CH 8

Chris

I saw Lisa’s car leaving through the gate. I hurried away to see Mark, who was waiting for me at a coffee shop near to my house.

Mom was confused because I rarely went straight to the office. I told her I had a lot of work to do that morning. After that, she was quiet and didn’t ask me anything else.

When I arrived at the coffee shop, I saw Mark and Jenna waiting. Then, we immediately switched cars. I borrowed Jenna’s car for one day. Jenna returned to the office and drove my car, while Mark and I drove Jenna’s car.

Because time was running out, Mark and I hurried to Alice’s school. My heart was beating quite fast, and I was worried that we would lose track of Lisa.

“That’s Mrs. Lisa’s car,” Mark yelled. I looked towards the school parking lot and saw that Lisa’s car was still parked there. When I looked for her among the crowd of parents, I saw her talking to a woman.

We parked near to there and didn’t forget to wear hats and sunglasses as a disguise, even though Jenna said that the car windows were safe because the inside of the car couldn’t be seen clearly from the outside. However, to feel safer, we decided to still use a disguise.

Fifteen minutes later, Lisa got into her car and drove to the shopping area and cafes. It was half past seven in the morning, and Lisa usually went to a coffee shop to buy a cup of coffee, then went to a cheese cake shop to buy cheese cake.

As far as I knew, that was her schedule.

Sure enough, her car stopped right in front of the coffee shop. A few moments later, her car stopped again in front of the cheesecake shop. Everything was the same as the schedule she had written for me a long time ago.

Doubt and guilt crept into my heart. It never crossed my mind that one day I would doubt my wife’s loyalty. But, to prove everything, I had to find out.

“Mark, can the CCTV on the office terrace be finished today?”

“We’ll try, sir,” Mark replied.

“Maybe you can work with the police to find out the identity of the person who sent me the secret letter after the CCTV captures his or her face. But do everything quietly, so there’s no commotion at the office. And I don’t want Lisa to hear about this.”

“Okay, Sir. Understood.”

From the cheesecake shop, Lisa’s car stopped at a cafe that was usually a popular breakfast spot for people who didn’t have time to cook breakfast. From inside the car, I saw her meet a woman, but I had never seen her face at any of the parties we had hosted. Her face looked unfamiliar to me.

Lisa was there for about an hour. She looked cheerful when talking to the woman. Before getting into the car, I saw her staring at and typing something on her cell phone for quite a long time, about half an hour. After that, she parted with her friend and got back into the car.

Next, Lisa visited her favorite boutique in the mall. Mark parked the car near to Lisa’s car. I saw her get out of the car and enter the mall.

“Sir, should I follow her into the mall?” Mark asked as he got out of the car. He deliberately stuck a fake mustache under his nose, then put on black-rimmed glasses and a hat.

“You look different. Okay, follow her. Take some photos. The boutique’s name is Miss Selfridge,” I replied.

Mark hurried out of the car and entered the mall. Meanwhile, I stayed in the car, checking some documents.

An hour and a half later, Mark sent a quick message to my cell phone. He told me that Lisa was walking towards the parking lot. Not long after, I saw Lisa get out of the elevator, and then get into her car while carrying two shopping bags.

After Lisa’s car drove away, Mark got into the car, then hurriedly drove after Lisa.

From the mall, he went to the supermarket. In the schedule she wrote for me, she said she would go to the supermarket every day because she preferred to eat fresh vegetables and fruits. I didn’t mind when she said that because I thought her reason was reasonable. But what if the mysterious letter was genuine? Then Lisa had indeed arranged everything to look normal.

While waiting in line to enter the supermarket parking lot, Mark said, “Sir, Mrs. Lisa went into the boutique and stayed there for quite a while looking at some clothes. Then, she went to the jewelry store and stayed there for quite a while. It looked like she bought a pair of diamond earrings. After that, she got into the elevator to go to the parking lot.”

“Okay, Mark. Thank you.” I asked Mark to park in a more strategic area to observe Lisa’s movements.

Not long after Lisa parked her car, a red luxury car stopped right in front of her car. Lisa got out of her car and entered the red luxury car.

Yesterday she got out of a black sedan, now she’s getting into a red luxury car. Who are they?

I was stunned and lost in my thoughts until Mark’s voice brought me back to reality.

“Sir, are you okay?” I nodded.

Mark drove out of the supermarket parking lot, following the luxury car. Strangely, the car headed toward the famous hotel complex in Riverford. However, I tried to think positively. Maybe they were just passing through the area on purpose.

I sat quietly in the middle passenger seat, feeling a little confused and hurt. It felt like needles were piercing my heart, and it hurt so much.

If I found the truth behind all the riddles written in that mysterious letter, what would I do? If I divorced Lisa, Alice would be affected. The happy marriage we had built over the past dozen years would be destroyed in an instant, and everything would change suddenly.

But I couldn’t tolerate infidelity and betrayal because if it was proven true and all the truth came out, then Lisa had indeed stabbed me in the back.

“Sir, they stopped in front of the Royal Hotel.” It turned out that my guess was right.

I saw Lisa get out of the car with a man. Even worse, the man was hugging my wife’s waist, and they entered the hotel with cheerful smiles on their faces.