Chương 3
Emily looked at the stain.
It seemed ridiculous that she noticed it.
Daniel crouched in front of her.
“They called the sheriff’s office.”
Emily nodded.
“Security pulled the lobby footage.”
Her eyes lifted.
“There’s footage?”
He nodded again.
“Two cameras.”
Something changed in her breathing.
She had not realized until then that a part of her had already begun fearing the story would become arguable.
Vanessa hadn’t meant it.
The wheels rolled more easily than expected.
Emily was emotional.
Daniel had misunderstood.
No one could really know.
There were cameras.
Daniel looked at Noah.
“I want to leave.”
“We have to give statements.”
“I mean the lodge. After.”
“We drove four hours to get here.”
“I don’t care.”
“It’s snowing harder.”
“I don’t care.”
Emily almost told him that roads cared whether he did.
She stopped herself.
The old version of their marriage was hiding in that instinct—the part where she managed practicality while he experienced emotion as though it gave him temporary immunity from logistics.
“We’re not putting Noah in a car if the pass is closing,” she said.
Daniel sat back on his heels.
“Okay.”
He did not argue.
That unsettled her more than if he had.
Noah reached for the zipper of Daniel’s coat.
Daniel let him pull it.
After a few seconds, he said, “I’m sorry.”
Emily looked toward the filing cabinet.
“For what?”
He stared at her.
She hated the question as soon as she asked it.
Because there were too many answers.
“I brought her into our lives.”
“She was already in your life.”
“I kept her there.”
Emily’s throat tightened.
Outside the office, a radio crackled.
Someone passed the door.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“I should have cut her off months ago.”
“Yes.”
“I told myself I was handling it.”
“You weren’t.”
“No.”
“She thought she had a chance.”
His jaw moved.
“I never told her that.”
“You didn’t have to tell her.”
He looked at Emily sharply, but she kept her eyes on Noah.
“You answered her messages.”
“About work.”
“At midnight.”
“Sometimes.”
“You let her complain about me.”
Daniel’s face changed.
Emily saw that answer before he gave it.
“I shouldn’t have.”
“You told her about us.”
“I told her we were having a hard time.”
“You told her I didn’t want you touching me.”
His head lifted.
Emily finally looked at him.
She had never said the sentence out loud before.
“I saw that message.”
Daniel’s face drained.
Noah tugged at his zipper again.
Daniel did not react.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“Emily—”
“You wrote, ‘She barely lets me touch her anymore.’”
Daniel looked down.
“I was frustrated.”
“I had stitches.”
“I know.”
“I was six weeks postpartum.”
“I know.”
“No, you know now because I’m saying it like this.”
He closed his eyes.
Emily had expected anger to come when she finally confronted him.
Instead she felt tired.
“I was bleeding,” she said. “My breasts hurt so much I cried when the shower hit them. Noah woke up every ninety minutes. And you told Vanessa I didn’t let you touch me.”
Daniel pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“She liked hearing it.”
“I know.”
“You liked being understood.”
He did not answer.
That was answer enough.
Noah made a soft complaining noise and twisted in Emily’s arms.
She stood and bounced him.
The movement was automatic.
Daniel remained on the floor.
“I never slept with her.”
Emily nodded.
“I believe you.”
He looked up, surprised.
“That isn’t the same as saying you did nothing.”
A knock came at the door.
The security officer opened it a few inches.
“Sheriff’s deputies are here.”
Daniel stood.
Emily adjusted Noah’s blanket.
The officer added, “They’d like to speak with you separately.”
Daniel looked at Emily.
She said, “Fine.”
For once, separate sounded useful.
The deputies did not handcuff Vanessa in the lobby.
Emily learned that later because Daniel told her.
At the time, she was in a conference room answering questions from a deputy named Marisol Vega, who spoke gently but did not soften anything.
“Start with what you saw.”
“I didn’t see the first part.”
Emily hated admitting that.
“I was looking in a suitcase.”
“What did you hear?”
“A brake releasing. Then Vanessa said something.”
“What exactly?”
Emily repeated it.
The words sounded absurd in the quiet room.
Maybe one little accident will finally make him choose me.
Deputy Vega did not react.
“And then?”
“I turned. The stroller was moving.”
“Did you see Ms. Reed’s hands on it?”
“No.”
“Did you see Mr. Mercer stop it?”
“Yes.”
“How close was it to the fireplace?”
Emily held her hands apart.
Then stopped.
“I don’t know. Maybe eight inches? Ten? I’m guessing.”
“That’s okay. Don’t guess if you’re not sure.”
Emily nodded.
The deputy asked about the relationship between Daniel and Vanessa.
Emily rubbed her thumb over a loose thread on Noah’s blanket.
“They work together.”
“In what capacity?”
“Daniel’s company manages hospitality renovation projects. Vanessa is an interior designer. They’ve worked on several properties together.”
“Were they romantically involved?”
Emily paused.
“Not while Daniel and I were together.”
The deputy waited.
Emily understood the question beneath the question.
“They dated for about four months before I met him. Years ago.”
“Have there been recent issues?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
Emily shifted Noah to her other hip.
“She texts him too much.”
The sentence sounded childish.
She tried again.
“She started contacting him outside work about personal things. She told him she still had feelings for him. She made comments about our marriage.”
“What kind of comments?”
“That he seemed unhappy. That I didn’t appreciate him. That becoming a father had made him… smaller.”
Deputy Vega’s eyebrows moved slightly.
“Smaller?”
“That was her word.”
“Did your husband encourage the contact?”
Emily stared at the table.
“I don’t know how to answer that.”
“Take your time.”
“He didn’t tell her he wanted to be with her.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Emily looked up.
May you like
“No.”
The deputy waited again.
