Chapter 2 - The Photograph With the Impossible Date)
Megan waited until Daniel was asleep before taking the photograph from his jacket.
She felt guilty.
Then she reminded herself that her husband had just lied to her about his dead sister.
Not a small lie.
Not the kind people told because a memory was painful.
A date was wrong by six months.
Either Daniel had confused the year of his sister's death, or someone had written the wrong date on the photograph.
Both were possible.
Neither explained the fear on his face.
Megan carried the photograph into the bathroom and shut the door.
The handwriting on the back looked old but clear.
Daniel, Anna, Lucas.
October 14.
She searched public records on her phone.
Anna Marie Bennett.
The results were sparse.
An old school honor roll.
A charity event.
A university rowing team.
Then an obituary.
Anna Bennett, age twenty-two, died following injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident.
The date was April 3.
Megan stared at the screen.
The photograph said October 14 of the same year.
Six months later.
She searched for Lucas Bennett.
Nothing.
She searched Anna Bennett child.
Nothing.
She searched the accident.
A local newspaper archive showed a brief article.
Young Woman Killed in Late Night Crash.
Anna Bennett's car had left a rural road and struck a tree.
Police believed speed and wet conditions contributed.
No passengers were mentioned.
No child.
No Lucas.
Megan's pulse accelerated.
She returned the photograph before Daniel woke.
At breakfast she acted normal.
Daniel kissed Sophie's forehead and left for the office.
Richard left ten minutes later.
Evelyn stayed behind.
She watched Megan feed Sophie oatmeal.
"You shouldn't dig into things that happened before you joined this family."
Megan's spoon paused.
"I'm sorry?"
Evelyn poured coffee.
"You were searching on your phone late last night."
"How would you know?"
"The router keeps connection records."
Megan looked at her.
Evelyn smiled faintly.
"This is an old house. Richard worries about security."
"So you monitor what I search?"
"We monitor our network."
Megan wiped Sophie's mouth.
"What happened to Lucas?"
The coffee cup stopped halfway to Evelyn's lips.
There it was again.
Fear.
Brief.
Sharp.
Then controlled.
"I don't know anyone named Lucas."
"Anna's son."
Evelyn lowered the cup.
"My daughter never had a son."
"I saw a photograph."
"You saw something you misunderstood."
"The boy was holding her hand."
"Anna volunteered with children."
"His name was written on the back."
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
"Megan."
"Yes?"
"You have a good husband. A healthy child. A comfortable place to live. Some women spend their entire lives praying for what you have."
The warning was quiet.
"Why are you changing the subject?"
"Because intelligent women know when curiosity becomes ingratitude."
Sophie dropped her spoon.
The metal clattered.
Evelyn flinched.
Megan picked it up.
"Don't speak to me like that."
Evelyn smiled.
"You'll learn."
She left the room.
Megan sat perfectly still.
Sophie reached out and touched her wrist.
"Mama."
Megan looked down.
"I'm okay."
She wasn't.
That afternoon she took Sophie to the park.
When they returned, the photograph was gone.
Megan searched the desk, Daniel's jacket, her suitcase.
Nothing.
She texted Daniel.
Did you take the photo?
No response.
Twenty minutes later Richard appeared in the doorway of the guest room.
"Looking for something?"
Megan straightened.
"A photograph."
"Of what?"
"You know what."
Richard's gaze did not change.
"This family experienced a tragedy years ago. My wife nearly collapsed from grief. Daniel spent months unable to work. If you care about your husband, leave it alone."
"Why is the date wrong?"
Richard stepped inside.
"Dates get written incorrectly."
"Who was Lucas?"
"I have no idea."
"That's the same answer Evelyn gave me."
"Perhaps because it's true."
Megan moved toward the door.
Richard blocked her for just a second too long.
Not enough to claim he had trapped her.
Enough to remind her that he could.
Then he stepped aside.
At dinner Daniel arrived late.
He barely spoke.
When Megan asked again about the photograph, he said he had not taken it.
Richard looked at his plate.
Evelyn smiled.
After dinner Megan followed Daniel upstairs.
"You lied to me."
He shut the bedroom door.
"I know."
"About what?"
"About Lucas."
"So he didn't die with Anna?"
Daniel sat on the edge of the bed.
"No."
Megan waited.
He rubbed both hands over his face.
"I was nineteen when Anna died. Lucas was three."
"Then where did he go?"
"My parents arranged everything."
"What does that mean?"
"They said Anna had named a guardian."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You never asked?"
"I did. For years."
"And?"
"They told me Lucas had been taken by his biological father."
"Who was his biological father?"
"Anna never told us."
Megan sat beside him.
"Daniel, the photograph was taken six months after Anna's obituary."
He looked at her.
"I know."
"You know?"
"I found that picture once before."
"When?"
"Seven years ago."
"What did your parents say?"
"That the date was wrong."
"And you believed them?"
"No."
He stood and walked toward the window.
"I hired a private investigator."
Megan stared.
"What did he find?"
Daniel's reflection in the glass looked pale.
"He disappeared."
"What?"
"The investigator stopped answering calls. Closed his office. His apartment was emptied."
Megan felt cold.
"Daniel, that's not normal."
"No."
"Why did you stop looking?"
Daniel turned around.
"Because two days later someone left an envelope on my windshield."
"What was inside?"
"A photograph of me leaving work."
Megan swallowed.
"And a message."
"What message?"
Daniel's eyes moved toward the wall.
Toward the room where Sophie slept.
"It said if I wanted my future children to be safe, I would let the dead stay dead."
A soft sound came from the hallway.
Both of them froze.
A tiny voice.
"Anna."
Megan opened the bedroom door.
Sophie was standing outside.
May you like
She had somehow climbed from her toddler bed.
And in her hand was a small brass key.
