Chapter 3 - The File Nobody Was Supposed to Find
The two men left before sunrise.
Daniel refused to explain exactly how.
Rachel refused to forgive him for bringing them into her home.
By 6:30 a.m., she was sitting at the kitchen table with coffee she didn't drink.
Daniel stood across from her.
"The file they're looking for belongs to my father."
"Your father died three years ago."
"I know."
"What was in it?"
"I don't know."
Rachel stared at him.
"You're telling me your dead father left behind a mystery file, someone is searching our house for it, and you filed for divorce because of this?"
Daniel nodded.
"Partly."
"Partly?"
"There are financial records."
"What kind?"
"Records that could destroy several people."
Rachel thought of Vanessa.
"Does Vanessa know about it?"
Daniel didn't answer quickly enough.
Rachel stood.
"She does."
"I don't know."
"Daniel."
"I swear."
Rachel studied him.
Then she remembered Ethan.
At dinner, he had said something strange.
She reached for her phone.
She called him.
He answered immediately.
"Rachel?"
"I need to ask you something."
Ethan went silent.
"Are you alone?"
"Yes."
"Did you know Daniel was filing for divorce?"
A pause.
"Yes."
Rachel closed her eyes.
"When did you know?"
"Three months ago."
Her chest tightened.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I thought he was trying to protect you."
"From what?"
Ethan hesitated.
"Vanessa."
Rachel sat down.
"Tell me."
"I can't over the phone."
"Then where?"
"The old Mercer warehouse."
Rachel frowned.
"Why there?"
"Because nobody goes there anymore."
Daniel walked into the kitchen.
Rachel ended the call.
He looked at her.
"Who was that?"
"Ethan."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"What did he want?"
"To tell me the truth."
Daniel went pale.
Rachel stood.
"I'm going to the warehouse."
"No."
"You don't control me."
"I know."
"Then move."
Daniel stepped in front of the door.
"Rachel, please listen."
"No."
"If Ethan tells you what I think he's going to tell you, you won't be safe."
Rachel stared at him.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"Then come with me."
Daniel hesitated.
That hesitation told Rachel everything.
He was afraid of what Ethan knew.
They drove separately.
The warehouse stood on the edge of an industrial district, abandoned except for old storage buildings.
Ethan was waiting inside.
He looked exhausted.
Rachel approached.
"What happened?"
Ethan looked at Daniel.
Then back at Rachel.
"Your husband didn't file for divorce because he stopped loving you."
Rachel's eyes narrowed.
"Then why?"
Ethan pulled an envelope from his jacket.
"Because someone has been using your identity."
Rachel took it.
Inside were bank statements.
Her name appeared on every page.
Accounts she had never opened.
Transfers she had never authorized.
Payments to companies she had never heard of.
Rachel looked at Daniel.
"You knew."
"I suspected."
"You knew."
"I knew someone was using your identity."
"And you filed for divorce to separate me from the accounts?"
Daniel nodded.
"So they couldn't take anything else?"
"Yes."
Rachel looked at Ethan.
"Who is doing it?"
Ethan's expression changed.
"I don't know."
Rachel felt anger rising.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
Ethan reached into his pocket again.
This time, he pulled out a photograph.
It showed Vanessa standing beside a man Rachel didn't recognize.
On the back was a handwritten date.
Rachel looked at the man.
"Who is he?"
Ethan swallowed.
"That's the person who has been threatening my mother."
Rachel looked at Daniel.
"Your mother?"
Daniel stared at the photograph.
His face went completely blank.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
May you like
Daniel took the photograph.
"Because he's dead."
