Chapter 4: The Wife He Never Told Me About
I read the message twelve times.
His first wife.
Daniel had told me he had never been married before.
Not once.
Not during our first date, when we spent three hours talking about our childhoods. Not when we met each other's families. Not even during our wedding ceremony, when the pastor asked whether either of us had entered the marriage with unresolved commitments.
He had looked me straight in the eyes and promised me a lifetime.
And apparently, he'd already promised that lifetime to someone else.
Claire sat beside me, staring at the message.
"Call her," she said.
"What if it's a trick?""
"Then we'll find out. But if it's real, you need to know.""
I looked at the unknown number.
My thumb hovered over the call button.
Then another message arrived.
*Unknown: My name is Rachel Morgan. I worked for Daniel for five years. I have documents, but I won't send them over text. Can we meet tomorrow?*
I typed back.
*Me: How do I know you're telling the truth?*
Her response came immediately.
*Rachel: Ask Daniel what happened to his first house in Connecticut. Then ask him why he still pays $2,400 every month to someone named Evelyn.*
I looked at Claire.
"Do you know anyone named Evelyn?""
She shook her head.
"Never heard that name.""
I opened my banking application and searched our joint transactions.
There it was.
A recurring transfer.
$2,400.
Every month.
The payment description read: PROPERTY MAINTENANCE.
I had seen it before. Daniel had explained that it was related to an investment property his company managed.
I had never questioned it.
I called the number.
A woman answered after two rings.
"Hello?""
"Rachel?""
"Yes.""
"My name is Nia Carter. You messaged me about my husband.""
There was a long silence.
Then Rachel spoke.
"I was wondering how long it would take before you found out.""
"Who is Evelyn?""
Another silence.
"His first wife.""
I closed my eyes.
"Where is she?""
"I don't know exactly where she lives now. But I know Daniel has been supporting her financially for years.""
"Why?""
"Because he owes her.""
I gripped the phone.
"What does that mean?""
Rachel exhaled.
"Before you married Daniel, he was married to Evelyn. They owned a property development company together. She handled the accounts while he handled the sales. When the company collapsed, he blamed her for the financial losses.""
"And?""
"And he transferred the remaining assets into another company before filing for bankruptcy. Evelyn lost almost everything.""
My stomach tightened.
"Did she know?""
"Eventually. But by then, Daniel had disappeared from Connecticut and started over in another state.""
I glanced at Claire.
"Why would he keep paying her?""
Rachel lowered her voice.
"Because she knows what he did. And she has copies of the original documents.""
I felt a chill crawl up my arms.
"Then why hasn't she gone to the police?""
"She tried. But the paperwork was complicated, and Daniel had already moved the assets. He also convinced people that she had approved the transactions.""
I looked at the email on my screen.
My forged signature.
The false authorization.
The separation agreement.
The similarities were impossible to ignore.
"Rachel, did Daniel do the same thing to me?""
"I think he's doing something much bigger this time.""
"What?""
"I can't explain over the phone. Meet me tomorrow at ten. The coffee shop on Madison Street. Come alone.""
Claire shook her head immediately.
I ignored her.
"Why alone?""
"Because I don't know who Daniel has watching you.""
The call ended.
For several seconds, I stared at the dark screen.
Claire took my hand.
"You're not going alone.""
"She specifically asked me to.""
"And I'm specifically telling you that's a terrible idea.""
I almost smiled.
Then my phone vibrated.
Daniel.
*Daniel: I know you're with Claire. Stop listening to people who don't understand our marriage. Come home tomorrow. We can fix this.*
A second message followed.
*Daniel: Also, you need to return the company documents you took from the restaurant. They're confidential.*
I frowned.
I hadn't taken anything.
Mr. Bennett still had the folder.
Then I understood.
Daniel was testing me.
He wanted to know what I had seen, what I had copied, and what I knew.
I typed nothing.
Instead, I took screenshots of every message and sent them to a new email account Claire helped me create.
The next morning, I arrived at the coffee shop fifteen minutes early.
Claire parked across the street.
She refused to let me enter without knowing exactly where I was sitting.
At ten o'clock, a woman in a gray coat walked through the door.
She looked around nervously.
Then her eyes found mine.
"Nia?""
I stood.
"Rachel?""
She nodded.
She was in her early forties, with dark hair pulled into a loose bun and tired eyes that suggested she'd spent too many nights worrying about something she couldn't tell anyone.
We sat near the back.
Rachel placed a thick envelope on the table.
"I wish we were meeting under different circumstances.""
"So do I.""
She looked at me carefully.
"Does Daniel know you're here?""
"I don't think so.""
"Good.""
She opened the envelope.
Inside were printed emails, bank statements, and photographs of property deeds.
Then she placed a wedding photograph in front of me.
Daniel stood beside a brunette woman in an ivory dress.
He looked younger.
But it was unmistakably him.
The woman had one hand resting on his chest.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written:
Daniel and Evelyn Carter. September 2011.
I stared at the surname.
"Carter?""
Rachel nodded.
"He used Evelyn's last name when they married. After their divorce, he changed his business records and eventually started using it again.""
I couldn't breathe properly.
"Why didn't he tell me?""
"Because he wanted you to believe you were the first.""
Rachel pulled out another document.
"This is the company agreement they signed before the collapse.""
I scanned the page.
Daniel and Evelyn were listed as equal owners.
Then Rachel pointed to a paragraph.
"Read that.""
I did.
It stated that neither partner could transfer company property without written consent from the other.
"What's this got to do with me?""
Rachel reached into the envelope and removed a second document.
"Daniel didn't just repeat what he did to Evelyn. He improved the method.""
My eyes moved down the page.
It was a property transfer agreement.
The property listed was our house.
The signature belonged to Daniel.
But the recipient was Carter Holdings LLC.
Rachel pointed to the date.
"That transfer happened before your wedding.""
I looked up.
"Before we got married?""
"Yes.""
"But the house was purchased after our wedding.""
Rachel shook her head.
"No, Nia. The land was purchased before. The house was built afterward using money from your joint account.""
I stared at her.
"Are you saying I paid to build a house that Daniel had already transferred to someone else?""
Rachel nodded.
"And that's not even the worst part.""
She pulled out another photograph.
This one showed Daniel standing outside a large brick building beside a woman I didn't recognize.
Rachel turned it over.
The handwriting was familiar.
Daniel, Evelyn, and Melissa — Connecticut office, 2016.
I looked at the picture.
"Melissa knew Evelyn?""
Rachel gave a humorless laugh.
"Melissa didn't just know her.""
She leaned closer.
"Melissa was Evelyn's sister.""
The room seemed to go silent.
I stared at the photograph again.
Daniel's assistant.
The woman who had notarized my forged signature.
The majority owner of the company holding my house.
She was his first wife's sister.
And suddenly, I understood why Rachel had insisted on meeting me.
She wasn't warning me about an affair.
She was warning me about a family business.
A business built on women who trusted Daniel.
Then Rachel opened her handbag and removed a small flash drive.
"There's one more thing you need to see.""
I looked at it.
"What is it?""
Rachel's expression hardened.
"An audio recording from the night Daniel told Melissa that you were going to be his final wife.""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
Rachel pushed the flash drive toward me.
"Listen to it.""
May you like
And before I could ask another question, she said the words that made my blood run cold.
"He didn't choose you because he loved you, Nia. He chose you because you inherited something.""
