CHAPTER TEN: THE THINGS HE KNOWS
1854 Words
Sarah woke up with Daniel on her mind.
She hated that.
She hated the way one evening could linger so stubbornly in her thoughts.
The restaurant.
The city lights.
His hands around her waist.
The way he’d looked at her when she’d admitted she wanted to feel alive again.
She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
She had spent years trying to save her marriage.
One night shouldn’t be enough to make her question everything.
Yet here she was.
Thinking about another man before she’d even gotten out of bed.
Her phone vibrated.
She reached for it.
Daniel: Good morning.
Sarah stared at the message.
She typed:
You shouldn’t be texting me.
His reply came almost immediately.
You said that yesterday.
She frowned.
And I meant it.
Then why are you smiling?
Sarah’s smile disappeared.
She looked around her empty bedroom.
“How does he do that?”
Another message arrived.
Daniel: Wear the blue dress today.
Her eyebrows pulled together.
Why?
No response.
Sarah stared at the screen.
Then tossed the phone aside.
She was absolutely not wearing the blue dress.
Twenty minutes later, she stood in front of her wardrobe.
Her fingers stopped on the blue dress.
She closed her eyes.
“Absolutely not.”
She reached for another outfit.
Then changed her mind.
Five minutes later, she was wearing blue.
She hated herself.
⸻
At the office, Sarah tried to focus.
She failed.
Her mind kept returning to Daniel’s strange certainty.
He seemed to know things about her.
Small things.
Things he shouldn’t know.
She hadn’t told him about the blue dress.
She hadn’t told him that blue was her favorite color.
She hadn’t told him that she always drank coffee without sugar.
Yet somehow, Daniel always seemed to know.
She was still thinking about it when Maya entered her office.
“You’re distracted.”
Sarah looked up.
“I’m working.”
“You’ve been staring at the same document for ten minutes.”
Sarah closed the file.
“What do you want?”
Maya sat down.
“To check on you.”
“I’m fine.”
Maya gave her a look.
“Sarah.”
Sarah sighed.
“I’m just tired.”
“Is it Michael?”
Sarah hesitated.
“No.”
Maya studied her.
“Then who?”
Sarah looked away.
Maya’s eyes widened.
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“There’s someone else.”
Sarah immediately shook her head.
“No.”
“That was way too fast.”
“Maya.”
“Sarah!”
“Lower your voice.”
Maya leaned closer.
“Who is he?”
“No one.”
“That’s another lie.”
Sarah stood.
“I have work.”
Maya smiled knowingly.
“You’re blushing.”
“I am not.”
“You absolutely are.”
Before Sarah could respond, the office door opened.
Daniel.
His eyes immediately found Sarah.
Then the blue dress.
A slow smile appeared.
Sarah’s stomach flipped.
Maya noticed.
Her eyes moved between them.
“Oh.”
Daniel looked at Maya.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
He handed Sarah a folder.
“The documents you requested.”
Sarah took it.
“Thank you.”
His fingers brushed hers.
A tiny gesture.
Barely noticeable.
But Maya noticed.
Of course she did.
Daniel turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Sarah.”
She looked up.
“Dinner tonight?”
Maya’s mouth fell open.
Sarah glared at him.
“I’m busy.”
Daniel smiled.
“Tomorrow, then.”
He left.
Maya slowly turned toward her.
“Who the hell is that?”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“It’s complicated.”
“Clearly.”
⸻
That afternoon, Sarah opened the folder Daniel had given her.
She expected legal documents.
Instead, something fell onto her desk.
A photograph.
She picked it up.
Her blood ran cold.
It was a picture of Michael.
But not the Michael she knew.
He looked younger.
Maybe twenty-one.
Standing outside a university building.
Beside Daniel.
Sarah turned the photograph over.
There was handwriting on the back.
Three words.
We were brothers.
Sarah’s heart began pounding.
Her office door was closed.
She looked around as though someone might be watching.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Don’t believe everything Michael tells you.
Sarah stared at the message.
Then another arrived.
And don’t believe everything Daniel tells you either.
Her blood ran cold.
She quickly looked toward the window.
Across the street, a black car was parked.
The same kind of car she’d seen near her apartment.
Sarah stood.
She walked toward the window.
The car remained still.
Then its engine started.
It drove away.
Her phone vibrated again.
This time, it was Daniel.
Daniel: You found the photograph.
Sarah froze.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
She typed:
How did you know?
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally:
Because I put it there.
Sarah stared at the screen.
Her stomach dropped.
This wasn’t an accident.
The photograph.
The messages.
The meetings.
None of it was accidental.
And suddenly, Sarah couldn’t tell where the affair ended…
and Daniel’s plan began.
Sarah stared at Daniel’s message.
Because I put it there.
Her fingers went cold.
She typed:
Why?
The response came almost immediately.
Because you deserve to know who your husband used to be.
