PART 4
There it was again.
That urgency.
That strange need for me to leave.
I placed two pancakes on Chloe’s plate.
“Maybe you’re right.”
Sarah relaxed.
“I just don’t want you getting in trouble at work.”
I nodded.
“Of course.”
Then Leo entered the kitchen.
He looked at me, then at his mother.
“Is Dad going away again?”
Sarah answered before I could.
“Yes, sweetheart. Dad has work.”
Leo lowered his eyes.
I watched his little face.
Then I said something that made Sarah stop pouring coffee.
“Actually, buddy, I might be home for a while.”
Leo looked up.
“Really?”
“Maybe.”
He smiled.
A genuine smile.
Then he quickly looked toward Sarah.
She noticed.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“Nothing.”
“Finish your breakfast.”
He did.
But I saw something in his eyes.
Relief.
My son was relieved that I might stay home.
And suddenly, I realized how much damage this secret had already done to him.
At 9:30, after the children had gone to school, I made a call.
I called my older sister, Rebecca.
She was a family attorney in Massachusetts.
We hadn’t discussed anything serious in months, but she knew Sarah well.
When she answered, I tried to sound normal.
“Hey, Rebecca. Are you busy?”
“Not particularly. What’s going on?”
“I need to talk to you.”
There was a pause.
“Is everything okay?”
“No.”
Her voice changed immediately.
“Arthur, what happened?”
I sat in my car outside a coffee shop.
Then I told her.
Everything.
Leo’s comment.
The toothbrush.
The deodorant.
The camera footage.
The man named Daniel Mercer.
I expected her to interrupt me.
She didn’t.
She listened quietly until I finished.
Then she said something I hadn’t expected.
“Arthur, do not confront her yet.”
“Why?”
“Because you need to think clearly. You have two children. You have a home, finances, and a marriage that may be ending. Whatever happens next, you need to make decisions that protect them.”
“I understand.”
“Have you accessed any of her private accounts?”
“No.”
“Good. Don’t. Preserve anything you already have legitimate access to. Don’t secretly record private conversations without understanding the legal rules. And don’t involve the children in investigating.”
I rubbed my forehead.
“I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Start with the truth. Find out who this man is. And don’t make any threats.”
I hesitated.
“His name is Daniel Mercer.”
Rebecca went silent.
“Daniel Mercer?”
I sat up.
“You know him?”
“Not personally.”
“But?”
She exhaled.
“Arthur, I think I know exactly who he is.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“Is he around fifty? Gray hair? Tall?”
“Yes.”
“Does he own a company called Mercer Property Group?”
I quickly opened my phone and searched the name.
A website appeared.
There he was.
The same man from the driveway.
Daniel Mercer.
Founder and managing partner.
I stared at the screen.
“That’s him.”
Rebecca paused.
“Arthur, listen carefully. I don’t know if this is the same Daniel Mercer, but there was a case involving his company and a real estate development project a few years ago. He has a wife named Vanessa.”
I remembered the woman at his house.
“He’s married?”
“According to the public information I know, yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“So he’s cheating too.”
“I don’t know that. But you need to understand that you may not be dealing with just a personal affair. There could be financial connections you don’t know about.”
“What financial connections?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“Does Sarah have any involvement with property investments?”
I thought about it.
“Not that I know of.”
“Any joint business accounts?”
“No.”
“Has she asked you to sign anything recently?”
I remembered something.
Three months earlier, Sarah had brought home a stack of paperwork.
She said it was related to a property investment her friend was considering.
She had asked me to sign one document because she needed proof of our household income.
I had signed it without reading every page.
At the time, it hadn’t seemed important.
Now, I felt a chill.
“Rebecca?”
“Yes?”
“Sarah asked me to sign something a few months ago.”
“What was it?”
“I don’t remember exactly.”
“Find a copy. Don’t alter anything. Bring it to me.”
I promised I would.
Before hanging up, Rebecca said one more thing…
