Chapter 6: The Message She Was Afraid to Send
I read Rachel’s message three times.
Then a fourth.
*Claire, don’t trust Julian. He knows.*
Three sentences.
Six words.
But somehow they carried more fear than anything I had heard all day.
I looked back at the house.
Julian was still standing behind the window.
Watching.
Waiting.
The man who had just shown me “proof” that Rachel betrayed me was now watching to see whether I believed him.
My fingers moved quickly.
I replied:
*What does he know?*
The message showed as delivered.
No response.
I waited.
Ten seconds.
Thirty.
A minute.
Nothing.
I called.
Straight to voicemail.
My stomach tightened.
“Rachel, answer the phone.””
I whispered it like she could somehow hear me.
I called again.
Voicemail.
Again.
Nothing.
Then my phone buzzed.
Not Rachel.
Julian.
*Everything okay?*
I stared at the screen.
A strange feeling washed over me.
He was inside the house.
I was standing outside.
And somehow he knew enough to ask.
I typed slowly.
*Yes. Just getting some air.*
His response came instantly.
*Come back inside. We need to fix this.*
Fix this.
Those words.
People used them when something broke accidentally.
A broken glass.
A misunderstanding.
A mistake.
But Julian hadn’t accidentally hurt me.
He had planned it.
I slipped my phone into my pocket and walked around the side of the house.
I needed somewhere private.
Somewhere he couldn’t watch me through the windows.
The backyard was dark except for the small lights along the garden path.
The same lights Julian installed last summer because he said he wanted our home to feel “warm.””
I almost hated how many memories were attached to everything.
The bench where we drank wine.
The tree we planted together.
The small garden where I spent weekends growing flowers.
A perfect picture.
A perfect lie.
My phone buzzed again.
This time, Rachel.
A text.
*I can’t talk. He’s watching your phone.*
My heart stopped.
I looked at the house.
At the glowing windows.
How would Rachel know?
Then another message appeared.
*Don’t call me. Don’t text me anything important.*
A second later:
*Use another phone.*
I immediately turned off my screen.
My mind raced.
Julian was watching my phone.
How?
Then I remembered.
The email.
The account login.
The recovery information.
He had access.
Maybe not everything.
But enough.
Enough to know who I was contacting.
Enough to track my movements.
Enough to stay one step ahead.
I walked farther into the yard.
Then I opened my car door and sat inside.
I needed a device Julian didn’t know about.
Something separate.
Something he had never touched.
I remembered an old phone I kept in my desk drawer.
A backup phone from years ago.
I had forgotten about it.
I went back inside.
Julian looked up immediately.
“There you are.””
I smiled.
“Forgot something.””
“What?””
“Something for work.””
He watched me.
Not casually.
Carefully.
Like he was studying every movement.
I walked past him toward the office.
Our office.
The room where Julian spent hours building his company.
The room where I used to bring him coffee.
The room where I believed he was creating our future.
Now I opened the bottom drawer of my desk.
The old phone was still there.
I grabbed it.
Before leaving, I glanced at Julian.
He was looking at his laptop.
But I noticed something.
The screen was angled away from me.
The same way he had started positioning his phone months ago.
My suspicion grew.
I went back outside.
I turned on the old phone.
After several minutes, it connected.
I messaged Rachel.
*I’m using another phone. Tell me everything.*
The response came almost immediately.
*Thank God.*
I stared at those words.
Then:
*Claire, I tried to warn you earlier.*
*What happened?*
A pause.
Then:
*Julian called me this morning.*
My fingers froze.
*Why?*
*He asked if I had spoken to you about his business.*
I frowned.
*What business?*
Another pause.
*The documents.*
My stomach tightened.
*You knew?*
The typing bubble appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally:
*I knew something was wrong. I didn’t know what he was planning.*
I leaned against the car seat.
*Rachel, why is your signature on that document?*
The reply took longer.
Much longer.
*Because I did sign something.*
My heart sank.
I stared at the message.
*What?*
*Not that document.*
A second message.
*Julian asked me to sign a completely different paper six months ago.*
My breathing slowed.
*Why?*
*He said it was for you.*
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
He used both of us.
*What did he tell you?*
Rachel replied:
*He said you were overwhelmed and he wanted to protect your future.*
A cold feeling spread through me.
Because that sounded exactly like Julian.
He didn’t ask people to betray others.
He convinced them they were helping.
*What did you sign?*
The answer came.
*A statement confirming I knew about your business decisions.*
I looked up.
*What does that mean?*
*I don’t know.*
Then:
*But Claire, I think he used my signature to make it look like I approved documents I never saw.*
I gripped the phone.
Everything made sense.
The fake witness.
The altered paperwork.
The blame.
Julian wasn’t just stealing from me.
He was creating a story.
A story where everyone else looked guilty.
A story where he looked like the victim.
I typed:
*Why did you say he knows?*
Rachel answered:
*Because he came to my apartment yesterday.*
My heart stopped.
*Why?*
*He wanted to know if I had talked to you.*
*Did you?*
A long pause.
Then:
*No. Not until today.*
I frowned.
*Then why did he suspect you?*
The typing bubble appeared.
This time it stayed longer.
*Because I found something.*
I waited.
*Something about Julian.*
My hands tightened.
*What?*
The reply appeared.
*I found out he has another company.*
I stared at the message.
*Another company?*
*Yes. One that isn’t connected to the business you know about.*
My mind raced.
The holding company.
The transfer.
The documents.
*Where did you find it?*
Rachel replied:
*In his office.*
Then:
*The day you asked me to come over because you were worried about him.*
I remembered.
Two weeks earlier.
I had told Rachel I felt like Julian was distant.
She came over.
We drank coffee.
She helped me organize paperwork.
She had been in the office.
She had seen something.
*What did you find?*
A minute passed.
Then:
*A folder with your name on it.*
My heart pounded.
*What was inside?*
Rachel’s answer came slowly.
*Photos.*
I frowned.
*Photos of what?*
*You.*
I stared.
*What?*
*Photos of you leaving work. Photos of you meeting clients. Photos of you at the grocery store.*
The phone nearly slipped from my hand.
“Why?””
I whispered the word aloud.
Rachel answered:
*I don’t know.*
Then:
*But Claire, there was a note inside.*
My breathing stopped.
*What note?*
A pause.
Then the message arrived.
*It said: “Find her weakness.””*
I felt the air leave my lungs.
This was no longer about money.
This was no longer about an affair.
Julian had been studying me.
Tracking me.
Planning.
I looked toward the house again.
The lights were still on.
The man inside wasn’t waiting for a conversation.
He was waiting for me to make a mistake.
My phone buzzed.
A new message from Rachel.
*Claire, there’s something else you need to know.*
I typed:
*What?*
The reply appeared.
*The woman at the airport isn’t his first affair.*
I stared at the screen.
Another message followed.
*She’s the person who helped him create the company he’s hiding from you.*
My heart raced.
Then Rachel sent one final message.
*And Claire… she isn’t just his client.*
I waited.
May you like
The next message appeared.
*She’s your sister.*
