4: The Mirage

I woke up because my eyes were open. No alarm, no warmth... just the realization that the world hadn’t ended while I slept. I lay there for a long time, my heart was feeling like a heavy stone in my ribs. I stared at a crack in the ceiling I’d never noticed before. My body felt like it was made of wet sand, too heavy to move, but my mind was already racing.

Down the hall, the sounds of the morning started. I heard the clink of a spoon hitting a mug. It used to be a sound of peace. Now? It sounded like a hammer hitting a nail into a coffin. Every time metal hit ceramic, my teeth ached.

I sat up and reached for the cardigan on the chair. My fingers found the stiff corner of the business card. Alexander Mercer.

Yesterday, that man...the guy Daniel treated like a god...had seen me at my lowest. He’d seen the ugly wreckage. He’d heard me call his best employee an asshole. And he had agreed. I didn't feel like crying today. I felt like a machine.

I got out of bed, my joints feeling stiff. In the kitchen, Daniel didn’t look up from his iPad. He was already in his grey suit, the one he wore to make people feel small. His hair was perfect. He looked powerful. He looked like a lie.

"Morning," he said, not looking at me. "You look better. Yesterday was a lot, but you’re tough. I knew you’d see reason once you stopped being hysterical."

I sat down and kept my hands flat on the table. They weren't shaking. I looked at him. This was the man who told me what to wear and how to think. Then I thought about Alexander. Daniel spent his life trying to be the perfect man for Alexander Mercer, but Alexander had spent his evening holding the wife Daniel tried to hide.

Daniel had no clue.

"I’m going to be late," Daniel said, straightening his tie in the reflection of the microwave. "Mercer is in a mood. High expectations. I have to be perfect. No distractions, Hannah. You get that, right?"

I didn't answer right away. I just watched him. Perfect. If only Alexander knew his perfect worker was a man who drugged his wife into silence.

"I’ll be out for a bit today," I said. My voice was flat, empty of any emotion he could use against me.

"Good. Get some air. Buy something sensible," he said. He looked at my ugly grey sweater with a nod of approval. To him, this sweater meant I was invisible.

He grabbed his briefcase and left. He didn't even kiss me goodbye, not as if I wanted it. The silence he left behind wasn't peace. It was a call to move.

Following him was easy. Daniel was so sure I was a broken thing that he didn't even check his mirrors. He drove like he owned the streets. I stayed three cars back, my eyes fixed on his bumper.

When he pulled up to Grace’s apartment, my stomach turned, but my eyes stayed dry. It was a nice, modern place. We could have lived somewhere like that if he wasn't hiding money for his secret life.

I parked a block away and watched. I saw him knock on her door with a rhythm that said he did this every day. The door opened, and Grace stepped out. She looked great. She was wearing a red dress that fit her perfectly. It was a bold color...the kind Daniel told me made women look desperate.

Then came the boy. Samuel.

Daniel picked him up and swung him around. He was laughing. A real, happy laugh. I watched them, feeling like a ghost watching a movie of a life I was supposed to have. They looked like a happy family.

I waited in my car for thirty minutes, gripping the wheel until my knuckles were white. I thought about every lie Grace told me over coffee while Daniel’s scent was probably still on her skin.

I walked up the stairs. The door wasn't even locked. They felt safe.

The living room was quiet. Little Samuel was asleep on the couch, a stuffed lion under his arm. He was innocent in this, but he was also the living proof of the lie.

Then I heard the noise. It wasn't soft. It was the sound of two people who thought they were the only ones who mattered. I walked to the bedroom and pushed the door open.

The air was hot. It smelled like Grace’s perfume. They hadn't even gone under the covers. Grace was on top of him, her hands on Daniel's chest. She was moving with a heavy rhythm, her head back. She looked like she had won a prize.

I didn't scream. I didn't gasp. I just stood there and watched.

The rhythm stopped.

Daniel’s eyes snapped open. The look of pleasure died, replaced by a mask of rage. Grace didn't jump off. She didn't grab a towel. She just stopped and looked at me with a bored expression.

"What the hell are you doing?" Daniel roared.

He pushed Grace off and stood up. He didn't try to cover himself. He stood there naked, looking at me like I was something gross on the bottom of his shoe.

"How dare you follow me!" he shouted, stepping toward me. He was trying to make me shrink. "I told you to stay home! You’re acting like a freak!"

Grace sat on the edge of the bed and pushed her hair out of her face. She looked at my face, searching for tears that weren't there. Then, she stood up. She didn't grab a robe. She walked right past me, her naked hip brushing my arm...a warm, mocking touch...as she went to the bathroom. She didn't say a word. The silence was meant to tell me I was nothing.

"You are a serious problem, Hannah," Daniel hissed. He was so close I could smell the sweat on him. "You’re acting like a psycho. If you ever track me down again, you’ll find out how miserable I can make your life. I have the money. I have the lawyers. You have nothing."

I didn't back away. I looked him in the eye...really looked at his naked, shaking rage...and realized he wasn't a giant. He was just a man terrified of losing his grip on the world.

"You're right, Daniel," I said. My voice was so cold it surprised me. "It is over."

I turned and walked out. I didn't stumble. I walked through the living room, past the sleeping boy, and went down to the street.

The sunlight was blindingly bright. I leaned against a brick wall and took a deep breath. I reached into my pocket and found the card.

Alexander Mercer.

Daniel thought he was the one with the power. He thought he could keep me in a cage of grey sweaters while he played house with my cousin. He thought his life was safe because he was "perfect" for his boss.

I didn't wipe my face because there was nothing to wipe away. I wasn't going to go home. I wasn't going to hide. When you finally have nothing left to lose, you become the most dangerous person in the room.

I pulled out my phone. I didn't hesitate. I started typing the number from the card.

I looked up at Grace’s window one last time.

"Enjoy him while you can, Grace," I whispered to the empty air. "Because

I'm taking everything."

I pressed 'Call.'