Chapter 3: The Hidden Apartment
1009 Words
The doorknob turned.
Grace's heart pounded so violently she thought it might burst through her chest.
In one trembling hand she held the photograph of Daniel and the woman in red. In the other was the single red rose that had arrived moments earlier.
Her mind raced.
Should she confront him?
Should she pretend nothing had happened?
Or should she wait until she knew more?
Before she could decide, Daniel stepped into the house with his usual warm smile.
"I'm home."
His eyes immediately found hers.
"There you are."
He crossed the room, kissed her gently on the forehead, and held up a paper bag.
"I brought your favorite cheesecake."
Grace stared at him in disbelief.
How could someone who looked so loving be hiding such terrifying secrets?
She forced a smile.
"Thank you."
Daniel frowned.
"You're pale. Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm just tired."
He reached out as if to touch her cheek, but she instinctively stepped back.
The movement lasted only a second.
Still, Daniel noticed.
His smile faded.
"Grace... did something happen today?"
She swallowed hard.
"No."
For a long moment, they simply stared at each other.
Finally, Daniel nodded.
"If you say so."
He walked upstairs to shower.
The moment she heard the bathroom door close, Grace rushed into the living room and hid the photograph and rose inside a drawer.
She wasn't ready for him to know what she had discovered.
Not yet.
That night, Grace barely slept.
Daniel lay peacefully beside her, one arm draped protectively across her waist as though nothing in the world could ever separate them.
She remembered the first time they had met.
She had been twenty-six, working late at a publishing company. A sudden rainstorm had trapped her outside without an umbrella.
Daniel, a complete stranger then, had offered to share his.
He had walked her all the way to the bus stop, getting soaked while making sure she stayed dry.
That was the man she had fallen in love with.
That was the man she had married.
Could that same man truly be living a double life?
Tears slipped silently onto her pillow.
She didn't want to believe it.
But every new discovery made believing harder.
The next morning, Daniel left earlier than usual.
As soon as his car disappeared, Grace opened the drawer and studied the photograph again.
Then she turned it over.
There was something she hadn't noticed before.
Written beneath the earlier message was a second line.
Apartment 407. Riverside Heights.
She stared at the address.
Whoever had sent the package wanted her to go there.
It could be a trap.
Or it could be the answer to everything.
By noon, Grace stood outside Riverside Heights.
It was an older apartment complex tucked away in a quiet neighborhood.
The building looked ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Apartment 407 was on the fourth floor.
Her palms grew damp as she climbed the stairs.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
When she finally reached the door, she noticed something strange.
It wasn't locked.
She pushed gently.
The door creaked open.
"Hello?"
Silence.
The apartment was spotless.
It smelled faintly of lavender.
Grace stepped inside cautiously.
A family photograph should have been hanging on the wall.
There wasn't one.
The shelves held books, candles, and neatly folded blankets.
But no personal pictures.
No names.
Nothing that identified the people who lived there.
It was as though someone had carefully erased every trace of their identity.
Grace wandered deeper into the apartment.
The living room was warm and inviting.
A knitted blanket rested across the sofa.
A half-finished crossword puzzle lay on the coffee table.
Someone had been here recently.
Then she noticed something that made her stop.
A small blue toy truck.
Moments later, she found more toys.
Building blocks.
Storybooks.
A stuffed teddy bear with one missing eye.
There was definitely a child living here.
But where were the parents?
Grace slowly opened another door.
It was a little boy's bedroom.
Her breath caught.
The walls were painted sky blue.
Tiny shoes sat neatly beneath the bed.
A school uniform hung inside the wardrobe.
On the bedside table rested a framed drawing.
It showed a little boy holding hands with a tall man and a woman.
Instead of faces, the child had drawn smiling circles.
Across the top, written in uneven handwriting, were the words:
My Happy Family.
Grace smiled sadly.
Then her smile vanished.
The man in the drawing wore the exact same silver wristwatch Daniel wore every single day.
"No..."
She stepped closer.
It couldn't mean anything.
Lots of people owned silver watches.
She was overthinking.
Wasn't she?
Suddenly...
A floorboard creaked behind her.
Grace spun around.
No one.
Her breathing became shallow.
Another sound.
This time from the hallway.
She slowly walked toward the bedroom door.
"Who's there?"
Silence.
Then...
The front door slammed shut.
Grace jumped.
Footsteps.
Someone was inside the apartment.
She hurried into the hallway just in time to see the shadow of a person disappear around the corner.
"Wait!"
She ran after them.
By the time she reached the living room...
The apartment was empty.
Only the curtains moved gently in the breeze from an open balcony door.
Whoever had been there had escaped.
As Grace turned to leave, something caught her eye beneath the sofa.
A black leather wallet.
She picked it up.
It was expensive.
Familiar.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
Inside was a driver's license.
Grace's entire body went numb.
The photograph on the license was unmistakable.
Daniel.
His name.
His face.
His signature.
She staggered backward in disbelief.
Why would Daniel's wallet be in a hidden apartment he had never mentioned?
Before she could think, she heard the soft click of a child's voice behind her.
"Mummy..."
Grace slowly turned around.
Standing at the end of the hallway was a little boy, no older than seven years old.
He looked at Daniel's wallet in her hand.
Then he looked into Grace's eyes.
With innocent confusion, he asked,
"Why do you have my daddy's wallet?"
- Writer
