Just as I was about to put my phone away, it buzzed with a message from him: “Still at work. Talk to you later.”I sighed. I had been hoping to grab a coffee with him, but it seemed I would have to wait until next time. I parked the car, grabbed the shopping bag from the backseat, and got out. As I was walking through the rows of parked cars, a black SUV caught my eye.

It was unmistakably Dylan’s, recognizable by the scratch on the rear bump. I approached the vehicle curiously and peered inside through its tinted windows. It was empty. But why was Dylan’s car here if he was supposed to be at work?The thoughts of his whispered phone calls, recent late nights at work, and sudden behavioral changes flooded my mind. Without thinking, I went back to my car to wait for him, hoping to confront him when he came back. But I got distracted when an old, dilapidated sedan parked nearby.My jaw dropped when Dylan stepped out of it. He wasn’t wearing his usual work attire but was disguised in ragged clothes. I watched him look around cautiously before he opened the SUV trunk and changed into his work suit right there in the parking lot. He threw the old clothes into the battered sedan, locking it, and then drove away in his SUV.

Puzzled, I drove home, determined to act as if everything were normal. That evening, I prepared dinner and sat down to eat with him, as we always did.

“So, how was your day?” I asked, noticing he wasn’t eating the food with much enthusiasm.

“Oh, it was usual…meetings, paperwork, the regular stuff,” he replied. His voice sounded strained. Rehearsed.”I thought you’d have popped out for a bit?” I ventured.

“Nah, today was packed,” he responded, and my heart sank. Was he lying because he was cheating? I wanted to say more, but I had no evidence of any wrongdoing on his part. Somehow, I finished dinner, cleaned up, and went to bed, feeling uneasy.

The next morning, I woke up early, determined to station myself in the supermarket’s parking lot and wait for him to arrive.

“Where are you headed so early?” Dylan’s groggy voice caught me as I was leaving the bedroom, dressed casually.

“Oh, I’ve booked an early morning massage session, remember? This back pain’s been killing me,” I lied.

“Going without breakfast?””Yeah, I’ll grab something on the way. See you in a while. Sleep in,” I said, giving him a peck on the forehead before leaving the house. Once I arrived at the parking lot, I fixed my gaze on the entrance, and as I had suspected, Dylan showed up in his SUV and switched to the sedan.

As he drove away after changing into the old clothes, I followed him discreetly, making sure I wasn’t spotted. However, at one point, Dylan glanced into his rearview mirror, and our eyes almost met. My heart raced, and my palms went cold. I thought I was caught, but then a bus moved between us, breaking our line of sight.

I sighed in relief, blending into the traffic and using larger vehicles as cover whenever possible. Soon, we were leaving the outskirts of the city, heading onto a less-traveled road filled with cracks and potholes. My unease grew as we entered a forested area.

Dylan turned onto a dirt road leading into the woods. I pulled over a good distance from the turn-off, making sure my car was hidden by the thickets. Deciding to continue on foot, I began navigating through the forest, looking for any sign of my husband or his old car.I was careful to make as little noise as possible as I walked. After what felt like forever, the dense forest gave way to a clearing. There, I saw the old sedan parked near a weathered, old wooden house.

Hiding behind some bushes about 30 meters from the house, I could see the porch where Dylan was… talking to a man in ragged clothing.

I saw them laughing and interacting, and I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. “What’s going on here?” I yelled as I approached them.

“Catherine? Wha-what are you doing here?” Dylan asked, visibly shocked.

“Who is this beauty?” the other man, Harry, asked, looking at me.”I’m his wife!” I yelled. “Explain everything, Dylan! Why did you lie about the office meeting? And what’s with you switching your SUV in the supermarket’s parking lot and coming here in that rundown vehicle? And WHO IS THIS MAN??”

Dylan’s face went pale.

“Wife? You never mentioned her! You said you were a poor man who worked at the gas station!” Harry stared at Dylan, disbelief in his eyes. “You were lying all along?”

“Harry, please. I-I can explain!” Dylan stuttered.

Suddenly, Harry was overcome with rage. He grabbed a bottle from a nearby table and smashed it against Dylan’s head. Dylan’s eyes rolled back, and he crumbled to the ground, unconscious.I started yelling but soon Harry turned his anger toward me, and everything went black. I woke up, feeling a sharp pain in my head. “Catherine!” Dylan called, and I turned, only to see him bound to a chair.

I tried to sit up, but I was… also tied to a chair. Looking around, it was clear we were trapped in the basement. “Start talking, Dylan! What the heck is happening?” I demanded, my eyes welling up.

Dylan hung his head, knowing he couldn’t hide the truth any longer. “I should’ve told you everything, but I wanted to protect you from my past,” he said softly. “I-I had a son, Catherine, and it all started when I went to a doctor with him…”

My husband went into a long, detailed story, about his son, whom I never knew of. He was diagnosed with a rare condition 19 years ago and required surgery worth around $100,000. The mother of the child abandoned them.So, Dylan called his friend, Harry, who was involved in less-than-desirable circumstances. Harry planned to rob a bank, and Dylan became the getaway driver. But that day, he waited for Harry and his crew, only to see his friend get into the car alone and tell him to drive.

“You helped rob a bank?” I asked, but Dylan continued as if I hadn’t spoken.

Dylan said that Harry told him to drive away because the rest of their crew was gone, but soon, sirens blared behind them. Harry even got shot in the shoulder. They were about to be caught when Harry steered Dylan toward an alley.

Dylan managed to escape on foot with their loot, while his shady friend was arrested. When Dylan went to pay for his son’s surgery, they told him it was worth even more—$200,000. So, he had to use Harry’s share of the loot.”I spent Harry’s share and got the surgery done, but my son didn’t make it. His passing left me broken. But meeting you changed everything for me, Catherine. I felt like I could start a new life. I thought Harry would never find me, especially not after 20 years. So I never told you the truth,” Dylan finished.

“How did he find you?” I demanded, my heart racing with shock.

“I got a call from him. He said he was out of prison. I have no idea how he tracked my number. I pretended to be a poor man because I didn’t want to return his share. Whatever I’ve earned is through my hard work. So I came up with a plan to deceive him.”

“$100,000 is a drop in the ocean for you, Dylan! You could’ve just given it to him. How could you play with our lives like this? I hate you!” I sneered, anger boiling inside me.Just then, the basement door flung open. Harry appeared with a smirk. “I just had a little visit to your cozy home,” he snarled. “Quite the palace you’ve got there, though not many valuables. Makes me wonder where all the money went.”

Dylan seemed to realize it was time to make things right. He asked Harry to let me go. In return, he proposed to drive Harry to the bank and hand over the million dollars in his account.

Harry agreed but warned, “If you even think of playing any tricks or getting the police involved, I won’t hesitate to spill all about your dark past. Remember, I’ve got nothing to lose, and I’ve plenty of allies in jail. You mess with me, and you pay the price.”

I told him not to, but my husband was determined. What I didn’t know was that my husband had a plan. As soon as he and Harry walked into a bank, he yelled, “This is a robbery!”Security went into place immediately, as all the bank doors closed and guards surrounded them. “What are you doing? I’ll make sure the cops know every sordid detail of your past!” Harry hissed.

Dylan looked Harry in the eye. “I will tell them everything myself, but I’m glad Catherine will be alive!” he said as he was taken to the police car.

I’m fine, and Dylan was released soon…we hired a great lawyer.