Chapter 2: The Phone That Was Never Supposed to Exist
I didn't remember leaving the bridal suite.
One moment I was staring at Alicia's photograph, and the next I was standing in an empty conference room across the hall, holding Maya while Vanessa paced beside a long mahogany table.
Outside, wedding guests were beginning to notice something was wrong.
I could hear the faint murmur of voices through the walls. Somewhere downstairs, a string quartet was still playing the song Vanessa had chosen for our entrance.
It sounded absurdly cheerful.
I placed Maya in a chair and knelt in front of her.
"Baby, I need you to stay with Miss Caroline for a few minutes, okay?""
Caroline, Vanessa's youngest bridesmaid, stood near the door. She had tears in her eyes and a white handkerchief folded in her hands.
"Of course," she said.
"I'll stay right here.""
Maya caught my sleeve.
"You're not leaving me, are you?""
The question nearly broke me.
"Never. I'm just going to talk to Vanessa. You'll be able to see me through that glass.""
I pointed toward the narrow window in the conference-room door.
Maya studied my face, searching for a promise she could trust.
"Promise?""
I kissed her forehead.
"I promise.""
Only when Caroline sat beside her did I turn back to Vanessa.
"Start talking.""
Vanessa placed the black phone on the table.
"I didn't know Alicia was alive when I first met you.""
"That isn't an answer.""
"I'm telling you the truth.""
"Then tell me why you have a secret phone with messages from my missing wife.""
Vanessa dragged out a chair and sat down. Her wedding gown rustled against the leather seat.
"Three months ago, I received a message from an unknown number. It said Alicia was alive and wanted to speak to me.""
I stared at her.
"Why you?""
"Because she knew we were together.""
"How would she know that?""
Vanessa looked away.
"She'd been watching you.""
The room seemed to shrink around me.
"Watching me from where?""
"I don't know.""
"Did you meet her?""
Vanessa hesitated.
I slapped my palm against the table.
"Did you meet my wife?""
"Yes!""
The word burst out of her.
She immediately glanced toward the door, where Maya was visible through the glass.
Then she lowered her voice.
"Yes. I met her once, in a parking lot outside a shopping center. She wore a wig and sunglasses. She gave me that phone and told me to contact her only if I needed to.""
"What did she want?""
"She wanted to know if you were happy.""
I laughed once, bitterly.
"She disappeared for three years, and she wanted to know if I was happy?""
"She asked about Maya, too.""
My anger faltered.
"What did she say about our daughter?""
Vanessa rubbed her forehead.
"She asked whether Maya still had nightmares. Whether she remembered the night she disappeared.""
I went completely still.
Maya had been five when Alicia vanished.
For months afterward, she woke screaming in the middle of the night. She used to tell me she had heard someone arguing downstairs, then the sound of a door slamming.
The police called it a child's confused memory.
Our pediatrician said it could have been a reaction to the trauma of losing her mother.
Eventually, the nightmares became less frequent.
But every time a car slowed outside our house, Maya ran to the window.
I'd thought she was waiting for Alicia to come home.
Now I wondered whether she was afraid of someone coming back.
"What happened that night?"" I asked.
Vanessa shook her head.
"I don't know.""
"You just said Alicia asked about it.""
"She didn't explain everything.""
"Then what did she explain?""
Vanessa looked at the phone.
"She said you couldn't be trusted with the truth.""
I stared at her in disbelief.
"Me? I'm her husband.""
"She said she loved you. She also said that if you ever found out what happened, you'd go looking for the wrong person.""
"Who is the wrong person?""
"I don't know!""
Her voice cracked.
For the first time, I saw genuine fear behind her anger.
I wasn't ready to mistake it for innocence.
I pulled the phone toward me.
"Unlock it.""
"I can't.""
"Why?""
"Because the messages disappear after they're read.""
I looked at the screen again. The photograph was still visible, but when I touched the message, a small notification appeared.
*THIS MESSAGE WILL EXPIRE IN 00:42.*
A countdown.
Thirty-eight seconds.
Thirty-seven.
"Vanessa, what happens when it expires?""
"I don't know.""
"Stop lying!""
"I'm not lying!""
Thirty seconds.
I pressed the photograph, searching for a date or location. The image enlarged, revealing a paper cup on the diner table and a street sign behind Alicia's shoulder.
The sign was blurry.
