I allowed him take them because pulling away might make him suspect me.

“I was worried sick about you. Sit down. We need to talk about how we’re going to handle this.” He stared at me for a while before he continued.

“The police are closing in. I am going to handle everything from here. I’ll tell you what to tell Detective Hale. What to say and what to hide, what the neighbors might have seen... You just have to follow my lead.”

His thumb moved over my knuckles, slow, soothing. “I know how frightening this is. But if you just trust me…”

“Why would the neighbors have seen anything.” I kept my voice even... “I was only there a few minutes.” I controlled myself, with a deep breath.

“Speaking of Detective Hale, how come he is involved? And the police, you called them? That was fast.”

I watched how he has an answer to everything I asked, like he was prepared. Every word sounded rehearsed, he kept circling back to Emily and the company, weaving them into every sentence until the fear of losing them sat heavy on my chest.

“I need to know the truth,” I said. “Why did you call the police without telling me? I left the house for what? An hour or two and you already called the police? Even Detective Hale knows.”

He didn’t even blink. “I didn’t want you to panic. You’re already in shock. The less you have to deal with right now, the better.”

“You make it sound like I was the one who caused trouble.”

He stepped closer, dropping his voice. “It’s not time to apportion blames, honey. If this goes to trial, they’re going to ask what state you were in that night. Whether you seemed…” he chose the word with visible care “…unstable. Erratic. You see? I’m only trying to protect you.”

“And Emily,” he went on, right on cue, the way he always brought her up exactly when he needed leverage. “What happens to her if this goes badly? Who’s going to take care of her, if you’re not in a position to? The company, everything your father built… I need you to think clearly right now, and let me handle this.”

I nodded. And then, mid-sentence, while he was still talking about lawyers and statements and what Detective Hale might ask, a memory surfaced suddenly.

When I first stepped into the apartment, Anna looked a bit unsteady and pale. The way she swayed slightly, I had written it off, i felt she was drunk. But I remember the bottle of wine was almost full and she didn’t have any alcohol smell on her.

My stomach dropped. Something about the whole night was off. I’m sure Robert knows something. What if she wasn’t just drunk.

“Whitney?” Robert’s hand tightened slightly on mine. “Are you listening?”

“Yes.” I forced a smile on my face. “I’m just exhausted. I think I need to go lie down.” “You can handle this,” I said. “I trust you.”

“I know you do.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead, satisfied, already turning back to the mugs on the table like the issue was settled.

Could he really be protecting me? Or are my overthinking this. I just hope I am not someone’s borrowed knife.

The second his back was fully turned, I slipped my phone into my pocket and walked out of the living room.

I didn’t stop until I reached the hallway near the stairs. My fingers found Detective Marcus Hale’s direct number, I had saved it on my phone months ago reluctantly.

My thumb hovered over the call button. Behind me, Robert’s footsteps started coming upstairs.

I hit the dial button, rushing into my room.