Chương 12
March 12.
Asked about postponement.
Cried.
Apologized first.
My skin crawled.
Beth leaned closer.
"Apologized first?"
I remembered the argument.
Daniel had suggested moving the wedding date because work was stressful.
I had accused him of not wanting to marry me.
He had gone silent.
After twenty minutes, I apologized for pressuring him.
He had hugged me.
The spreadsheet had a note.
Useful.
Beth read it aloud.
"What the hell does useful mean?"
Mark scrolled.
April 2.
Mention Claire casually.
She changes subject.
April 7.
Praise Claire's promotion.
A quieter than expected.
April 15.
Ask whether Claire is prettier.
Refused answer.
April 19.
Mention old photos.
Visible irritation.
I put my hand over the mouse.
"Stop."
Nobody moved.
My face felt hot.
"Stop scrolling."
Mark released the mouse.
Beth crouched beside me.
"Do you need air?"
"No."
"Water?"
"No."
"Something to throw?"
"Maybe."
She nodded toward the motivational print on the floor.
"I've already started."
I almost smiled.
Then I opened the draft folder.
There were twelve documents.
The first was dated six months earlier.
It contained sentences.
Not messages.
Sentences Daniel had apparently considered saying to me.
Claire always knew how to make a room notice her.
You never minded being the quiet one before.
It's strange how competitive you get around your sister.
You're imagining things.
Why would I compare you two?
The lines were not random.
I had heard versions of nearly all of them.
Some exactly.
My hands went cold.
Mark whispered, "Jesus."
The second document contained responses.
If she asks about Claire, laugh first.
If she cries, do not comfort immediately.
If she accuses, ask why she is insecure.
If she apologizes, soften.
Beth stepped backward.
"Nope."
Her voice shook.
"No, this is not affair drama."
I opened another document.
This one was newer.
Wedding.
Do not cancel early.
Need witnesses.
Need her emotional.
Claire present.
Make comparison direct.
Possible line: You were always the replacement.
Another line had been crossed out.
I settled for you because she chose Mark.
Below that was the sentence Daniel had eventually used.
You're nothing but a cheap substitute for your sister.
I stared at it until the words stopped looking like language.
Mark sat down hard in the chair beside me.
"He wrote it."
"Yes."
"He planned exactly what he said."
"Yes."
Beth touched my shoulder.
I flinched.
She withdrew immediately.
"Sorry."
"No."
I reached for her hand.
"Stay."
She did.
The next document was titled Outcome.
My pulse began hammering before I opened it.
The page contained a short list.
Public scene.
Video likely.
Family pressure.
She leaves venue unstable.
Claire blamed.
Anna reacts.
Possible leverage later.
Underneath, one line had been added two days earlier.
If she hits me, better.
Mark whispered a curse.
I read the sentence again.
If she hits me, better.
Daniel had wanted me to strike him.
Maybe that explained the pushing.
The insults.
The audience.
A public video of a hysterical bride attacking the groom.
My father had hit him instead.
Beth said, "We need to preserve this."
"Yes."
"Not copy it around."
"Yes."
"Lawyer."
"Probably."
"Police."
I looked at her.
She did not push.
Mark opened another folder.
"There's something else."
I almost told him to stop.
Instead I nodded.
Inside were PDFs of bank statements.
Most belonged to Daniel.
One belonged to me.
Not the joint account.
My personal checking account.
I stared at my own name.
"How did he get that?"
Mark shook his head.
I opened it.
The statement was four months old.
It showed my salary.
My savings transfer.
My rent contribution.
Every transaction.
There were three more statements after it.
All mine.
A folder beneath them held screenshots of my email.
Another contained photographs of my driver's license and passport.
Beth's hand tightened around mine.
"Anna."
"I see it."
The final folder was labeled Contingency.
Inside sat a single document.
I opened it.
The first paragraph looked like a draft email addressed to my employer.
It accused me of misusing client information.
The second accused me of drinking during work hours.
The third claimed I had threatened Daniel during arguments.
None of it was true.
The drafts included dates.
Names.
Enough ordinary details to make the lies look researched.
At the bottom, Daniel had written one sentence to himself.
Only use if she makes separation expensive.
I stopped breathing.
Mark pushed his chair away from the table.
Beth said my name.
I heard her but could not answer.
My phone buzzed.
The screen showed Daniel.
Not a call.
A message.
I know you're with Mark.
Another arrived.
You have no idea what you're looking at.
Then a third.
Come home alone and I'll explain everything.
I stared at those words.
For months, Daniel had been quietly building a version of me that could survive after he destroyed the real one.
I took a screenshot.
Then I turned off location sharing.
Mark reached over and turned the conference-room blinds closed even though nobody was standing outside.
"How does he know you're with me?"
I looked at my phone.
"Maybe he guessed."
Beth shook her head.
"He didn't guess that fast."
Mark stood.
"Did Claire tell him?"
"I told her not to."
"That doesn't mean she didn't."
I hated how quickly suspicion returned.
I opened Claire's messages.
Nothing new.
Then I called her.
She answered on the first ring.
"Anna?"
"Did you tell Daniel where I am?"
"No."
"Think before you answer."
"I am."
Her voice sharpened.
"I haven't spoken to him."
"Has he contacted you?"
"Seven times."
"Show me."
"Now."
She sent them while we stayed on the call.
Daniel had asked whether she knew where I was.
Then whether Mark had contacted her.
Then whether she had told Mark about the backup drive.
Claire had not responded.
I stared at the last message.
You better not be helping them misunderstand this.
"Claire."
"Yeah."
"When you backed up his laptop, did he know you had the drive?"
"I think so."
"Think?"
May you like
"He was there."
"Did you copy everything or just selected folders?"
