Chapter 2: The Man Behind the Messages
Amanda stared at the phone as if it were a loaded weapon.
“Give that to me,” she said.
I kept it in my hand.
“No.””
Her eyes flicked toward Sophie.
Then toward the door.
Then back to me.
That tiny movement told me more than her words ever could.
“You need to calm down,” Amanda said.
I almost laughed.
“Calm down?””
My voice echoed through the bridal suite.
“You have a secret phone. Someone named Derek knows about my property documents. You photographed my safe. And this morning, you told him we’d own my house after I signed something.””
“It doesn’t mean what you think it means.””
“Then tell me what it means.””
Amanda opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Outside the room, I could hear people laughing.
Someone called my name from the hallway.
The violinist had started playing again.
The wedding was moving forward as if the world hadn't just cracked open.
Sophie pressed her face against my shoulder.
I lowered my voice.
“Amanda, start talking.””
She looked at my daughter.
“You're making a mistake listening to her.””
I stared at her.
“She’s four.””
“Exactly.””
Amanda stepped closer.
“She doesn’t understand what she saw.””
“Then explain it.””
“I will.””
“When?””
“After the ceremony.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“After the ceremony?””
Amanda nodded quickly.
“We don't need to ruin everything over a misunderstanding.””
I looked at the dress, the flowers, the veil lying across the chair.
Then I looked at Sophie.
My daughter was clutching my shirt with both fists.
“No ceremony,” I said.
Amanda's face tightened.
“What?””
“I said no ceremony.””
Her eyes filled instantly.
Not with sadness.
With panic.
“You can’t do this.””
“Watch me.””
She reached for my arm.
“Please. At least let me explain privately.””
I pulled away.
“You had months to explain.””
“I didn't do anything wrong.””
“Then you shouldn't be scared of me reading your messages.””
She looked at the phone.
“I am scared because you're misunderstanding them.””
I unlocked another conversation.
The name Derek appeared at the top.
There were dozens of messages.
Most were short.
Some were about paperwork.
Some were about dates.
Some mentioned my daughter.
I scrolled.
Then I stopped.
A message from six days earlier read:
*“Does the kid know anything?””*
Amanda had answered:
*“She notices too much.””*
Another message from Derek:
*“Then don't leave them alone together.””*
Amanda:
*“I know.””*
My fingers went numb.
I looked up.
“You were talking about Sophie.””
Amanda shook her head.
“No.””
“You just said she notices too much.””
“It wasn't about this.””
“What was it about?””
She stared at the floor.
I stepped closer.
“What was it about, Amanda?””
She whispered, “A private matter.””
I nearly lost my temper.
“A private matter involving my daughter?””
“No!””
She suddenly raised her voice.
Sophie started crying.
I turned immediately.
Amanda saw it.
Her expression softened for half a second.
Then she reached toward Sophie.
“Sweetheart, I didn't mean to scare you.””
Sophie recoiled.
“No!””
I moved between them.
Amanda stopped.
That frightened me more than anything else.
Because Sophie wasn't simply upset anymore.
She was afraid of her.
And I had never seen that before.
I crouched beside my daughter.
“Sophie, tell Daddy how you found the phone.””
Amanda interrupted.
“She took it from my room.””
I looked at Sophie.
“Is that true?””
Sophie shook her head.
“She left it.””
“Where?””
“In the little box.””
“What little box?””
“The blue one.””
Amanda's face drained of color.
I knew the blue box.
It was the wooden jewelry box Amanda kept in the back of her closet.
I looked at her.
“You left this phone in your jewelry box?””
She didn't answer.
“Sophie, why were you in her room?””
“I wanted my bunny.””
“What bunny?””
“The pink one.””
Amanda suddenly said, “I told her to stay out of my bedroom.””
I turned.
“You're changing the subject.””
“No, I'm explaining.””
“Then explain why your secret phone was inside a box in your closet.””
Amanda said nothing.
I started walking toward the door.
“Where are you going?”” she asked.
“To talk to someone.””
“Who?””
“The man in your messages.””
She grabbed my sleeve.
“No.””
I looked down at her hand.
“Let go.””
“Please.””
Her voice cracked.
“Don't contact him.””
That was it.
My fear became certainty that something much larger was happening.
“You know exactly who he is.””
Amanda's eyes filled with tears.
“I can fix this.””
“You keep saying that.””
“Because I love you.””
I stared at her.
“Love doesn't require secret phones.””
“I was protecting us.””
“From what?””
She couldn't answer.
Then someone knocked.
Three times.
Amanda froze.
I looked toward the door.
Another knock.
Harder.
“Mr. Carter?””
A man's voice.
Amanda went completely still.
I knew the voice.
Not personally.
But I'd heard it through the phone recordings.
Derek.
Amanda whispered, “Don't open it.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
“He shouldn't be here.””
Another knock.
“Mr. Carter, I need to speak with you.””
Sophie wrapped her arms around my waist.
I moved her behind me.
Then I opened the door.
A man in a navy suit stood in the hallway.
He was in his early forties, with neatly combed dark hair and an expensive watch.
His smile vanished when he saw Amanda.
