Chapter 4: The Person Watching Me
My father didn’t say anything after reading the message.
That scared me more than if he had shouted.
He just stood there.
Completely still.
The kind of stillness people have when their mind is trying to process something impossible.
“Dad?””
He locked his phone.
“Go upstairs.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Emma.””
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“But this is about me.””
He looked at me.
I saw the conflict in his eyes.
The part of him that wanted to protect me.
The part of him that knew hiding the truth had already hurt me before.
Finally, he sat down.
“You’re right.””
I sat across from him.
“What did they mean?””
“I don’t know.””
“But someone took a picture of me.””
“Yes.””
“Someone was watching me.””
His silence confirmed it.
I hugged my arms around myself.
For years, I thought Claire simply didn’t like me.
I thought she was cold.
Selfish.
Maybe even cruel.
But this was different.
This was planned.
My father opened his laptop.
“We need to figure out who sent this.””
“Can we trace it?””
“I’ll try.””
The next hour felt endless.
The house was dark except for the kitchen light.
My father searched through old emails.
Old messages.
Anything connected to Claire.
Then he stopped.
“Wait.””
I leaned closer.
“What?””
He clicked on an old email.
The sender was someone named Michael Reed.
I recognized the name.
“Who is that?””
My father stared at the screen.
“Claire’s first husband.””
I frowned.
“She was married before you?””
“Yes.””
“What happened?””
My father looked uncomfortable.
“She told me he passed away.””
The room went silent.
“Did he?””
My father didn’t answer immediately.
“That’s what she told me.””
I felt a strange feeling in my stomach.
“What do you mean?””
He looked at the email again.
“The message is from three years ago.””
“What does it say?””
My father read silently.
Then he turned the screen toward me.
The email was short.
Daniel,
You don’t know me. My name is Michael Reed. I know you are married to Claire.
I need you to understand something.
She is not who you think she is.
My father scrolled down.
The next line was worse.
She has done this before.
My hands covered my mouth.
“Before?””
My father kept reading.
Michael claimed Claire had a pattern.
She entered relationships with wealthy men.
She slowly separated them from friends and family.
She convinced them certain people were “problems.””
Then she gained control over their finances.
My father stared at the screen.
“She told me Michael was unstable.””
“Was he?””
“I don’t know.””
A notification appeared.
Another email arrived.
Same sender.
Michael Reed.
My father opened it.
This time, there was an attachment.
A photograph.
Claire.
Standing beside another man.
A man I didn’t recognize.
Below the picture was a message.
“Daniel, if you are seeing this, it means she has started the final stage.””
My father’s breathing changed.
“What final stage?””
He continued reading.
“The stage where she makes sure nobody can challenge her.””
I felt a chill.
Then another sentence appeared.
“Check the account she asked Emma about.””
My father looked at me.
“The account.””
He immediately stood.
“What account?””
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.””
But then I remembered.
A conversation from years earlier.
A conversation I had almost forgotten.
Claire had been helping me clean my room.
She found a small box in my closet.
Inside was an old birthday card from my mother.
My biological mother.
The mother I lost when I was young.
Claire had looked at it for a long time.
Then she asked:
“Does your father keep anything else from her?””
I had thought it was a strange question.
Now it felt terrifying.
My father grabbed his keys.
“Where did your mother keep her important things?””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because I think Claire wasn’t trying to erase you.””
He opened the door.
“She was trying to find something your mother left behind.””
Outside, headlights appeared.
A car slowly stopped in front of our house.
My father froze.
Because the person who stepped out was someone neither of us expected.
May you like
Michael Reed.
The man Claire claimed was dead.
