Chapter 3
I thought I had misheard her.
“What?”
Michael opened his eyes.
“Mom, don't do this.”
Evelyn turned on him.
“She deserves the truth.”
“Not like this.”
I laughed.
“How exactly would you prefer I learn that my dead father-in-law is alive?”
Michael looked at me.
“Sarah.”
“No.”
My voice shook.
“You don't get to say my name like you're calming me down.”
I looked at Evelyn.
“Tell me.”
Her face had changed completely.
The strong woman who had confronted her own son minutes earlier suddenly looked tired.
Older.
“He left us eleven years ago.”
“But everyone told me he died.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.”
“Michael told me he died of a heart attack.”
“I know.”
“You told me the same thing.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I know.”
“Why?”
She looked at Michael.
Then back at me.
“Because the truth was humiliating.”
I almost laughed.
“Humiliating?”
“My husband abandoned us.”
Her voice cracked.
“He emptied our savings and disappeared with another woman.”
I looked at Michael.
His expression was unreadable.
“Another woman.”
Evelyn nodded.
“I spent months trying to find him.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
“Michael found him.”
My eyes moved to my husband.
“When?”
“Two years later.”
“So nine years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Before Michael and I met.”
“Yes.”
“Why keep lying?”
Evelyn looked down.
“Because by then everyone believed he was dead.”
“How?”
She swallowed.
“His car was found near Lake Michigan.”
My skin prickled.
“There was a note.”
“A suicide note?”
“Yes.”
“But he wasn't dead.”
“No.”
“Did police know?”
“Eventually.”
“What does eventually mean?”
“About a year later.”
I looked at Michael.
“You knew your father was alive almost our entire marriage.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I was protecting Mom.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Don't use me.”
He turned toward her.
“You begged me not to tell anyone.”
“I did.”
“So don't act like this was all me.”
She nodded.
“You're right.”
That surprised him.
Evelyn looked at me.
“I was ashamed.”
Her voice became softer.
“People had sent flowers.”
“There was a memorial.”
I remembered photos Michael had shown me.
A chapel.
Family members.
A framed picture of his father, David.
No body.
Michael said they chose cremation.
Another lie.
Evelyn continued.
“My church organized meals.”
“Friends sat with me.”
“I didn't know how to tell everyone that the man they had mourned had staged his death to run away.”
I understood the humiliation.
I did.
But understanding did not make the lie smaller.
“Where is David now?”
Michael answered.
“Wisconsin.”
“Doing what?”
“He owns a small repair shop.”
“And you've been seeing him?”
“Sometimes.”
“How long?”
“Three years.”
My stomach twisted.
“You reconnected three years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He contacted me.”
“For what?”
Michael hesitated.
“Money.”
Of course.
“How much?”
“At first, five thousand.”
“And then?”
“More.”
“How much total?”
He looked down.
“About ninety thousand.”
The amount Evelyn had mentioned.
“What did he need ninety thousand dollars for?”
Michael didn't answer.
Evelyn's voice was hard.
“Gambling.”
I stared at him.
“You gave ninety thousand dollars of our money to a gambling addict who abandoned your family?”
“He's my father.”
“And I'm your wife.”
“I know.”
“No, Michael.”
I felt tears spilling down my face.
“If you knew that, none of this would be happening.”
He moved closer.
I stepped back.
His hands dropped.
“He called me three years ago.”
His voice cracked.
“He said he had nowhere else to go.”
“He had another woman.”
“She left.”
“That is not your problem.”
“He was sick.”
“With what?”
“Diabetes. Heart issues.”
“Then help him find a doctor.”
“I did.”
“With ninety thousand dollars?”
He stared at the floor.
“It wasn't all medical.”
“Clearly.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You told me you stopped.”
“I did for a while.”
“When did you start again?”
He said nothing.
She understood.
“Michael.”
“Last year.”
Her face fell.
“You promised me.”
“I know.”
I laughed bitterly.
Apparently I wasn't the only woman he lied to.
Evelyn asked, “Does he know about Sarah?”
“Yes.”
“Does he know you're married?”
“Yes.”
“Does he know you've been using Sarah's income?”
“Mom.”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn looked disgusted.
I had never seen her look at Michael that way.
My phone buzzed inside my purse.
For a second, nobody moved.
Then it buzzed again.
I pulled it out.
Unknown number.
A message.
Tell Michael he should stop pretending Vanessa is the only woman.
My hands turned cold.
I stared at the screen.
Michael noticed.
“What?”
I handed him the phone.
His expression changed.
“Who sent this?”
“You tell me.”
“I don't know.”
Evelyn took the phone.
She read the message.
Then looked at her son.
“What does this mean?”
“Nothing.”
I laughed.
“That word is getting old.”
“I genuinely don't know.”
Another message arrived.
Ask him about Green Bay.
Michael went completely still.
There it was.
Recognition.
“What happened in Green Bay?”
“Sarah.”
“What happened?”
His silence answered me.
I felt like the floor was falling away one piece at a time.
“Was there another woman?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I made a mistake.”
Evelyn whispered, “What did you do?”
Michael sat down.
He suddenly looked exhausted.
“Two years ago, Dad called me.”
I crossed my arms.
“Continue.”
“He said he owed money.”
“To who?”
“People.”
“What people?”
“Guys he gambled with.”
“Legal gambling?”
