Chapter 2: The Number Hidden in the Handbag
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
“Call who, sweetheart?””
Maya shook her head violently and clung to me.
“Please, Daddy. Please don't let her call him.””
Vanessa's face had turned almost gray.
I looked at the handbag in her arms.
“Put it down.””
She tightened her grip.
“Daniel, you're making a terrible mistake.””
“Put the bag down, Vanessa.””
“You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.””
“Then help me understand.””
She glanced at Maya again.
It was a small movement, barely a second long, but I saw it. Vanessa wasn't looking at my daughter with irritation anymore.
She was measuring her.
Trying to determine how much she knew.
I had spent years believing that fear was something a person showed when danger approached.
That morning, I learned that sometimes fear was the expression someone wore when the danger was a child who could finally speak.
I carried Maya into the hallway and set her on a small upholstered chair near the window.
“Stay right here, baby. I can see you from the doorway.””
Her fingers caught my sleeve.
“Don't leave me with her.””
“I won't.””
“You promise?””
I crouched until we were eye to eye.
“I promise. Nobody is taking you away from me.””
She studied my face, searching for something that would convince her I meant it.
Then she released my sleeve.
I stepped back into the dressing room but left the door open.
Vanessa had placed her handbag on the vanity. Her hands were shaking as she tried to close the clasp.
“Start talking,” I said.
She laughed without humor.
“After you slapped me, you think you get to interrogate me?””
“I was wrong to hit you. I'll take responsibility for that. But it doesn't change what happened to Maya, and it doesn't explain why my missing wife called your phone.””
Vanessa's jaw tightened.
“You always do that.””
“Do what?””
“Make yourself the reasonable one. The good father. The grieving husband who never did anything wrong.””
I stared at her.
“Is that what this is about? You resent Alicia?””
“I never resented her.””
“Then why did you tell Maya not to tell me about the call?””
Vanessa looked away.
“Because Alicia is dangerous.””
The words landed between us.
I heard the soft hum of the air conditioner. Somewhere downstairs, a microphone squealed, followed by the distant sound of a man announcing that the ceremony would begin shortly.
My wedding planner was probably standing beside the altar, wondering where the groom had gone.
I couldn't have cared less.
“Tell me exactly what happened yesterday,” I said.
Vanessa rubbed her palms against the sides of her dress.
“I was at home. Maya was visiting because you asked me to spend the afternoon with her while you met the photographer.””
I remembered that arrangement. I had thought it was a good idea. I wanted the two of them to have time together before the wedding.
The realization made my stomach turn.
“Go on.””
“My phone rang. The number was blocked. I answered, and a woman said my name.””
“Was it Alicia?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“She sounded like her.””
“That's not what I asked.””
“Yes.””
The word was barely audible.
I gripped the edge of the vanity.
“What did she say?””
“She asked whether the wedding was still happening.””
“And you told her?””
“I told her it was none of her business.””
I stared at Vanessa.
“You knew it was my wife, and you didn't tell me?””
“She told me not to.””
“Why would you listen to her instead of me?””
“Because she said she would come back if I kept my mouth shut!””
My heart hammered against my ribs.
“Come back where?””
Vanessa pressed her lips together.
“Where, Vanessa?””
“I don't know.””
“Did she tell you she was alive?””
“She said she had been watching Maya.””
The room seemed to grow smaller.
“Watching her from where?””
“I don't know!””
Vanessa struck the vanity with her palm. A makeup brush rolled to the floor.
“She wouldn't give me an address. She wouldn't tell me where she was staying. She said she couldn't trust anyone who was close to you.””
“Did she threaten you?””
Vanessa gave a short, bitter laugh.
“She said if I married you, I would lose everything.””
I thought about the last three years. The empty side of my bed. Maya asking whether her mother had forgotten her. The birthday cards we had written to Alicia and placed in a drawer because there was nowhere to send them.
And all that time, my fiancée might have known that Alicia was alive.
“Did you speak to her more than once?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
I reached for the handbag.
She grabbed it first.
“Don't touch that!””
I froze.
