Chapter 1 — The Secret Beneath the Sofa
The silence shattered when the stranger tried to crawl out.
"Don't move."
The father's voice was calm.
Too calm.
Years of military service had taught him that the most dangerous moments were often the quietest.
The man froze.
The little girl buried her face against her father's leg.
"I told Mommy he scared me..."
she whispered.
"But she said I imagined him."
The father's heart sank.
He remembered every conversation.
Every time his daughter cried before bedtime.
Every morning she insisted someone was in the house.
Every argument with his wife, Emily, who dismissed it as childhood imagination.
Now...
The truth was staring back at him from beneath his own sofa.
"Who are you?"
The stranger lowered his eyes.
Before he could answer, Emily stepped forward.
"Michael... let me explain."
He raised one hand.
"No."
"You've had months to explain."
"Now it's his turn."
The stranger looked between them.
Finally he spoke.
"My name is Daniel."
"I work for your wife."
Michael frowned.
"My wife owns an interior design company."
Daniel nodded.
"Not anymore."
"What?"
Emily closed her eyes.
The lie she had protected for years had finally collapsed.
"I sold the company eighteen months ago."
Michael stared at her.
"You told me business was expanding."
"I know."
"So where were you going every week?"
May you like
Emily couldn't answer.
Because the truth was even worse.
