Chapter 3 - Rachel Pierce
I did not answer Rachel immediately.
I called Danielle.
She listened without interrupting.
“Do not threaten her,” she said.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Do not accuse her of anything.”
“I wasn’t planning to do that either.”
“And don’t meet her alone somewhere private.”
I looked at the message again.
“Do you think I should meet her?”
“I think information is valuable.”
Twenty minutes later, I sent Rachel one sentence.
Public place. Tomorrow. Noon.
She chose a coffee shop in River North.
I arrived ten minutes early.
Rachel was already there.
She looked older than she had in the wedding photo.
Not old.
Just tired.
Maybe thirty-four.
She wore a navy coat and held a paper cup between both hands.
When she saw me, she stood.
“Emma?”
I nodded.
For an uncomfortable second, neither of us knew what to say.
Then she gestured toward the chair.
“I’m sorry.”
I sat.
“For which part?”
Her face tightened.
“Most of it.”
That answer was better than pretending innocence.
“Were you involved with Liam before our wedding?”
“Yes.”
The directness stung.
“How long?”
“About a year.”
My breath caught.
“While we were engaged?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know about me?”
“Yes.”
I looked away toward the window.
Cars moved through the intersection.
People carried lunch bags.
A cyclist argued with a taxi driver.
The world had the nerve to remain completely ordinary.
Rachel continued.
“He told me your relationship was ending.”
“You attended our wedding.”
Her eyes lowered.
“I know.”
“You watched me marry him.”
“He told me you both had decided to go through with it because deposits had been paid and your grandmother was sick.”
I stared at her.
“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I know that now.”
“You believed it?”
“I wanted to.”
At least she didn’t insult me with excuses.
I asked, “Why contact me now?”
Rachel pushed her phone toward me.
An email was open.
Liam’s name was at the top.
The date was four days earlier.
Rachel, I need the money back. Emma doesn’t know about the account.
My pulse jumped.
“What money?”
Rachel swallowed.
“That’s where it gets worse.”
“How much?”
“Almost twenty thousand.”
I leaned back.
She continued quickly.
“It wasn’t all gifts. Some of it was money he asked me to hold.”
“For what?”
“He said he was preparing to leave you.”
I felt something icy settle in my chest.
“Recently?”
“No.”
“Then when?”
“Before your wedding.”
I stared.
Rachel opened a folder.
Printed emails.
Bank statements.
Screenshots.
A second life arranged neatly in twelve-point font.
Liam had been writing to her for years.
Promises.
Complaints.
Plans.
One email was dated six weeks before our wedding.
Once Emma and I are married, refinancing will be easier. I can move things around, then I’ll finally be free.
My hands began shaking.
Rachel noticed.
“Emma…”
“What does refinancing have to do with leaving me?”
“I don’t know.”
That was the first thing she said that I believed completely.
“Why did you keep this?”
“Because after he married you, he stopped answering me.”
She gave a bitter smile.
“Turns out I wasn’t the great love story either.”
“And the woman now?”
“I don’t know who she is.”
“So while he was seeing you, he married me.”
“Yes.”
“Then he ended things with you?”
“For about six months.”
“And started again?”
She nodded.
“Then stopped last year.”
I thought of the transfer dates.
“Money kept going to you.”
“Because he was using my account.”
“For what?”
Rachel slid another page across the table.
Transfers came in.
Then left within forty-eight hours.
Most went to an investment company.
Northstar Holdings LLC.
“Do you know what that is?”
Rachel shook her head.
“No.”
I photographed every page.
Then she said something I was not prepared for.
“There’s another reason I contacted you.”
I waited.
“Liam called me six nights ago.”
The night before I discovered the call.
“What did he want?”
“He asked whether you’d ever contacted me.”
“Why would he ask that?”
“I don’t know.”
“What exactly did he say?”
Rachel closed her eyes, remembering.
“He said, ‘If Emma ever reaches out, don’t answer. She’s emotional right now.’”
My stomach tightened.
“He knew I might find you.”
“Apparently.”
“Why?”
“I think he knew something was about to surface.”
My phone buzzed.
Liam.
I rejected the call.
Rachel looked uncomfortable.
“He’s calling me too.”
“When?”
“Since your anniversary dinner.”
I looked directly at her.
“Have you answered?”
“No.”
“Good.”
I gathered the papers.
Rachel touched the folder.
“You can keep them.”
“Why are you helping me?”
Her eyes met mine.
“Because once, I told myself hurting another woman was acceptable because Liam loved me.”
She paused.
“That lie cost me years.”
I stood.
“I’m not going to tell you everything is okay.”
“I wouldn’t believe you if you did.”
“But thank you for giving me this.”
She nodded.
As I turned to leave, she said, “Emma.”
I stopped.
“There’s one more thing.”
Of course there was.
Rachel looked pale.
“Northstar Holdings owns a condominium.”
“Where?”
“Lakeview.”
“So?”
She swallowed.
“Liam told me it was where we would live someday.”
I felt my heartbeat in my throat.
“Does he own it?”
“I think so.”
“We don’t own a condo.”
Rachel’s expression told me everything.
“You might not.”
May you like
“But Liam does.”
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