Her reaction was so immediate that even she seemed startled by it.
“What are you hiding?””
“Nothing.””
“Then open it.””
“No.””
I held out my hand.
“Vanessa.””
She stared at me, breathing through her mouth.
Then she pulled a small black phone from an inner pocket.
It wasn't the expensive smartphone she used every day. It was an older model, scratched along the edges, with a cracked corner near the charging port.
I recognized the type.
A prepaid phone.
The kind people bought when they didn't want their calls tied to their regular accounts.
“Whose phone is that?”” I asked.
“Mine.””
“Why do you have two phones?””
“For work.””
“You never use that one.””
“You don't know everything about me, Daniel.””
“That much is becoming obvious.””
She flinched, then placed the phone on the vanity.
I picked it up.
The screen lit after I pressed the side button. There were no saved contacts, no photographs, and almost no applications.
But there was a message.
One unread message, received at 11:47 the previous night.
I opened it.
*If he cancels the wedding, follow the plan. Don't let the girl talk.*
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
My fingers went cold.
“Who sent this?””
Vanessa lunged for the phone.
I stepped away.
“Don't touch it!””
“Give it to me!””
“Who sent that message?””
“You don't understand!””
“Then explain it!””
She grabbed the edge of the vanity, knocking a perfume bottle onto its side.
“You were never supposed to see that!””
The words escaped before she could stop them.
I stared at her.
“Never supposed to see what? The message? The phone? Or whatever plan you and someone else made involving my daughter?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
For the first time that morning, she looked less like a furious bride and more like a cornered stranger.
“I was trying to protect us.””
“From whom?””
“From Alicia!””
I shook my head.
“Don't use my wife's name to excuse what you did to Maya.””
“She isn't the woman you remember!””
“Then tell me who she is.””
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
I looked at the message again.
The words were simple, but they carried a meaning I couldn't ignore.
Someone had anticipated that I might cancel the wedding.
Someone had planned for it.
And someone had specifically mentioned my daughter.
I walked to the doorway.
“Maya?””
She stood immediately.
I held out my hand, and she ran to me.
“Daddy, are we going home?””
“Yes, baby.””
“Is Vanessa coming?””
“No.””
She let out a breath that sounded almost painful.
I hugged her and kissed the top of her head.
Behind us, Vanessa began crying.
“Daniel, please. You have to listen to me.””
I turned.
“You had two years to tell me the truth.””
“I couldn't!””
“Why not?””
“Because he said he'd destroy me!””
“Who?””
She looked at the phone in my hand.
Then she whispered, “The man Alicia was hiding from.””
My mind raced.
“Was Alicia having an affair?””
Vanessa stared at me in disbelief.
“No.””
“Then who was this man?””
“I don't know his real name.””
“Yet you're taking orders from him?””
“I never wanted any of this!””
“Did you cut Maya's dress because of him?””
Vanessa's silence answered the question before she did.
“He told me the girl was becoming a problem,” she finally said.
I felt Maya go rigid against me.
“What did you just say?””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“He said she was remembering things she shouldn't remember.””
I looked down at my daughter.
Her eyes had fixed on the black phone.
A new notification appeared on the screen.
The message came from the same unknown number.
*You have five minutes to leave the hotel with the girl. After that, we come to get her ourselves.*
My blood ran cold.
I grabbed my phone and called hotel security.
“This is Daniel Mercer. I need security at the bridal suite immediately. Nobody enters or leaves this floor without being identified.””
The guard on the other end asked what was happening.
“Someone has threatened my daughter.””
Vanessa shook her head frantically.
“No, no, you can't involve the police. You don't know what he'll do!””
I ended the call.
“I'm involving everyone I need to protect my child.””
Then I dialed the police.
As I gave the dispatcher the hotel address, a sharp sound came from the corridor.
Three knocks.
Not on our door.
On the door across the hall.
A man's voice followed.
“Room service.””
Maya buried her face against my chest.
I looked toward the open doorway.
We hadn't ordered room service.
May you like
And then I heard the same voice speak again, this time more quietly.
“Mr. Mercer, I know you're in there.””
