Chapter 3: The Video That Changed The Past
The first sound I heard was my own voice.
Not a memory.
Not a dream.
My voice.
Broken.
Terrified.
“Please… stop.””
The screen was dark for three seconds before the image appeared.
A room.
A familiar room.
My old apartment.
The place where Ethan and I had lived before everything fell apart.
My hand flew to my mouth.
I knew that room.
I knew the cracked picture frame on the shelf. The faded blue curtains. The coffee stain on the wooden table that Ethan always promised he would clean but never did.
The video was dated three years ago.
The night everything changed.
Pascal stood across from me, silent.
I didn’t look at him.
I couldn’t.
Because on the screen was a version of myself I had spent years trying to forget.
A younger Alexa.
A hurt Alexa.
A woman who didn’t know she was about to lose everything.
The camera angle was strange, like someone had hidden a phone somewhere.
Then Ethan’s voice appeared.
“Alexa, listen to me.””
My heart stopped.
Even after everything, I knew his voice.
The softness.
The panic.
The desperation.
“I can fix this,” video-Ethan said.
My younger self stepped backward.
“No.””
The word came out immediately.
“No, Ethan. You said that last time.””
I looked at Pascal.
His face was pale.
“You recorded this?””
He didn’t answer.
“Pascal.””
“I didn’t record it.””
“Then how do you have it?””
His jaw tightened.
“Keep watching.””
I hated that I listened.
But I did.
Because somewhere inside that video was the truth I had been chasing.
The video continued.
Ethan moved closer to the camera.
“Alexa, I made mistakes.””
“You lied to me.””
“I know.””
“You promised me there was no problem.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
I almost laughed.
Those words.
The same words Pascal had used.
Protect.
Everyone always said they were protecting me.
Nobody ever asked if I wanted to be protected from the truth.
My younger self wiped tears from her face.
“What did you do, Ethan?””
The silence on the recording lasted too long.
Then Ethan spoke.
“I borrowed money.””
I closed my eyes.
I knew about that.
Or at least I thought I did.
But then he continued.
“From the wrong person.””
The room became colder.
“I thought I could pay it back.””
“Who?””
Ethan didn’t answer.
“Who did you borrow from?””
The video froze for a moment.
Then Ethan whispered:
“Someone connected to Pascal.””
I looked at my husband.
He didn’t move.
My heartbeat became louder.
The video continued.
My younger self stepped toward Ethan.
“You knew Pascal?””
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
“Ethan.””
“I mean… not like that.””
“What does that mean?””
Ethan ran his hands through his hair.
“He knows people.””
The version of me on the screen looked confused.
“The man who offered to help me.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
“He said he could make the debt disappear.””
I stared at the screen.
A horrible feeling crawled up my chest.
“Who offered?””
The younger Alexa asked the same question.
And this time, Ethan answered.
“Pascal.””
The room went completely silent.
I stopped breathing.
The video continued, but I barely heard it.
Because the name I had just heard belonged to my husband.
The man who claimed he met me by accident.
The man who told me he had never known Ethan before our relationship.
The man who had held me while I cried over Ethan’s betrayal.
Everything shifted.
I turned toward Pascal.
“You knew him before me.””
His eyes closed.
Just for a second.
But that was enough.
“You knew.””
“I can explain.””
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“You don’t get to say that.””
“Alexa—”
“You knew Ethan. You knew about his debts. You knew about everything.””
“I was trying to help.””
“By lying?””
His silence answered.
I felt something break inside me.
Not anger.
Something worse.
Trust.
The thing I had spent years building with him.
Gone.
On the screen, Ethan’s voice continued.
“I didn’t want Alexa involved.””
“You should have told me.””
“I was scared.””
“Of what?””
The video paused.
Then Ethan answered:
“Of what Pascal would do.””
My entire body went still.
Pascal looked away.
“No.””
I whispered.
“No, don’t do this.””
“Alexa.””
“No.””
I backed away.
