“You are going to leave this house right now as if nothing has changed. Go to the airport, take a taxi back home, and do not tell anyone—not Susan, not Heather—that I have uncovered the truth. When Kyle comes back, I am going to act as if I have no idea what has happened.”
My father looked at me with deep worry in his eyes.
“And what are you going to do when he gets here?”
I looked at my reflection in the mirror, my eyes red and my face pale, but my determination felt harder than steel.
“I am going to let Kyle believe he is still winning.”
When we came out of the room, Susan and Heather were still pretending to watch television, though I could see them staring at us with nervous, predatory curiosity. I walked my father to the front door, called a taxi for him, and wrapped him in a long, steadying hug.
“Just trust me, Dad,” I whispered, and he climbed into the cab without once looking back at the house that had betrayed him.
After the car disappeared from view, I returned inside, and my mother-in-law instantly turned toward me with poisonous interest.
“Has your father already left? The poor man looked like he was completely shaken up.”
I faced her with a calm I had not known I could summon.
“Yes, he left. Now, we just have to wait for Kyle to come home.”
As they smiled, completely unaware of the trap I was already building, I knew exactly how I was going to take apart their entire lives.
PART 2
Kyle finally picked up on the fifth ring, his voice coated in that false, sugary tenderness I had once been foolish enough to believe.
“Hey, love, how are you doing? Is everything okay over there at the office?”
“I am at home right now,” I replied, my voice calm and cold.
A sudden, cutting silence followed on the other end, then the sharp scream of tires, as though he had slammed his foot on the brakes.
“At home? What do you mean you are at home? Did you just get back?”
“I finished up the contract ahead of schedule, so I decided to fly back early to surprise you,” I said, forcing brightness into my tone.
“Oh… of course… what a wonderful surprise,” he stammered, obviously fighting to regain control of himself. “Is everything alright? Was the project a success?”
I smiled, though there was not a trace of happiness behind it.
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