Chapter 5: The Woman Behind the Lie
I couldn’t breathe.
The phone slipped slightly in my hand.
“Emily?””
The voice on the other end broke.
“Marcus, listen to me.””
I looked at Claire.
She was frozen.
Terrified.
“Where are you?””
“I can’t tell you.””
“Why?””
“Because if Claire knows I’m alive, Maya is not safe.””
The room spun.
“You’re alive?””
“Yes.””
Six years of grief.
Six years of visiting a grave.
Six years of telling Maya that her mother loved her.
All shattered in seconds.
“Why didn’t you come back?””
There was a pause.
A painful one.
“Because I thought Claire killed me.””
Claire stepped forward.
“Give me the phone.””
I moved away.
“Don’t come near me.””
Her face collapsed.
“Marcus, she’s lying.””
Emily heard.
“She’s there, isn’t she?””
I didn’t answer.
“She always stays calm when she’s cornered.””
Claire screamed.
“Stop!””
The sound shocked me.
Because I had never heard Claire lose control like that.
Emily continued.
“She knows where I am.””
“How?””
“Because she was the last person who saw me before I disappeared.””
Claire covered her face.
“No.””
I stared at my wife.
“Tell me she’s lying.””
Claire said nothing.
And silence was an answer.
I sat down.
“Why?””
Claire whispered:
“Because I loved you.””
I looked up.
“What?””
She cried.
“I loved you before you even knew I existed.””
The confession made me feel sick.
“I met Emily when she was struggling,” Claire said.
“She told me she was afraid she was losing everything.””
“You became her friend.””
“Yes.””
“Then you betrayed her.””
Her tears fell.
“I wanted her life.””
The words were barely audible.
But I heard them.
Every single one.
“I wanted her husband. Her house. Her family.””
My chest tightened.
“So you poisoned Maya?””
Claire shook her head.
“No.””
“Then why was she sick?””
“I only wanted to scare her.””
I stared.
“What?””
“I thought if Maya became difficult enough, you would send her away.””
The room went silent.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“She’s a child.””
“I know.””
“No. You don’t.””
Claire broke down.
“I didn’t mean for it to go this far.””
“You drugged my daughter.””
“I gave her something small.””
Something small.
The phrase almost made me sick.
My phone was still connected.
Emily had heard everything.
“Marcus,” she whispered.
I closed my eyes.
“I’m here.””
“She did this to me too.””
I looked at Claire.
“What does that mean?””
Emily took a shaky breath.
“Claire didn’t kill me.””
“But?””
“She made everyone think I was unstable.””
I remembered.
The arguments.
The doctor visits.
The day Emily disappeared.
I remembered Claire telling me:
She needs help.
I remembered believing her.
“I found proof,” Emily said.
“What proof?””
“A recording.””
Claire’s face changed.
“What?””
Emily continued.
“The conversation we had the night before I disappeared.””
Claire moved toward the phone.
“No.””
I stepped back.
“What’s on it?””
Emily’s voice trembled.
“The truth.””
Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door.
Everyone froze.
Claire looked toward it.
Then whispered:
“She found me.””
I looked at the door.
“Who?””
Claire backed away.
Her face was completely drained of color.
Then someone outside spoke.
A voice I recognized.
A voice I never thought I would hear again.
“Marcus?””
I stopped breathing.
Because standing outside my house was the woman I had buried six years ago.
Emily.
May you like
And behind her was Maya’s doctor.
Holding a file that would reveal the one secret Claire had spent years hiding.