Ethan’s Other Secrets

Olivia thought she had already seen the worst of Ethan. The accident, the lies, the mistress who had moved into her home, the endless manipulation, it all had pushed her to the edge of her sanity. But nothing prepared her for what she discovered next.

It began on a rainy evening. The mansion was silent except for the sound of drops hitting the tall windows. Ethan was asleep in the guest room, drugged on painkillers for his injuries. Jessica had gone out, probably to one of her secret meetings. Olivia used that silence as a weapon. Silence meant freedom. Silence meant searching.

She went back to his study. The one room that still smelled like him: cedarwood, leather, and faint traces of whiskey. Her hands shook as she opened the drawers of his desk. She had already found one USB weeks ago, filled with shocking documents about hidden money, contracts, and evidence of his affair. But tonight, her instincts told her there was more. Ethan was a man who thrived on control. Men like that didn’t hide one secret. They hid hundreds.

Her fingers brushed against a false bottom in one of the drawers. She pressed it carefully, and it clicked open. Inside was another small black USB drive.

Her heart stopped.

A second USB.

She closed the drawer quickly and stuffed the device into her pocket, her pulse racing. She could hear her own breathing too loudly, as if the walls themselves would betray her.

Olivia didn’t wait. She hurried upstairs to her bedroom, locked the door, and plugged the USB into her laptop. For a long second, the screen stayed blank. Then a folder appeared, labeled only with her husband’s name: Ethan.

Inside were video files. Dozens of them.

Her throat tightened as she clicked on the first one.

It was Ethan, sitting in his study, the same room she had just searched. He looked younger, his hair darker, his jaw sharp and tense. His voice came out low and shaky.

“This is my confession,” he said, staring straight into the camera. “If you are watching this, then I couldn’t keep the mask on anymore.”

Olivia’s body went cold.

He leaned closer to the camera. “I did it. I covered it up. And if anyone ever finds out, I will lose everything.”

The screen flickered. Olivia forced herself to keep watching, even though her chest felt like it was breaking.

“I wasn’t alone,” Ethan continued. “They were with me that night. We swore a blood oath. We buried it together. If the truth comes out, it won’t just destroy me, it will destroy her too.”

Olivia’s stomach dropped. Her?

Who was “her”?

The video ended abruptly, leaving Olivia shaking. She clicked another file.

This time Ethan’s face was even paler. His voice sounded broken.

“I thought it would get easier,” he whispered. “But the nightmares don’t stop. Every time I look at Olivia, I see what I’ve done. She doesn’t know. She must never know.”

Tears burned in Olivia’s eyes.

She slammed the laptop shut, her whole body trembling. What crime had he committed? What secret was so big that he filmed a confession in secret and hid it away? And what did he mean about “burying it together”?

She wiped her face quickly. There was no time to cry. She needed answers.

The next morning, Rachel came by. Olivia’s oldest friend, the one who had stayed by her side through the accident, through Ethan’s betrayal. Or so she thought.

Rachel looked uneasy as she sat on Olivia’s bed. “Liv, I need to tell you something,” she said softly.

Olivia crossed her arms. “What is it now?”

Rachel hesitated. Her eyes darted toward the door as if someone might be listening. Then she leaned closer.

“You need to be careful with Jessica. I knew her before. A long time ago.”

Olivia’s stomach twisted. “What do you mean you knew her?”

Rachel’s hands fidgeted in her lap. “Years ago, I dated someone. He was handsome, powerful, charming, everything Jessica wanted. And she took him. She destroyed me, Liv. Piece by piece. She knows how to play people. She knows how to make you doubt yourself. That’s what she’s doing to you now.”

Olivia swallowed hard. It explained so much, Jessica’s confidence, her cold smile, the way she walked into their house as if it already belonged to her.

“She won’t stop until she owns everything,” Rachel whispered. “Your house. Your husband. Even your mind.”

Olivia pressed her hand against her chest, trying to keep her heartbeat steady. “Then help me stop her,” she said.

Rachel bit her lip. “There’s more. You’re not going to like this.”

Olivia froze. “Say it.”

Rachel’s eyes filled with guilt. “I… I was in love with Ethan too.”

The words hit Olivia like a slap.

Her best friend. The woman she trusted most.

“You… what?” Olivia whispered.

“I never told you,” Rachel rushed out. “I never wanted to. But it’s true. I loved him. Maybe I still do. That’s why Jessica hates you so much, Liv. She knows. She knows there’s history around Ethan that you don’t see.”

Olivia staggered to her feet. “You worked against me? All this time?”

Rachel’s face crumpled. “Not against you. I tried to help you. But sometimes… sometimes I wanted him for myself.”

Olivia could barely breathe.

Her husband. Her friend. Her enemy. All of them tangled together.

And now this second USB, Ethan’s secret crime, hanging over her head like a curse.

That night Olivia sat awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her chest felt hollow, her body exhausted, but her mind raced. She couldn’t trust Ethan. She couldn’t trust Jessica. And now, she couldn’t even trust Rachel.

The storm outside grew louder. Lightning flashed against the windows.

She got up, pulled the laptop closer, and played the last file on the USB.

Ethan appeared again. His face was haunted.

“If the truth ever comes out,” he whispered, “I’ll lose Olivia forever. But maybe she deserves to know. Maybe she should know that I wasn’t the man she married. That the night her mother died… it wasn’t an accident.”

Olivia gasped so loudly she covered her mouth with her hands.

Her mother?

Her mother’s death?

She replayed the clip three times, her mind refusing to believe it.

Ethan knew something about her mother’s death. Maybe he was even involved.

She stumbled back from the laptop, tears blurring her vision. Her knees hit the floor.

Everything was falling apart.

And just as the truth began to make sense, Olivia heard a voice outside her window.

Soft. Whispering. Calling her name.

“Olivia…”

She froze.

Her mother’s voice.

Her dead mother’s voice.

Olivia rushed to the window and threw it open. Rain poured down in sheets, soaking the curtains. The garden below was empty. No one was there. And yet, she swore she heard it again, carried by the wind.

“Olivia… you must know the truth.”

Her hands clutched the windowsill, her knuckles white. The USB still glowed faintly in the laptop, holding Ethan’s secrets. But now, another layer had been added. Her mother. The blood oath. And Ethan’s hidden crime.

For the first time, Olivia wasn’t sure if she was chasing the truth, or if the truth was chasing her.