CHAPTER SEVEN: THE FIRST CRACK
1280 Words
Sarah didn’t sleep.
Michael’s words kept replaying in her mind.
Stay away from him.
Not I don’t trust him.
Not he’s dangerous.
Not even he’s a bad person.
Just—
Stay away from him.
It was the kind of warning that made a person want to do the exact opposite.
Sarah sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her phone.
Daniel’s last message was still there.
He still hasn’t told you, has he?
She hated that the question bothered her.
She hated even more that she wanted to know the answer.
Sarah locked her phone.
Enough.
She wasn’t going to let Daniel manipulate her.
She wasn’t going to let Michael’s strange reaction make her suspicious.
And she definitely wasn’t going to become obsessed with a man she’d known for less than a week.
She placed her phone on the nightstand.
A minute later, she picked it up again.
She opened Daniel’s conversation.
Typed:
What happened between you and Michael?
She stared at the message.
Then deleted it.
Typed again.
Why does my husband hate you?
Deleted.
Finally, she threw the phone onto the bed.
“This is ridiculous.”
Her phone vibrated.
Sarah froze.
She slowly reached for it.
Daniel: You shouldn’t ask questions you aren’t ready to hear the answers to.
Sarah’s heart dropped.
She hadn’t sent anything.
He had somehow known what she was thinking.
She stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
Daniel: Goodnight, Sarah.
She didn’t respond.
But she didn’t delete the conversation either.
The next morning, Michael was gone before she woke up.
Sarah found a note on the kitchen counter.
Early meeting. Don’t wait for me.
She read it twice.
Then folded it.
Something about Michael had changed.
Or maybe she’d simply started paying attention.
At the law firm, Sarah buried herself in work.
She was reviewing a contract when Maya called.
“You sound weird.”
Sarah smiled faintly.
“Good morning to you too.”
“I know you. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s your second lie this week.”
Sarah leaned back in her chair.
“Maya…”
“Talk.”
Sarah hesitated.
She wanted to tell her.
About Daniel.
About the hotel.
About everything.
But the words wouldn’t come.
Instead, she asked:
“Do you remember me ever mentioning someone named Daniel Black?”
Silence.
Then Maya’s voice changed.
“Why?”
Sarah sat up.
“You know him?”
“No.”
“You hesitated.”
“I’ve heard the name.”
“From where?”
“I don’t remember.”
Sarah frowned.
“Maya.”
“Sarah, why are you asking?”
Before she could answer, someone knocked on her office door.
Daniel.
Sarah’s breath caught.
Maya heard the silence.
“Sarah?”
“I have to go.”
She ended the call.
Daniel walked inside.
“Good morning.”
She stared at him.
“You knew my husband would react like that.”
Daniel closed the door behind him.
“I knew he wouldn’t want you asking questions.”
“Why?”
“Because he has things he’d rather keep buried.”
“What things?”
Daniel walked toward her desk.
“Ask him.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“He refused to answer.”
Daniel smiled.
“Of course he did.”
Sarah stood.
“Stop doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Dropping hints and expecting me to chase them.”
Daniel’s expression remained calm.
“I’m not asking you to chase anything.”
“You’re manipulating me.”
“Maybe.”
The casual admission stunned her.
“You admit it?”
“I’ve never lied to you about being dangerous.”
Sarah stared at him.
“You’re enjoying this.”
“A little.”
“Why?”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Because you’re curious.”
“I am not.”
“You are.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Good.”
Sarah frowned.
“Good?”
Daniel nodded.
“Trust is dangerous.”
She stared at him.
“Then what do you want from me?”
For the first time, his expression softened.
“You.”
Sarah’s breath caught.
He continued.
“But I don’t expect you to understand that yet.”
Sarah looked away.
“You don’t know me.”
Daniel’s voice became quieter.
“I know more than you think.”
She looked back at him.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Instead, he reached into his pocket and placed something on her desk.
A photograph.
Sarah stared at it.
It was old.
Faded.
Two young men stood outside what looked like a university building.
One of them was Michael.
She recognized him immediately.
The other was Daniel.
They were both smiling.
Not polite smiles.
Real ones.
They looked happy.
They looked like friends.
Sarah’s fingers trembled as she picked up the photograph.
“Where did you get this?”
Daniel watched her.
“We took it.”
Sarah looked up.
“You and Michael?”
“Yes.”
“You were friends.”
“We were more than friends.”
Her heart tightened.
“What happened?”
Daniel’s jaw clenched.
For the first time, the calm expression disappeared.
Something dark crossed his face.
Then it was gone.
“Ask your husband.”
Sarah stared at him.
“You’re not going to tell me?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Because I want to know whether he’ll tell you the truth himself.”
Sarah looked down at the photograph again.
“What happened to you?”
Daniel’s eyes hardened.
“Everything.”
He turned toward the door.
Sarah called after him.
“Daniel.”
He stopped.
She held the photograph tightly.
“Why did you come back?”
He looked over his shoulder.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then:
“Because some debts don’t disappear with time.”
He walked out.
Sarah remained frozen.
She looked at the photograph again.
Two young men.
One friendship.
One secret.
And somewhere between the photograph and Daniel’s warning, Sarah realized something that frightened her.
Her husband hadn’t simply known Daniel.
Michael had once loved him like a brother.
And whatever destroyed that relationship…
had destroyed Daniel too.
That evening, Sarah returned home to find Michael standing in the living room.
His eyes immediately fell on the photograph in her hand.
He went completely still.
“Where did you get that?”
Sarah stared at him.
“Daniel.”
Michael’s face drained of color.
She stepped closer.
“You told me he was unstable.”
Michael said nothing.
“You told me you were never really friends.”
Still nothing.
Sarah’s voice became quieter.
“Why did you lie to me?”
Michael looked at the photograph.
Then at her.
“Sarah…”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“I want the truth.”
Michael swallowed.
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Then tell me.”
He looked away.
Sarah waited.
Finally, Michael whispered:
“Daniel should never have come back.”
Sarah’s stomach dropped.
“Why?”
Michael looked at her.
His eyes were filled with something she had never seen before.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Fear.
“Because I know what he’s capable of.”
Sarah stared at him.
And somewhere across the city, Daniel stood alone in the darkness, looking at an old photograph of Michael.
His thumb traced the edge.
His expression was cold.
Then he whispered to himself:
“You forgot me.”
A pause.
His eyes hardened.
“I didn’t forget you.”
DAY SEVEN.
And the countdown had only just begun.
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