I said, “Your… what?”
She finally looked me in the eyes.
“Your younger brother, Daniel.”
For a moment, I couldn’t understand the words.
Daniel had died in 2013.
A car accident.
At least, that was what I’d always been told.
I looked at my wife.
“You’re saying you were at the same hotel with Daniel?”
She nodded.
“But why?”
“Because he called me.”
“When?”
“The night before he died.”
My mouth went dry.
She pulled a folded piece of paper from her purse.
“I’ve carried this for fifteen years.”
I opened it.
It was a handwritten note.
Daniel’s handwriting.
Olive,
If anything happens to me, don’t tell him. Not yet.
He’ll blame himself.
I stared at the words.
“What does this mean?”
My wife sat back down.
“Daniel knew about your affair.”
My heart sank.
“How?”
“He saw her with you.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“He followed you to the hotel.”
She paused.
“And that’s where he met me.”
I stared at her.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“You knew I was cheating on you?”
“Yes.”
“For fifteen years?”
She nodded.
“And you never said anything?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because Daniel begged me not to.”
I felt sick.
“What was he trying to protect me from?”
She looked at the note.
“You.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It will.”
She took a deep breath.
“Daniel wasn’t the only person who knew about your affair.”
“Who else?”
“Your father.”
I froze.
My father had died two years after Daniel.
“What did Dad know?”
“Everything.”
I stared at her.
She continued.
“Daniel discovered that your mistress wasn’t just some random woman.”
“She was connected to your company.”
I remembered her.
Rachel.
She had worked for one of our biggest subcontractors.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
“She was stealing from the company,” my wife said.
I slowly sat down.
“What?”
“Daniel found financial records showing that she and one of your business partners were moving money through fake invoices.”
My stomach turned.
“How much?”
“Almost $900,000.”
I couldn’t speak.
My wife continued.
“Daniel confronted her.”
“And she threatened him?”
“She threatened both of you.”
I looked at the note again.
“That’s why Daniel didn’t tell me?”
“Yes.”
“He thought she’d destroy me.”
“She told him she would.”
I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, memories I’d buried came rushing back.
Daniel calling me late at night.
Daniel asking if I’d noticed anything strange at work.
Daniel telling me,
“Don’t trust everyone around you.”