I pinched the screen, trying to sharpen the image.
Then the phone vibrated.
A second message appeared.
*YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT. AFTER THAT, I'M LEAVING FOR GOOD.*
The first message vanished.
The photograph disappeared.
And a map opened on the screen.
A red pin marked a location nearly four hours from our city.
Beneath it were three words.
*ASHFORD MOTOR LODGE. ROOM 12.*
I grabbed the phone.
"Is this where she is?""
Vanessa shook her head.
"That could be anywhere. She changes locations.""
"How do you know?""
"Because she told me.""
"How many times have you spoken to her?""
Vanessa pressed her lips together.
I leaned over the table.
"How many?""
"Six.""
The number hit me harder than I expected.
Six conversations.
Six chances to tell me that the woman I had spent three years mourning was alive.
Six opportunities to give Maya back her mother.
"You knew," I whispered.
Vanessa started crying.
"I was trying to protect you.""
"From what?""
"From the truth!""
She pushed the chair back and stood up, knocking it against the wall.
"You think Alicia is the victim in all of this? You have no idea what happened that night. You have no idea what she did!""
"Then tell me!""
"I can't!""
"Can't or won't?""
She wiped her cheeks angrily.
"Daniel, you don't understand what she's capable of.""
I looked at the woman I had nearly married.
For two years, she had sat across from me at breakfast, asked about my daughter's school day, and listened while I talked about my missing wife.
All the while, she had been receiving secret messages from the woman we believed was gone.
"Did you tell the police?""
"No.""
"Did you tell me?""
"No.""
"Then don't stand there and pretend you were protecting us.""
Vanessa flinched.
I took the phone and walked toward the door.
She rushed after me.
"Daniel, wait!""
I turned.
"What?""
"If you go to that motel, don't go alone.""
"Why?""
She looked toward the window.
"Because Alicia isn't the only person who knows where you are.""
Before I could ask what she meant, my own phone began ringing.
The caller ID showed my brother's name.
Michael.
I answered immediately.
"Michael, I need you to come to the hotel. Something's happened.""
His voice sounded strange.
Too quiet.
"Daniel, where are you right now?""
"In the conference room. Why?""
"Are you with Vanessa?""
I looked at her.
"Yes.""
"Is Maya there?""
My stomach tightened.
"She's outside the door. What's going on?""
Michael exhaled shakily.
"Listen to me carefully. Don't let Vanessa leave with you. Don't let her near Maya. And whatever you do, don't go looking for Alicia.""
I stared at the phone.
"How do you know about Alicia?""
Silence.
Then Michael said something that made the room spin.
"Because I was the last person to see her alive.""
I gripped the edge of the table.
"What did you just say?""
"I need you to listen.""
"No. You need to explain why my missing wife just appeared in a photograph on Vanessa's secret phone!""
A chair scraped across the floor behind me.
Vanessa had gone pale.
Michael's breathing grew ragged.
"Daniel, if she's contacted Vanessa, then it's already started.""
"What has started?""
"The thing we promised would never come out.""
I heard a door slam on his end.
Then another voice spoke.
A woman's voice.
One I had not heard in three years, but would have recognized anywhere.
"Michael, give me the phone.""
My knees nearly buckled.
"Alicia?""
The line went dead.
I stared at the screen, unable to move.
Then the phone rang again.
This time, the number was blocked.
I answered without speaking.
A whisper came through the speaker.
"Daniel?""
My throat closed.
"Alicia?""
"Listen to me. You have to get Maya away from Vanessa.""
"Where are you? Are you safe? Why did you leave us?""
A sharp breath.
Then Alicia said, "I didn't leave you, Daniel. I came back for Maya three years ago.""
I looked through the glass at my daughter.
She was sitting beside Caroline, holding the torn blue fabric of her dress in both hands.
"What are you talking about?""
Alicia's voice broke.
"I came home that night, and I heard someone tell Maya that if she ever told you what she'd seen, you'd die just like her mother.""
I stopped breathing.
"Who said that?""
Before she could answer, I heard a man's voice in the background.
"Time to go.""
Alicia whispered, "Daniel, your brother has been lying to you.""
The call ended.
I stood frozen, the phone pressed against my ear.
Behind me, Vanessa began to sob.
May you like
And outside the conference room, Maya suddenly screamed.
"Daddy! Don't let Uncle Michael take me!""
