Chapter 8: The Truth Standing Outside the Door
The message on my phone burned into my mind.
"If you open that door, you'll finally learn what Megan has been hiding from you."
My first instinct was anger.
Not fear.
Not curiosity.
Anger.
Because whoever was behind these messages knew exactly what they were doing.
They wanted to pull me back into doubt.
They wanted me to question my wife again.
The same way my mother had done.
I turned toward Megan.
She was sitting on the couch, one hand resting protectively over her stomach.
Her face was pale.
"Jake..."
I walked back to her.
"Did you know someone was coming?"
She shook her head immediately.
"No."
"Did you tell anyone about what happened?"
"No."
Her answer was immediate.
I believed her.
And that realization meant more than I could explain.
Because for the first time in weeks, I didn't automatically search for a reason to doubt her.
I trusted my wife.
The knock came again.
This time louder.
Megan flinched.
I noticed.
"Whoever it is," I said quietly, "they're trying to scare us."
She nodded.
I looked through the peephole.
A man stood in the hallway.
Around sixty years old.
Gray hair.
Expensive jacket.
Calm expression.
But there was something about his eyes that made me uncomfortable.
He looked like someone who was always three steps ahead.
I opened the door slightly.
"Can I help you?"
The man smiled.
"Jake?"
"Yes."
"My name is Richard Hale."
My stomach tightened.
The name I had heard earlier.
The man my mother had been meeting.
I stepped outside and closed the door behind me.
"What do you want?"
Richard looked at me calmly.
"I think you know."
"I don't."
He sighed.
"Your mother is worried."
I almost laughed.
"Worried?"
"Yes."
"About what? Being exposed?"
His expression barely changed.
That bothered me.
People who were innocent usually reacted.
Richard didn't.
He simply watched.
"You have been told one side of the story."
I stared at him.
"Funny. That's exactly what everyone who lies says."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I am not here to fight."
"Then why are you here?"
He reached into his briefcase.
For a moment, my body tensed.
But he only pulled out a folder.
"I want you to see this."
I didn't take it.
"What is it?"
"Information about Megan."
My jaw tightened.
"I don't care."
Richard looked surprised.
"You don't even want to know?"
"No."
I stepped closer.
"I spent weeks believing lies about my wife. I almost destroyed the person I promised to protect."
His expression changed slightly.
"And you are certain she has told you everything?"
The question bothered me.
Not because I believed him.
Because he knew exactly where my weakness was.
Before I could answer, the apartment door opened.
"Jake?"
Megan stepped outside.
The moment Richard saw her, his expression changed.
Not shock.
Recognition.
Like he had been waiting to see her.
Megan immediately grabbed my arm.
"Why is he here?"
Richard looked at her.
"Hello, Megan."
She froze.
"You know him."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
Richard smiled faintly.
"We've met before."
I looked at my wife.
"Megan?"
She swallowed.
"I told you I saw him before."
"But you didn't tell me he knew you."
She looked down.
"I didn't know how to explain."
That sentence brought back the pain from before.
Another secret.
Another thing she hadn't told me.
But this time, I stopped myself.
I didn't accuse.
I waited.
"Tell me."
Megan looked at Richard.
Then at me.
"Three years ago, before I met you, I worked at a legal office."
My eyes widened.
"What?"
She nodded.
"Richard was one of the attorneys there."
Richard crossed his arms.
"And Megan discovered something she wasn't supposed to know."
My attention turned toward him.
"What?"
Megan's face changed.
Fear returned.
"The reason your mother wanted me gone..."
She took a breath.
"Wasn't just because she didn't like me."
The hallway became silent.
"She was afraid I would find out what she did years ago."
Richard looked at Megan.
"Careful."
The warning in his voice made my blood run cold.
I stepped between them.
"Don't threaten my wife."
For the first time, Richard lost his calm expression.
Just for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
Megan whispered:
"Jake..."
I looked at her.
"What?"
She held my hand.
"The secret your mother is protecting..."
A pause.
"It involves your family."
My heart sank.
"What family?"
Megan looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"Your father."
I froze.
Because my father had been gone for almost ten years.
And as far as I knew...
There were no secrets left.
But Megan looked terrified.
And Richard looked like a man who knew something I didn't.
Then Richard said the words that changed everything:
"Jake, your mother has been lying to you for a very long time."
He handed me the folder.
"This is the truth about your family."
I looked at the papers in his hand.
May you like
And I realized...
The story about Megan was only the beginning.
