“Wrong number.”
I stared at him.
“Wrong numbers don’t complain about being your secret.”
He promised we would talk later.
We didn’t.
Then I checked our emergency savings.
More than a thousand dollars was missing.
Daniel first denied taking it.
Then claimed it had gone toward household expenses.
Then vehicle repairs.
Finally, when I demanded the truth, he said:
“I can’t tell you.”
That was when I stopped believing his excuses.
My mother came over to help with the babies.
I told her everything.
She listened quietly.
“Don’t invent facts you don’t have,” she said. “But don’t let him convince you that you didn’t see what you saw.”
Two days later, Daniel announced he had an emergency work meeting.
He left wearing jeans.
His location disappeared immediately.
This time, I followed him.
He drove past his office.
Past the hospital.
Past the shopping district.
Finally, he stopped near a quiet memorial garden outside town.
That was where I saw Isla.
And heard her call my husband Dad.
