Chapter 2: The Secret Emily Had Been Hiding
Later that evening, after doctors examined Emily and confirmed she was stable, I met her in a quiet hospital room.
She looked exhausted.
"I'm sorry I stayed silent for so long," she said.
"You were trying to protect yourself," I answered.
She slowly nodded.
"There's something you deserve to know."
She explained that this hadn't been the first time Victoria had acted differently when no one else was around.
Whenever I traveled for work, Victoria became controlling with the household staff.
Employees rarely stayed longer than a few weeks.
Each one left suddenly.
Emily had assumed they simply found better jobs.
Then one afternoon she accidentally overheard Victoria speaking with someone on the phone.
"If Daniel starts asking questions," Victoria had said, "I'll make sure nobody believes them."
Emily never forgot those words.
A week later she discovered several employee files missing from the home office.
Every former nanny, housekeeper, and driver had disappeared from our records.
She had wanted to tell me.
But she feared losing the income that paid for her son's medical treatment.
"I thought I could endure anything," Emily whispered.
May you like
"I was wrong."
For the first time, I wondered how much of my own marriage had been carefully staged.