“I don’t know what’s real anymore.””
For years, I had believed my marriage to Pascal saved me.
After Ethan hurt me, Pascal was the person who showed up.
The person who listened.
The person who told me I deserved better.
But now I was wondering something I never allowed myself to consider.
Was he really my rescue?
Or was he just standing there when I was vulnerable?
My phone buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
I opened it.
*You need to leave that house.*
Then another message appeared.
*He knows you watched the video.*
I looked at Pascal.
His eyes were still on me.
“Who is texting you?””
I locked the phone.
“Nobody.””
His expression changed.
“You’re lying.””
The accusation was almost unbelievable.
“You’re asking me that?””
He flinched.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
“Alexa, listen to me.””
“I’ve been listening for three years.””
The words came out colder than I expected.
“You told me Ethan was the problem.””
“Because he was.””
“Maybe.””
I picked up the phone.
“But now I’m starting to wonder if you were telling me the truth or just the version that made you look like the hero.””
Pascal’s face hardened.
“You think I wanted this?””
“I think you wanted me.””
The room went quiet.
That sentence surprised even me.
Because it was the thought I had never admitted.
Not even to myself.
Pascal stared at me.
“What does that mean?””
I looked at him.
“When did you first notice me?””
He didn’t answer.
That was the problem.
He didn’t answer.
“You already knew Ethan.””
“Alexa.””
“You were there before I left him.””
“I was trying to help.””
“Why?””
His eyes became darker.
“Because I cared about you.””
“But why?””
He stepped closer.
“Because I saw what he was doing to you.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Because you knew I was going to leave.””
The silence that followed felt like confirmation.
Pascal’s voice became quiet.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.””
“Then tell me.””
I pointed at the video.
“Tell me everything.””
He looked at the screen.
Then back at me.
“I can tell you.””
“Finally.””
“But not tonight.””
My heart sank.
“What?””
“I need you to understand something first.””
He reached into a drawer and pulled out a small envelope.
“I didn’t want you to ever see this.””
He placed it on the table.
I stared at it.
“What is that?””
“Something Ethan never told you.””
I didn’t touch it.
“What?””
Pascal swallowed.
“The reason he really left you alone after your divorce.””
My fingers tightened.
“We never divorced.””
“Exactly.””
The word hit me strangely.
Because it was true.
Ethan and I never finalized anything.
We separated.
Then I met Pascal.
Then life moved on.
Or at least I thought it did.
Pascal pushed the envelope toward me.
Inside was a document.
I pulled it out.
The first line made my hands shake.
*Legal custody agreement proposal.*
My eyes moved lower.
Then I saw the date.
Three years ago.
The week before I met Pascal.
And beneath Ethan’s name was another signature.
Someone who had no reason to be there.
Someone who had been hiding in my story from the beginning.
I looked up.
“Who signed this?””
Pascal didn’t speak.
“Who signed this?””
His eyes met mine.
And when he answered, I wished he had lied.
Because the truth was worse.
“Me.””
The room spun.
“You signed a custody agreement for Noah?””
“Yes.””
“Without me?””
“I was trying to stop something worse.””
“What could possibly be worse than my own husband making decisions about my child behind my back?””
Pascal looked at the envelope.
Then whispered:
“Finding out Noah’s father isn’t the only person who lied about who he really is.””
I froze.
“What are you talking about?””
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked toward the staircase.
Toward Noah’s room.
And for the first time since I walked through that door, Pascal looked genuinely afraid.
“Alexa…”
His voice dropped.
“There’s something about Noah’s birth you were never told.””
My blood turned cold.
“What?””
He looked at me.
And before he could finish, the front door suddenly opened.
We both turned.
A woman stood there.
Rainwater dripping from her coat.
Her face pale.
Her eyes locked on me.
I had never seen her before.
But she knew exactly who I was.
“Alexa,” she whispered.
May you like
Then she said the one sentence that made my entire world collapse.
“Your son’s birth certificate is a lie.””