“You told me he wouldn't find the phone,” he said.
Amanda closed her eyes.
I looked at him.
“Derek?””
He swallowed.
“Yes.””
I held up the phone.
“You want to explain?””
He looked at Amanda.
She shook her head.
Derek took one step backward.
That told me everything I needed to know.
“Who are you?”” I asked.
“I work with Amanda.””
“Doing what?””
He glanced toward the end of the hallway.
“Not here.””
“You came to my wedding.””
“I came because she told me there was a problem.””
“What problem?””
Derek looked at Sophie.
She immediately hid behind my leg.
His expression changed.
Amanda hissed, “Don't look at her.””
Derek turned toward Amanda.
“You said she didn't know.””
Amanda's voice went cold.
“She wasn't supposed to.””
I felt something inside me snap.
“Enough.””
Both of them looked at me.
“You're going to tell me everything.””
Derek rubbed his palms together.
Amanda whispered, “Derek, leave.””
“You said we still had time.””
“We don't.””
“What did you mean by 'we'?”” I asked.
Neither answered.
I pulled out my own phone.
“I've already saved the messages.””
Derek's face went pale.
Amanda stared at me.
“You wouldn't.””
“I absolutely would.””
I called my attorney.
Amanda lunged toward my phone.
I stepped back.
“No.””
“Please don't do this.””
“Why?””
“Because you'll regret it.””
I stared at her.
“That sounds like a threat.””
“No.””
“Then stop talking like one.””
My attorney answered.
“Martin.””
“It's me,” I said.
“I need you to come to the estate immediately.””
Amanda began crying.
Derek moved toward the stairs.
I pointed at him.
“You're not leaving.””
He stopped.
“You don't understand,” he said.
“Then help me understand.””
He looked at Amanda.
“She didn't tell you everything.””
Amanda's head snapped toward him.
“Derek.””
He ignored her.
“She told me you already signed one document.””
My blood went cold.
“I've never signed anything about my house.””
Derek looked genuinely confused.
“What?””
Amanda stepped forward.
“That isn't what happened.””
“Then what did you sign?”” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Nothing important.””
I laughed once.
Nothing important.
A woman in a wedding dress was standing in front of me, surrounded by flowers, while a stranger told me she'd been handling my legal documents.
And she still expected me to believe her.
“What did I sign?”” I asked again.
Amanda didn't answer.
Derek did.
“The power of attorney.””
Silence.
Even the music outside seemed distant.
I stared at Amanda.
“No.””
She nodded slowly.
“It was temporary.””
“You told me it was for the mortgage.””
“I needed to help with the refinancing.””
“You said it was a standard authorization.””
“It was.””
“You had power of attorney over me?””
Her lips trembled.
“Only for certain things.””
“What things?””
She whispered, “Financial matters.””
My hands began shaking.
I thought about every document Amanda had placed in front of me during the past month.
The papers she'd said were routine.
The forms she'd asked me to sign while I was answering emails.
The folders she'd carried into my office.
The one night she'd told me, “Don't worry about this. I'll handle it.””
I had trusted her.
Completely.
Derek suddenly said, “You're not listening.””
I turned toward him.
“What?””
“The house isn't the only thing.””
Amanda shot him a furious look.
“Shut up.””
“The bank accounts,” Derek said.
My heart stopped.
“What bank accounts?””
Amanda stepped between us.
“He's trying to scare you.””
Derek shook his head.
“She told me which accounts had enough money to cover the transfer.””
I stared at Amanda.
“You were planning to transfer my money?””
“No!””
Her denial came too quickly.
Derek looked at me.
“She wanted the wedding because it made everything easier.””
I felt sick.
“Easier how?””
“She said once you married her, nobody would question the changes.””
Amanda slapped Derek across the face.
The sound cracked through the room.
“Get out!””
Derek stumbled backward.
She turned toward me, breathing hard.
“That man is lying.””
Derek touched his cheek.
“You know what? I'm done protecting you.””
Amanda's eyes widened.
“Derek, don't.””
He looked directly at me.
“She had another plan.””
Amanda's face went white.
Derek reached inside his jacket.
I stepped in front of Sophie.
“Don't move.””
He pulled out a small envelope.
“I was supposed to give this to her after the ceremony.””
He held it toward me.
Amanda whispered my name.
I took the envelope.
It was addressed to me.
My hands felt strangely heavy as I opened it.
Inside was a printed document.
One sentence had been highlighted.
*In the event of Daniel Carter's death, all listed assets shall transfer to Amanda Carter.*
I stared at the page.
Then I looked at Amanda.
She was crying now.
“I was never supposed to see that.””
I looked down at Sophie.
My daughter was staring at the document.
Then she whispered something that made the room go silent.
“Daddy…”
I crouched beside her.
“What is it?””
She pointed at Amanda's phone.
“There was another video.””
I looked at the screen.
A folder had appeared beneath the messages.
The filename was simple.
*SOPHIE.*
Amanda moved toward us.
“Don't open it.””
May you like
And for the first time that day, I understood that the house, the money, and even the wedding might not have been Amanda's real target.
Because whatever was inside that folder had something to do with my daughter.
