The Woman He Created

Chapter 2

EVELYN

I don’t know how long I sat at the dining table, with my mind roaming but the sound of Alex’s car pulling into the garage pulled me out of my thoughts.

On any other day, I would have gone to open the door for him but today wasn’t such a day.

Not after the picture I saw earlier.

I tried to convince myself that the picture wasn’t real. That I was probably over-thinking things.

But this was clear; Alex was most likely cheating on me and I had to dig more into this.

I heard Alex trying to open the front door with his own keys but still I didn’t move an inch. The look of surprise on Alex’s face when he saw me.

Was it surprise?

Or was it guilt?

Does he even know I had seen the picture?

“You’re still awake, Elizabeth?” he said.

Silence.

“I thought I told you not to wait up.”

“I know. You were out for a long time today. Were you at the meeting the whole time?” I asked.

Alex loosened his tie while looking elsewhere other than my face.

“Yeah, about that, the meeting took longer than we expected and afterwards came the dinner,” he replied.

I didn’t take my eyes off him.

“Okay,” I answered.

Without another word said, I got up, and made my way to our bedroom. Shortly after, he joined me. After having a shower and changing into his pajamas, he joined me in bed and in minutes, he was out like a light.

Meanwhile, I was restless. I couldn’t get a wink of sleep. The image was etched in my mind and it wouldn’t go no matter how hard I tried.

“I don’t trust Alex. There’s something sketchy about him,” my best friend – ex-best friend – Juliet had warned me three years ago before I got married to Alex.

Just like my father, she had warned me to stay away from Alex but let’s say I was too blinded by love to listen to any of them. Juliet and I got into a big fight the day before my wedding that led to the end of our friendship.

Now here I was, rolling from side to side, wondering if I should have listened to her years ago when she warned me.

I need to find out who that woman in the picture is, I thought to myself.

The following morning, things went back to normal. Well, for Alex at least. He woke up and got about his day while I was left with a serious mission that would most likely break my heart.

After he left for work, I sat down in front of my laptop, a cup of coffee by my side, while surfing the internet in search of a private investigator. I wrote down a couple of names and phone numbers of people to meet.

I got ready and called the first number on my list. The Private investigator wasn’t far from my house so we decided to meet up at the café close by. His name was Lorenzo and he looked a bit funny.

His suit was a shade of brown that looked like it might have been pulled out from the 90s, his tie was in a sleepy knot but intelligence sparked in his eyes which made me feel safe.

“You’re Madame Elizabeth, right?” he asked, his Italian accent stronger than black coffee.

“Yes I am and you must be Mr. Lorenzo?” I asked right back.

He shook his head, leaving me a bit confused.

“My name is Signor Lorenzo Rossi,” he corrected.

At first, I didn’t notice the difference until I did.

“Okay,” I simply replied.

After he took his seat, he asked that I go straight to business as he had other businesses to attend to. Not wanting to waste much time, I pulled out my phone and showed him the picture I had received last night.

“I want you to find out who this woman is,” I said.

He took the phone from me and gave it a long stare. The time he spent looking at it was awfully long and weird but who am I to judge the workings of one of the best Private Investigators as the internet stated.

Finally, he eventually took his eyes off the picture and turned to me.

“I’ll find out everything you need to know about her in two weeks or less,” he said.

I clapped in excitement.

“Great. So what might your charges be?” I asked.

A creepy smile appeared on his face that made my heart flip.

“Not too expensive and not too less either. It’s $5000,” he said.

My eyes widened in shock.

I hadn’t expected it to be that expansive but it was a price I was willing to pay. I pulled out my phone and immediately sent him a sum of $2500.

“That's half of the money. You'll get the other half when I get information that I need,” I stated.

A wide brim appeared on his face..

“You have nothing to worry about, Madame. Two weeks. Just two weeks. That's all I need,” he promised.

Our conversation ended right there. I sat back to have a little breakfast before heading back home.

On the drive back home, I couldn't help but wonder what the outcome of this would be.

Would Signor Lorenzo find out if Alex was cheating on me?

What would I do if that was true?

When I finally got home, I noticed the door was slightly opened.

My heart skipped.

I remembered vividly that I had locked the door before leaving for the cafe. Negative thoughts ran through my mind. I quietly sneaked into the house trying to make no sound so as not to attract the intruder's attention.

I went up the stairs to get to my room while trying to get my phone out to call the cops.

Suddenly, my bedroom door opens and I'm face to face with the intruder.