Chapter 2: The Secret Inside the Purse
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
Still alive.
Two words.
Two words that seemed to tear apart everything I believed about the last three years.
I had spent 1,095 days looking for my wife.
I had hired private investigators, contacted police departments, offered rewards, and followed hundreds of false leads.
I had searched abandoned buildings, hospitals, shelters, and distant towns.
I had sat across from detectives who eventually stopped returning my calls.
I had listened to people tell me to accept the possibility that Alicia was gone forever.
And now my six-year-old daughter was telling me that her mother had called the woman I was supposed to marry.
Yesterday.
I slowly lowered Lily onto a nearby upholstered chair, keeping her away from the broken glass.
“Sweetheart, stay right here for Daddy. Don't touch anything on the floor.””
She nodded.
I turned back to Vanessa.
“Tell me exactly what happened.””
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“Daniel, please. This isn't the time.””
I almost laughed.
“Not the time?””
“The guests are downstairs. We need to talk privately.””
I looked around the dressing room.
“We are already private.””
She glanced toward the door.
I noticed it.
The way her eyes moved.
The way she kept one hand wrapped around her purse strap.
The way her breathing changed whenever I mentioned Alicia.
“Where did you get her number?”” I asked.
Vanessa shook her head.
“Daniel, I can't explain everything right now.””
“Then explain one thing.””
I stepped closer.
“Did Alicia call you?””
Silence.
“Did she?””
Vanessa finally nodded.
The movement was barely noticeable.
But I saw it.
My stomach twisted.
“How long have you known?””
“Only yesterday.””
“When?””
“Yesterday afternoon.””
“What time?””
She closed her eyes.
“Daniel, I don't remember.””
“You don't remember the time your missing wife's voice came through your phone?””
Her face tightened.
“I was shocked!””
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
Vanessa looked at Lily.
My daughter was sitting very still, watching us.
“Because I was trying to protect you.””
I stared at her.
“Protect me from what?””
“From getting hurt again.””
I felt something bitter rise in my throat.
“You don't get to make that decision for me.””
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
“She said she wanted to speak to Lily. She said she wasn't ready to speak to you.””
I glanced at my daughter.
Lily was holding the damaged hem of her dress.
“Why would she contact you instead of me?””
“I don't know.””
“Where did she call from?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you recognize her voice?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Of course I did.””
That answer frightened me more than anything else.
Because it meant she had spoken to Alicia before.
Not just yesterday.
I remembered the first time Vanessa had come to my house.
It was eighteen months after Alicia disappeared.
Lily had been sitting at the kitchen table, drawing a picture of our family. There were three people in it: me, Lily, and a woman with long black hair.
Vanessa had looked at the drawing and smiled.
“Who's that, sweetheart?””
“My mommy.””
Vanessa had crouched beside her.
“Oh, honey. Your mommy isn't here.””
Lily had lowered her crayon.
“I know.””
Vanessa had gently touched her shoulder.
“But maybe someday you'll have someone else who loves you just as much.””
At the time, I had thought it was kind.
Now I wondered whether she had been acting.
“Give me your phone,” I said.
Vanessa looked up.
“What?””
“Your phone. I want to see the call.””
She immediately tightened her grip on her purse.
“I deleted it.””
“Why?””
“Because I panicked.””
“You deleted a call from my missing wife?””
“I didn't know what else to do!””
Her voice cracked.
I held out my hand.
“Then give me your phone.””
Vanessa took a step backward.
“Daniel, you're not listening.””
“No. I'm trying very hard to listen. But every answer you give me creates three more questions.””
She looked toward the vanity.
A small black phone lay beside a bottle of perfume.
I recognized it.
Vanessa's personal phone.
She had apparently forgotten to put it inside her purse.
I walked toward it.
She moved quickly.
“Don't touch that!””
I stopped.
Her reaction was too immediate.
Too frightened.
“Why?””
“Because it's private.””
“Then you should have thought about that before telling me my wife contacted you.””
She reached for the phone.
I picked it up first.
The screen lit.
A notification appeared.
<text color="secondary" size="xs" weight="medium">UNKNOWN NUMBER · YESTERDAY, 4:17 P.M.</text>
*Missed call.*
I looked at Vanessa.
“You said you deleted it.””
She said nothing.
I opened the call history.
There was another entry.
A call lasting eleven minutes and forty-two seconds.
My hands began to shake.
“Eleven minutes?””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
I turned the screen toward her.
“You spoke to her for almost twelve minutes.””
“I didn't know what to say.””
“What did she say?””
“She asked about Lily.””
“And?””
“She asked whether Lily was happy.””
My throat tightened.
“What else?””
Vanessa looked down.
“She asked whether you were still looking for her.””
I swallowed.
“What did you tell her?””
“I told her you were moving on.””
I stared at her.
“Moving on?””
“You were getting married, Daniel. What was I supposed to say?””
“You could have told her I never stopped looking!””
Vanessa flinched.
Lily began to cry softly.
I immediately turned toward her.
“It's okay, sweetheart. Daddy isn't angry with you.””
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Mommy sounded sad.””
I knelt in front of her.
“What did she say, baby?””
Lily looked toward Vanessa.
“She said she missed me.””
My chest tightened.
“Did she say anything else?””
Lily nodded.
“She asked if I still had the little silver star.””
I frowned.
“What silver star?””
Vanessa suddenly spoke.
“That's enough, Lily.””
I slowly stood.
“Don't interrupt her.””
Lily looked at me.
“The necklace Mommy gave me. The one you said I should keep safe.””
I remembered it immediately.
A tiny silver star on a thin chain.
Alicia had given it to Lily on her fifth birthday, two months before she disappeared.
We had searched for that necklace after Alicia vanished because Lily insisted it contained a secret message from her mother.
Eventually, I found it inside Lily's bedside drawer.
I had never thought much about it.
“Did Mommy say why she wanted to know about the necklace?””
Lily nodded.
“She said I should look inside.””
My heart began pounding.
“Inside what?””
“The star.””
I looked at Vanessa.
Her face had gone completely pale.
I raised the phone again.
“Why did Alicia ask about that necklace?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“You're lying.””
“I'm not!””
“Then why are you so frightened?””
She backed away until her shoulders touched the vanity.
I noticed a small movement.
Her right hand slipped into the open side of her purse.
Something inside it made a soft metallic sound.
I looked down.
“What are you hiding?””
“Nothing.””
“Vanessa.””
She began crying harder.
“I never wanted this to happen.””
I took another step.
“Wanted what?””
She opened her mouth.
Then the phone in my hand vibrated.
An incoming message.
The number was unknown.
The message contained only one sentence.
*DANIEL, IF VANESSA KNOWS YOU FOUND OUT, DON'T LET HER LEAVE WITH MY DAUGHTER.*
I read it twice.
Then I looked at Lily.
And finally, I looked at the woman wearing my wedding ring.
Vanessa was staring at the screen.
She whispered something I barely heard.
“Oh, God. She sent it.””
I turned toward her.
“Who sent it?””
Vanessa's knees nearly buckled.
“Daniel…”
“Who?””
She looked at Lily.
May you like
Then, with tears running down her face, she said:
“Your wife isn't the only person who has been lying about where she disappeared.””
