ANMELDENI did not sleep that night.Daniel had been paying Lisa $5,000 a month for months to watch me. He had been building a case to take Ethan and the house and everything.I kept thinking about what Alexander had texted me.Let Daniel think I know nothing. That was our only advantage.The next morning, I told Daniel I was going to take Ethan to a doctor's appointment for a check-up. Daniel nodded, barely looking up from his coffee. "Take Lisa with you," he said. "You know how you forget things."Take Lisa with me. The woman he was paying to spy on me. He said it like he was being kind."No," I said, smiling like I always smiled. "Lisa is sick today. I will go alone."Daniel looked at me for a second. Just one second. But I saw something in his eyes. Suspicion. Like he knew I was lying.Then he smiled back. "Okay. Be careful."I drove Ethan to school first. I kissed him at the gate and watched him run inside with his backpack. Then I drove to Alexander's office. My hands were shaking on the
I stood at the school gate for a long time after Tracy left.In my pocket, I had two phones. My hidden phone, with Tracy asking me for $100,000. And Tracy's phone, with Lisa's messages, Lisa's payments, Lisa's plan to destroy me.My hands were shaking, but not from fear this time. From anger.Lisa. The woman who lived in my house. The woman who ate at my table. The woman who played with Ethan. The woman I had trusted to wear my red coat and pretend to be me.Lisa had hired Tracy to destroy me.I drove home fast. Too fast. I almost ran a red light. I kept thinking about Lisa's face at breakfast that morning, smiling at me, pouring coffee for me, saying, "Sarah, you look tired. Let me help you with Ethan."She was smiling while she was paying someone to ruin my life.When I got home, Ethan was in his room, watching cartoons. Daniel was not home yet. He had texted me: _Working late. Don't wait up.Lisa was in the kitchen, washing dishes. She was wearing her pink dress. She was humming a
I did not sleep that night.Tracy's message was still on my hidden phone:A second phone. Was she bluffing again? Or did she really have one?I sat in my bedroom, looking at Daniel sleeping next to me, and I made a decision. I would not go to that meeting alone. I would not go scared.I texted Alexander at 3 a.m._She says she has a second phone. She says she will play it for Daniel._He replied fast._She is bluffing. You never spoke in the closet. You never said a word until after she left. Even if she has a second phone, it recorded nothing but me and her. But bring your hidden phone. Turn it on before you meet her. Record her. This time, we catch her._I stared at his message. He was right. I had not spoken in the closet. I had only listened. I had only breathed. I had not said Alexander's name. I was just silent.If she had a second phone, it had nothing of me on it. It had only her own voice, trying to blackmail Alexander.The next day at 5:50 p.m., I stood at Ethan's school gat
I did not sleep that night.Tracy's message was still on my hidden phone:_I know you sent Lisa. I know you are smarter than I thought, Sarah. But I am not quitting. I am going to find Alexander myself. And when I find him, I will make him talk._She was going after Alexander. Not me. Him.I sat in the dark, in my bedroom, while Daniel snored next to me. My hands were shaking. If Tracy got Alexander to say my name on her recorder, everything would be over. Daniel would hear it. Daniel would know. He would take Ethan. He would destroy us both.At 2 a.m., I texted Alexander._She is coming for you. Don't meet her. Don't talk to her._He replied in one minute._Let her come. If I run, she will know I am guilty. I will meet her. But you need to hear it yourself. Come to my office tomorrow at 11 a.m. Hide in the closet. You will hear everything._Hide in the closet. In his office. Like a spy in my own story.I told Daniel the next morning I was going to see a doctor for my headache. He nod
I knew Tracy was following me before I saw her.I could feel it. That feeling on the back of my neck. The feeling that someone's eyes are on you when you are buying bread, when you are crossing the road, when you are opening your car door.For three days, I did not go to see Alexander. I stayed home. I cooked. I played with Ethan. I acted like the perfect wife.But on the fourth day, I got a text from Alexander on my hidden phone._I miss you. I need to see you. Today. 3 p.m. My villa. Come alone._My hands started shaking. I wanted to go. I wanted to feel safe again in his arms. But I knew if I went, Tracy would follow me.I stood in my kitchen, looking at the message, and I had an idea. A dangerous idea. An idea that could either save me or destroy me.I called Lisa into the kitchen.Lisa walked in, wearing her pink dress, holding a cup of coffee. She looked at me and raised one eyebrow. "What?"I locked the kitchen door. I lowered my voice. "I need your help. Tracy is following me.
I thought Tracy was gone.Daniel fired her. The video showed she left his office with her bag in her hand. I thought that was the end of it.I was wrong.Three days later, I was at Ethan's school gate, waiting for him to come out. The sun was hot. Mothers were standing around me, talking, laughing. I was holding Ethan's water bottle, trying to look like a normal mother.Then I heard a voice behind me."Sarah! Hi!"I turned around.It was Tracy.She was wearing a white dress, sunglasses on her head, holding a small boy's hand. A boy I had never seen before. A boy who looked nothing like her.My heart stopped beating for a second. I felt my hands go cold."Hi, Tracy," I said. I tried to smile. I tried to make my voice sound normal. "I thought... I thought you moved?""No," she said, smiling. Her smile was warm, but her eyes were watching me too closely. "My son just started here. This is Jake. Jake, say hi to Ethan's mom."The little boy waved at me. He looked scared. He did not look li