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
My stomach tightened.
“How much?”
“Forty thousand.”
“And?”
“I went to Green Bay to meet him.”
“Why there?”
“He was staying with someone.”
“Who?”
“A woman named Linda.”
I almost laughed.
“So there was another woman.”
“Not mine.”
“Congratulations.”
He closed his eyes.
“I paid part of what he owed.”
“With our money?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Twenty thousand.”
“Then what?”
“Dad said he would pay me back.”
Evelyn laughed bitterly.
“You believed him?”
Michael ignored her.
“Three months later, he asked for more.”
“How much?”
“Fifteen thousand.”
“And you gave it?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head.
“Why?”
“He said they were threatening Linda too.”
“Why is that your problem?”
“I don't know.”
“That's not good enough.”
“I felt guilty.”
“For what?”
Michael looked at his mother.
Evelyn noticed.
“What?”
Michael's face changed.
“Dad always told me he left because of me.”
The anger in the room stopped.
Evelyn stared at him.
“He what?”
“When I found him nine years ago, he said you two were already miserable.”
Her mouth fell open.
“He said I made everything harder.”
Evelyn's eyes filled.
“He blamed you?”
Michael shrugged like it didn't matter.
But his face said it did.
“He said you only stayed together because of me.”
“That is a lie.”
“I know that now.”
“No.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Michael, your father left because he was selfish.”
Her voice shook.
“You were twenty-four years old.”
“You had nothing to do with our marriage ending.”
Michael looked away.
“He said if I hadn't kept asking him for help with college debt, he would have had enough money to start over.”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“My God.”
I saw something change in her.
For a second, she was not my fierce mother-in-law.
She was a mother realizing her son had carried a wound she never knew existed.
“I paid your college bills.”
“I know.”
“Your father barely contributed.”
“I know that now.”
“Then why did you keep giving him money?”
Michael looked down.
“Because every time I said no, he told me I owed him.”
The answer softened something in me.
Not forgiveness.
But understanding.
Then I remembered Vanessa.
Understanding vanished.
“So your father manipulated you.”
“Yes.”
“That explains the money.”
“Yes.”
“It doesn't explain the affair.”
Michael looked at me.
“No.”
“Or the fake mortgage.”
“No.”
“Or lying to me every day.”
“No.”
For once, he did not defend himself.
Evelyn sat down.
She looked drained.
Then my phone buzzed again.
Same unknown number.
He wasn't alone in Green Bay.
I stared at the message.
“What does that mean?”
Michael stood.
“I don't know.”
“Stop saying that.”
“I swear.”
Another message appeared.
Vanessa was there.
My heart stopped.
Michael stared at the screen.
Evelyn whispered, “You knew Vanessa two years ago?”
Michael shook his head immediately.
“No.”
“I met her last year.”
“Then why is someone saying she was there?”
“I don't know.”
I called the number.
It rang twice.
Someone answered.
Nobody spoke.
“Who is this?”
Silence.
“Who are you?”
A man's voice finally answered.
“Ask your husband why Vanessa changed her last name.”
Then the call ended.
Michael went pale.
I looked at him.
“What was her last name?”
“Collins.”
“What is it now?”
“Collins.”
Evelyn frowned.
“What's her maiden name?”
Michael stared at her.
“I don't know.”
I laughed.
“You're sleeping with her and you don't know?”
“She never told me.”
Evelyn stood.
“Call her.”
Michael hesitated.
“Now.”
He dialed.
Vanessa answered.
“What?”
Michael put her on speaker.
“What was your name before Collins?”
Silence.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Answer.”
“I need to go.”
“Vanessa.”
She hung up.
Michael stared at the phone.
My pulse hammered.
Evelyn looked at me.
Then at him.
“Call again.”
He did.
No answer.
Again.
Voicemail.
I felt a terrible certainty growing inside me.
“What does your father have to do with Vanessa?”
“Nothing.”
“You don't know that.”
“I would know.”
“Would you?”
He flinched.
I continued.
“You didn't know your own mother still owned the house?”
“I knew.”
“You didn't tell me.”
“That isn't the same.”
“You hid your father for our entire marriage.”
He said nothing.
“You hid money.”
Nothing.
“You hid Vanessa.”
Nothing.
“So forgive me if your confidence isn't comforting.”
Evelyn's phone suddenly rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face changed.
“It's David.”
Michael stiffened.
“Why would he call you?”
“I haven't spoken to him in years.”
“Answer.”
Evelyn put the call on speaker.
“What do you want?”
A rough male voice answered.
“Where's Michael?”
My skin prickled.
Evelyn's face hardened.
“Why?”
“Put him on.”
Michael leaned toward the phone.
“Dad?”
“Michael.”
His father's voice sounded panicked.
“You need to get out of that house.”
Everyone froze.
“What?”
“Take Sarah and leave.”
I stared at Michael.
Evelyn said, “David, what are you talking about?”
“I told you not to contact me.”
“Why should they leave?”
Silence.
Then David said something that made the room go cold.
“Because Vanessa knows the house isn't Michael's.”
Michael stared at the phone.
“So?”
David breathed heavily.
“She knows because I told her.”
I stepped closer.
“Why were you talking to my husband's mistress?”
David went silent.
I asked again.
“Why do you know Vanessa?”
May you like
His answer came quietly.
“Because she's my daughter.”
