Chapter 3 - The Woman at the Twenty-Four-Hour Diner|
Natalie's minivan smelled of peppermint gum, wet wool, and the cinnamon air freshener she had been using since the children were babies.
Paige sat in the passenger seat while Owen and Lucy slept in the back. They had driven to a twenty-four-hour diner near the river because Natalie's apartment was being renovated and her spare room was filled with boxes.
Natalie placed a mug of hot chocolate in front of Paige.
“Drink.”
Paige wrapped both hands around it.
“I can't stay with you indefinitely.”
“You can stay as long as you need.”
“You have contractors coming at seven.”
“Then they'll have to work around my sister and two traumatized children.”
Paige attempted a smile.
It didn't last.
Natalie sat opposite her.
“Tell me everything.”
Paige described Celeste's arrival, Marcus's expression, the suitcase, and the words that had ended eleven years of marriage in less than a minute.
When she finished, Natalie leaned back.
“I knew he was seeing someone.”
Paige looked up.
“What?”
“I suspected it. I didn't have proof.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
“I tried. Three weeks ago, I asked whether everything was all right. You said Marcus was working too much.”
“Because I believed him.”
Natalie's face softened.
“I know.”
Paige stared into the hot chocolate.
Six weeks earlier, Marcus had sat across from her in a restaurant and promised the affair was over. He had held her hand and said he was frightened by how close he'd come to losing his family.
She had believed him because she remembered the man he had been before success became an obsession.
He had built his consulting firm from a rented office with two employees. Paige had handled invoices, hired the first accountant, and worked unpaid weekends while their savings dwindled.
When the company finally succeeded, Marcus insisted she stop working.
“You've earned a rest,” he told her.
She had wanted to believe him.
Now she wondered whether he had wanted her at home because it made her easier to deceive.
“There's something else,” she said.
Natalie waited.
“Six months ago, I found a set of bank statements in Marcus's study. Transfers to a company called Northbridge Advisory. I asked him about them, and he said it was a tax consultant.”
“Did you look into it?”
“No. I thought he was telling the truth.”
Paige pulled her phone from her bag.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
You don't know what Marcus has done. Don't go to the police yet.
A second message followed.
Ask him about Project Lantern.
Paige read the words twice.
Natalie leaned forward.
“Who sent that?”
“I don't know.”
“Don't respond.”
Paige took a screenshot and saved it.
The name Project Lantern meant nothing to her, but the mention of Marcus's business unsettled her more than the affair had.
She had spent eleven years helping him build that company. She knew its original investors, its first contracts, and the small sacrifices that had made its success possible.
She also knew Marcus had changed.
He had started accepting meetings without sharing their purpose. He had begun traveling with private security. He had instructed the household manager to keep a separate log of visitors.
At the time, Paige assumed it was the ordinary paranoia of a wealthy executive.
Now the details formed a picture she didn't like.
Her phone rang.
Marcus.
Natalie shook her head.
“Let it go to voicemail.”
Paige hesitated, then answered.
“What?”
“Where are you?”
“Why?”
“I need to speak to you.”
“You had eleven years to speak to me.”
“This isn't about Celeste.”
Paige laughed bitterly.
“Of course it isn't.”
“Someone called me about a financial file. They mentioned your accounts.”
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
“What financial file?”
“I don't know. That's why I'm calling.”
“Then ask your company.”
“I did. Nobody knows what I'm talking about.”
For the first time, his voice carried genuine fear.
Paige glanced at Natalie.
“Marcus, I found the Northbridge statements six months ago.”
Silence.
“Why didn't you tell me?” he asked.
“I did. You said it was a tax consultant.”
Another silence.
Then he said something that made her sit upright.
“Paige, listen to me carefully. Do not sign anything anyone sends you. Don't agree to meet anyone alone. And if someone mentions Project Lantern, call me immediately.”
She stared at the phone.
“You know what Project Lantern is.”
“No.”
“Then why are you afraid of it?”
He didn't answer.
The line disconnected.
Paige lowered the phone slowly.
Natalie was watching her.
“What did he say?”
Paige looked through the diner window at the dark river beyond the parking lot.
“He told me not to trust anyone.”
“Including him?”
May you like
Paige looked down at the screen.
For the first time, she wasn't sure whether her husband was trying to protect her—or prevent her from discovering the truth.
