Chapter 2 - THE MAN BEHIND THE LETTER R
Emily arrived twenty-three minutes later.
I counted.
Not because I wanted to.
Because when trust disappears, time becomes evidence.
Every minute matters.
The front door opened.
Her keys hit the counter.
"Grant?"
I stayed in the living room.
Tessa was upstairs with Miles.
I had asked her to take a shower and rest.
For once in her life, I wanted my daughter to feel like a child again.
Emily walked in.
She looked exactly like the woman I married.
Same brown hair.
Same familiar face.
Same tired expression.
That was the hardest part.
Betrayal would be easier if the person looked different.
If they became a stranger overnight.
But they don't.
They look like home.
Until they don't.
"What happened?" she asked.
I didn't answer.
I placed the phone on the table.
Her face changed instantly.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
Then she recovered.
"I don't know what that is."
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
"You don't know?"
"No."
"Emily."
She crossed her arms.
"Grant, I have no idea why there's a phone there."
I looked at her.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I expect you to ask me before accusing me."
"Okay."
I pointed at the phone.
"Whose is it?"
She said nothing.
"Who is R?"
Still nothing.
"Why does someone named R know my schedule?"
Her eyes moved.
A tiny movement.
But enough.
My years working with animals taught me something.
People reveal the truth through reactions before words.
"Ryan," I said.
Her face went completely still.
And that was the answer.
I didn't need confirmation.
But I needed to hear it.
"How long?"
She looked away.
"Grant..."
"How long has this been happening?"
"It's not what you think."
Every person who says that knows exactly what it looks like.
I stood up.
"Then tell me what it is."
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
"Tell me."
"It's complicated."
"No."
My voice became sharper.
"It's actually very simple."
I pointed upstairs.
"While you were gone, our daughter was sitting on the kitchen floor holding our baby because she was afraid to put him down."
Emily started crying.
"Grant, I didn't know it would take that long."
"That's your defense?"
"No."
"Then what is it?"
She wiped her face.
"I needed time."
"For what?"
She looked at me.
And for the first time that night, I saw something I had never seen before.
Shame.
"I was going to tell you."
"When?"
She didn't answer.
"When?"
"After I figured things out."
"Figured what out?"
She looked down.
"I made mistakes."
The room became silent.
"Mistakes?"
I repeated the word.
"My brother?"
She closed her eyes.
And that was confirmation.
I walked away.
Not because I was calm.
Because I wasn't.
I was one second away from saying something I couldn't take back.
Outside, my dogs started barking.
They were in the backyard.
They had sensed the tension.
Animals always know.
Emily followed me toward the window.
"Grant, please."
I turned.
"Do you know what hurts the most?"
She cried.
"I know."
"No, you don't."
I pointed upstairs.
"Tessa thought she had to protect me from the truth."
Emily covered her mouth.
"She heard things?"
I froze.
"What things?"
Her expression changed.
Too late.
"What did she hear?"
"Nothing."
"Emily."
She looked terrified.
"Tell me."
She shook her head.
"No."
And there it was.
Another secret.
Another locked door.
I stepped closer.
"How long has Ryan been coming here?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I never wanted this."
"How long?"
"Three months."
Three months.
The same amount of time the phone existed.
I laughed quietly.
A painful laugh.
"You brought him into my house."
"Grant—"
"You let him hold my son."
"Please."
"You let him sit at my table."
"I'm sorry."
Sorry.
That word was becoming meaningless.
Then my phone buzzed.
A notification.
From the hidden phone.
A new message.
I picked it up.
One sentence.
One sentence that changed everything.
She doesn't know the baby isn't yours.
I looked at Emily.
She looked at the phone.
And the color drained from her face.
Because this wasn't just about cheating.
This was about something much bigger.
Something much darker.
I slowly turned the phone toward her.
"Emily..."
My voice barely came out.
"Whose baby is Miles?"
Her knees nearly gave out.
And in that moment, I understood.
The secret phone wasn't hidden because of an affair.
May you like
It was hidden because someone was terrified I would discover the truth about my own son.
TO BE CONTINUED...
