Chapter 4: The Woman in Red

Patricia barely slept.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the photograph.

Alex.

Smiling.

Holding another woman.

The image had burned itself into her memory.

By dawn, the rain had stopped, leaving Nakuru wrapped in a blanket of mist. The cool morning air drifted through the cracked kitchen window as Patricia prepared porridge for Glen and Faith.

For the first time in years, she didn't wake Alex.

Didn't prepare his tea.

Didn't ask whether he wanted breakfast.

Let him fend for himself.

The thought startled her.

The old Patricia would never have imagined such a thing.

But something inside her was changing.

Not hardening.

Awakening.

Alex eventually emerged from their bedroom.

His eyes were bloodshot.

His face tired.

He stopped when he noticed Patricia setting breakfast on the table.

"Morning."

Patricia nodded.

"Morning."

Nothing more.

No smile.

No concern.

No attempt to please him.

Alex frowned.

The children sensed the tension immediately.

Faith quietly focused on her cup while Glen avoided looking at either parent.

After several uncomfortable minutes, Alex stood.

"I'll be out most of the day."

Patricia finally looked at him.

"Job hunting?"

The question sounded innocent.

But Alex shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes."

Patricia nodded.

"Good."

The answer seemed to unsettle him even more.

Without another word, he grabbed his keys and left.

Patricia waited exactly five minutes.

Then she picked up her phone.

"Alison."

Her sister answered immediately.

"Don't tell me you've forgiven him already."

Patricia almost smiled.

"No."

"Good."

"I need a favor."

Silence followed.

Then Alison's voice sharpened.

"What kind of favor?"

Patricia glanced through the window.

Alex's vehicle was disappearing down the road.

"I need to know where my husband spends his days."

An hour later, Patricia sat inside Alison's silver Subaru parked near Nakuru CBD.

The city was fully awake.

Matatus blasted music.

Street vendors arranged their goods.

Motorcycles weaved recklessly through traffic.

Life continued normally.

Except Patricia's life was no longer normal.

Alison adjusted her sunglasses.

"You realize this is crazy."

"Maybe."

"Following your husband?"

Patricia stared through the windshield.

"I need answers."

"You already have answers."

"No."

Alison sighed.

"You saw the messages."

"I need the whole truth."

That was something lawyers understood.

Evidence.

Facts.

Proof.

Not assumptions.

Alison started the engine.

"Then let's find your truth."

At exactly ten fifteen, Alex's car appeared.

Patricia's pulse quickened.

"That's him."

"I can see that."

They maintained a safe distance as Alex drove through town.

Patricia expected him to stop at the company offices.

Employment agencies.

Business premises.

Anywhere a man looking for work might go.

Instead, he headed toward Milimani.

One of Nakuru's most affluent neighborhoods.

Patricia frowned.

"What business does he have there?"

Alison's grip tightened on the steering wheel.

"I think we're about to find out."

Alex eventually parked outside a stylish café.

One Patricia recognized instantly.

A place where successful businesspeople held meetings.

Not somewhere unemployed men spent their mornings.

Patricia's stomach tightened.

They watched from across the street.

Five minutes passed.

Ten.

Then Patricia saw her.

The woman from the photograph.

The woman in red.

Even from a distance, she was stunning.

Tall.

Graceful.

Confident.

She moved with the effortless elegance of someone accustomed to attention.

Her long black hair flowed behind her as she crossed the pavement.

Alex immediately stood.

Smiling.

Actually smiling.

Patricia couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled like that at her.

The woman reached him.

And hugged him.

Not as a friend.

Not as a colleague.

As a lover.

Patricia felt her heart crack.

Not break.

Crack.

The difference mattered.

Broken things ended.

Cracked things survived.

Alison cursed under her breath.

"That bastard."

Patricia said nothing.

Her eyes remained fixed on the couple.

The woman touched Alex's face.

Alex laughed.

Then he leaned closer.

Far too close.

Patricia looked away before she could witness the kiss she knew was coming.

For several moments, neither sister spoke.

Traffic moved around them.

People hurried along the sidewalks.

The world carried on.

Unaware that an entire marriage was collapsing inside a parked Subaru.

Finally, Alison broke the silence.

"Say the word."

Patricia blinked.

"What?"

"I'll march over there and drag him across that parking lot."

Despite everything, Patricia laughed softly.

A sad laugh.

"Tempting."

"I mean it."

"I know."

Alison turned toward her.

"What are you going to do?"

Patricia looked back at the café.

The woman was now seated across from Alex.

Talking animatedly.

Comfortably.

Like she belonged there.

Like she belonged with him.

Something caught Patricia's attention.

The woman handed Alex a brown envelope.

His eyes immediately widened.

He opened it.

Examined the contents.

Then nodded enthusiastically.

The expression on his face wasn't romantic.

It was greedy.

Very greedy.

Patricia felt a chill crawl down her spine.

This wasn't just an affair.

There was something else.

Something bigger.

"What is it?" Alison asked.

Patricia couldn't explain it.

A feeling.

An instinct.

The same instinct that had warned her something was wrong long before the messages.

"That woman isn't just his girlfriend."

Alison followed her gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"I think she's helping him with something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know."

Yet.

But she intended to find out.

The woman stood shortly afterward.

Alex rose with her.

Then something happened that neither Patricia nor Alison expected.

A black Range Rover pulled into the parking lot.

Expensive.

Tinted.

Powerful.

The kind driven by wealthy people.

The woman immediately walked toward it.

A man stepped out.

Tall.

Broad-shouldered.

Impeccably dressed.

Even from a distance, his presence commanded attention.

The woman smiled at him.

Then kissed him.

Not Alex.

The new man.

Patricia's eyes widened.

So did Alison's.

"What the hell?"

The words escaped before Alison could stop them.

Alex looked equally surprised.

No.

Not surprised.

Angry.

Very angry.

The woman spoke briefly to the wealthy stranger before entering the Range Rover.

The vehicle drove away.

Leaving Alex standing alone.

Furious.

Confused.

Humiliated.

Patricia's heartbeat accelerated.

Suddenly, this affair didn't look as simple as she thought.

Who was the wealthy man?

Why had the woman kissed him?

And why did Alex look like someone who had just been betrayed?

Then Alex did something even stranger.

He pulled out his phone.

Made a call.

And began shouting.

Even from across the road, Patricia could see the rage consuming him.

A moment later, he stormed toward his vehicle and sped away.

Alison turned toward her sister.

"Now what?"

Patricia stared at the road where the Range Rover had disappeared.

For the first time, she felt that she was standing at the edge of a much larger secret.

One that had nothing to do with love.

And everything to do with money.

"We follow the woman next."

Far away, inside the departing Range Rover, Fiona Lawama smiled as she opened the brown envelope.

Inside was a document bearing a single name.

Alex Midila.

And beneath it, the words:

PRIMARY BENEFICIARY.

Fiona's smile widened.

Everything was going exactly according to plan.