Chapter 3: The Woman Behind the Lie
The message remained on my screen for several seconds.
Long enough for me to read it again.
Long enough for the meaning to sink in.
*You should have stayed at the airport.*
My fingers went numb.
I stared at the unknown number, waiting for another message to appear.
Nothing.
Just silence.
The kind of silence that made every small sound in my apartment feel dangerous.
The refrigerator humming.
The distant traffic outside.
The soft ticking of the clock above the kitchen counter.
Nolan stepped closer.
“Give me the phone.””
I handed it to him without speaking.
He studied the message, his face becoming unreadable.
“Did you reply?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Good.””
His answer was immediate.
Too immediate.
I looked at him.
“You knew something like this could happen.””
It wasn’t a question.
Nolan didn’t deny it.
“I knew there was a possibility.””
My chest tightened.
“A possibility?””
He looked up.
“Emily—”
“No.””
I backed away.
“I need you to stop doing that.””
“Doing what?””
“Talking like I’m a business problem you’re managing.””
The words hung between us.
For a moment, Nolan looked hurt.
Then his expression softened.
“I’m sorry.””
That was the one thing I didn’t expect.
My brother rarely apologized.
Not because he was arrogant.
Because he carried everything alone and convinced himself he had to.
But tonight, I saw something different.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
“I didn’t want you dragged into this,” he said quietly.
I swallowed.
“I was already dragged into it when Derek put a ring on my finger.””
Nolan looked toward the apartment door.
The knocking had stopped.
But neither of us moved.
“Stay here,” he said.
My eyes widened.
“What?””
“I’m checking the hallway.””
“No.””
“Emily—”
“You just told me not to open the door. Now you want to walk outside?””
His jaw tightened.
“I’m not helpless.””
“I know.””
My voice lowered.
“But I’m not watching another person I love disappear because they thought they could handle everything alone.””
That stopped him.
For a second, we were children again.
Two siblings standing in the dark after losing our parents.
Two people pretending they weren’t scared.
Finally, Nolan nodded.
“Fine.””
He picked up his phone.
“But we do this carefully.””
He moved toward the security monitor beside my door.
The screen showed the hallway outside.
Empty.
No one.
My heart sank.
“Maybe they left.””
Nolan didn’t answer.
He zoomed in on the camera footage.
Then his face changed.
“What?””
He pointed.
At first, I saw nothing.
Then I noticed it.
A small white envelope resting on the floor outside my apartment.
My skin prickled.
“They left that?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Nolan stared at it.
“Because they wanted us to find it.””
Ten minutes later, we were sitting at my kitchen table.
The envelope was between us.
Neither of us had touched it.
It felt ridiculous.
It was just paper.
A simple white envelope.
But after everything that happened that day, even opening a letter felt like stepping into a trap.
“What if it’s nothing?”” I whispered.
Nolan looked at me.
“Then we wasted ten minutes.””
“And if it’s not?””
His silence answered.
Finally, he put on a pair of gloves from his travel bag.
I stared.
“You carry gloves?””
“I run an international business.””
“That doesn’t explain anything.””
“It explains enough.””
Despite everything, a tiny laugh escaped me.
A broken laugh.
But real.
For one second, the fear loosened.
Then Nolan opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
My breath caught.
It was me.
Standing outside Derek’s apartment.
Six months earlier.
I remembered that day.
I had surprised him after work.
I had brought dinner because he had been stressed.
I had waited outside for almost an hour.
I thought he was working late.
But the picture showed something else.
Derek wasn’t alone.
He was standing with Clara.
Not kissing.
Not touching.
Just talking.
But the date on the corner made my stomach twist.
Six months ago.
Before Clara started helping with the wedding.
Before she became my maid of honor.
Before I trusted her with every detail of my life.
Another photograph fell out.
Then another.
Each one showed pieces of a story I didn’t want to believe.
Derek meeting strangers.
Clara entering buildings connected to Derek’s business contacts.
Documents being exchanged.
My hands trembled.
“How long have they been doing this?””
Nolan picked up one photograph.
“I don’t know.””
“But you suspected.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
His eyes met mine.
“Because I needed to know if Derek was using you or if he was just cheating.””
I looked away.
The distinction hurt.
But I understood.
If Derek was only unfaithful, he was a terrible person.
If he was manipulating my life for money…
He was something worse.
My phone vibrated.
Both of us froze.
Another unknown number.
This time, it wasn’t a text.
It was a photo.
I opened it.
And my entire body went cold.
It was a picture of Nolan and me sitting at the kitchen table.
Taken from outside my apartment window.
My breath disappeared.
“They were watching us.””
Nolan immediately stood.
“Move away from the window.””
I didn’t argue.
He pulled the curtains closed.
For the first time that night, my brother looked genuinely angry.
Not controlled anger.
Not business anger.
Something personal.
“They crossed a line.””
I stared at him.
“Nolan.””
He looked at me.
“Tell me the truth.””
“What?””
“Did Derek ever ask about your inheritance?””
The question felt like a slap.
I thought back.
Every conversation.
Every casual comment.
Every strange moment.
Then I remembered.
A month after our engagement, Derek had laughed while we were drinking coffee.
“You know, it’s funny. Your family always kept your father’s company stuff so secret.””
I had smiled.
“Because I don’t care about business.””
He had touched my hand.
“I know. That’s what I love about you.””
My stomach twisted.
“He asked.””
Nolan went still.
“When?””
“About two months ago.””
“What exactly did he say?””
I closed my eyes.
“He said he was curious about my father’s company. He asked if I’d ever considered taking a bigger role.””
“And?””
“I told him I didn’t want that pressure.””
Nolan exhaled slowly.
“Of course.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“He wasn’t asking because he cared.””
The room felt freezing.
“He was testing how much you knew.””
I hated how much sense it made.
I hated that every beautiful memory now had a shadow behind it.
A knock suddenly echoed through the apartment.
Not the front door.
The window.
My heart nearly stopped.
We turned.
Nothing.
Then another sound.
A small object sliding under the front door.
Nolan moved first.
He opened the inner door but kept the security chain locked.
A second envelope sat on the floor.
This time, there was no hesitation.
He picked it up.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
He read it.
His face changed.
“What does it say?””
He didn’t answer.
“Nolan.””
Slowly, he handed it to me.
Three lines were written in black ink.
*You think Derek betrayed Emily.*
*You think Clara betrayed Emily.*
*You are wrong about who started this.*
My fingers tightened around the paper.
“What does that mean?””
Nolan stared at the message.
Then he whispered:
“Someone else is involved.””
“Who?””
He didn’t answer.
Because at that exact moment, his phone rang.
The caller ID appeared.
A name.
A name I recognized.
A name that made my blood freeze.
*Clara.*
Nolan looked at the screen.
Then at me.
“She wants to talk.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
But Nolan had already answered.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then Clara’s voice came through the speaker.
Soft.
Crying.
Terrified.
“Nolan…”
My entire body went still.
Because Clara didn’t sound like the woman who had betrayed me.
She sounded afraid.
“Please,” she whispered.
“I need your help.””
Nolan’s expression hardened.
“Why would I help you?””
A pause.
Then Clara said the one thing none of us expected.
“Because Derek wasn’t the one who planned this.””
My heart stopped.
Nolan looked at me.
And Clara continued:
“The person who wanted Emily destroyed…”
May you like
Her voice broke.
“…is someone much closer to her than you think.””