Sarah stared at the words.
She wanted to call him.
She wanted to demand an explanation.
Instead, she typed:
Then tell me.
This time, Daniel didn’t answer.
Sarah waited.
One minute.
Two.
Five.
Nothing.
She threw her phone onto the desk.
“Unbelievable.”
She looked at the photograph again.
Michael and Daniel stood shoulder to shoulder, both smiling at the camera.
They looked young.
Carefree.
Happy.
Nothing about the photograph suggested the hatred that existed between them now.
Sarah turned it over.
We were brothers.
She couldn’t stop thinking about those words.
Michael had never mentioned Daniel.
Not once.
And when Daniel’s name had finally entered their lives, Michael’s first reaction hadn’t been anger.
It had been fear.
Sarah picked up her phone and called him.
He answered after several rings.
“Sarah?”
“Where are you?”
“At work.”
“I need to ask you something.”
Silence.
“What?”
“Did you know Daniel Black?”
Another silence.
This one was longer.
“Yes.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“You lied to me.”
“I didn’t want to discuss him.”
“You told me you barely knew him.”
“I said what I needed to say.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
Michael sighed.
“Sarah, please.”
“No. I’m done with ‘please.’ I want the truth.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand.”
Michael’s voice dropped.
“Daniel isn’t someone you should be around.”
“Why?”
“He’s dangerous.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
Sarah looked at the photograph.
“Then tell me what happened.”
Michael said nothing.
“Michael?”
“I can’t.”
Her chest tightened.
“You can’t or you won’t?”
He ended the call.
Sarah stared at her phone.
For several seconds, she couldn’t move.
Then anger replaced confusion.
She grabbed her handbag.
She was going to find answers herself.
⸻
That evening, Sarah returned home before Michael.
She walked straight into his study.
She had never searched through his things before.
Tonight, she didn’t care.
She opened drawers.
Checked cabinets.
Looked through old files.
Nothing.
Then she noticed a locked wooden box at the back of the lowest cabinet.
Her heartbeat quickened.
She pulled it out.
No key.
Sarah searched the desk.
Nothing.
She was about to put it back when she noticed a tiny photograph underneath it.
She picked it up.
Her breath caught.
Daniel.
Michael.
And another young man standing between them.
Sarah stared at the unfamiliar face.
Three friends.
Not two.
There was something written across the bottom of the photograph.
Final year.
She turned it over.
Nothing.
A sound came from the hallway.
Sarah froze.
Footsteps.
Michael.
She quickly put everything back.
The study door opened.
Michael stood there.
His eyes immediately fell on the box in her hands.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then his expression changed.
“Where did you get that?”
Sarah held his gaze.
“You tell me.”
Michael stepped inside and closed the door.
“Sarah, give it to me.”
“Who is he?”
Michael’s face hardened.
“You shouldn’t be looking through my things.”
“Who is he?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Everything with you is complicated!”
Her voice cracked.
“You’ve lied to me about Daniel. You’ve hidden your past. And now I’m finding photographs of three men I’ve never heard you mention.”
Michael looked exhausted.
“You don’t know what happened.”
“Then tell me.”
“I can’t.”
Sarah laughed bitterly.
“That’s exactly what Daniel said.”
Michael went still.
“You’ve been talking to him.”
Sarah didn’t answer.
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“Sarah, stay away from him.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t want you.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“He wants to destroy me.”
The room fell silent.
Sarah looked at him.
“And I’m the weapon?”
Michael didn’t answer.
That silence told her everything.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Did you know he was coming back?”
Michael looked away.
“Michael.”
“Yes.”
Sarah’s heart shattered.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“No.”
Sarah shook her head.
“You were trying to protect yourself.”
She walked out.
Michael didn’t stop her.
⸻
Outside, Sarah sat in her car.
She didn’t start the engine.
She simply stared ahead.
Her marriage was beginning to feel like a house with hidden rooms.
And every door she opened revealed something uglier.
Her phone vibrated.
Daniel.
She almost ignored it.
Then she saw the message.
Daniel: Now you know he knew I was coming.
Sarah’s breath caught.
She typed:
How do you know what we discussed?
His answer came.
Because Michael isn’t the only person who knows how to keep secrets.
Sarah stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
Daniel: Tomorrow. Don’t come to work early.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
Why?
Daniel replied:
Because I want to show you something.
Sarah’s heart began pounding.
She should have blocked him.
She should have gone home.
She should have called Michael.
Instead, she whispered:
“What are you planning?”
Her phone vibrated one final time.
Daniel: You’ll find out tomorrow.
Sarah looked through the windshield.
Across the street, beneath the dim streetlight, she noticed a dark vehicle parked near her house.
The headlights were off.
She couldn’t see the driver.
But somehow, she already knew.
Daniel had been watching.
And suddenly, the thirty days ahead didn’t feel like a choice anymore.
They felt like a countdown.
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