Chapter 2 - The Woman He Pretended Didn't ExistThe engagement dinner ended twenty minutes later.
Naomi left without saying goodbye.
Austin followed her.
My mother stayed behind.
She stood beside the table, staring at me as though I had committed a crime.
“You couldn't leave well enough alone?”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“He's legally married.”
“You don't know that.”
“I saw the certificate.”
“You saw a piece of paper.”
“A legal document.”
She lowered her voice.
“Family matters should stay inside the family.”
“That's exactly how people get away with things.”
Her eyes hardened.
“You have always been jealous of Austin.”
I almost laughed.
“Jealous of what?”
“His confidence. His success. His ability to make people love him.”
“He lied to his fiancée.”
“He made a mistake.”
“A five-year marriage isn't a mistake.”
She grabbed her purse.
“You've always enjoyed making him look bad.”
“No, Mom. He does that himself.”
She walked away.
The next morning, I started searching.
I found Kathleen Hilliard in Oceanside.
She lived in a modest apartment near the coast.
I almost turned around twice before knocking.
A woman in her mid-thirties opened the door.
She looked tired.
When I said Austin's name, she went completely still.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Monica. I'm his sister.”
Kathleen stared at me.
Then she whispered:
“I've been wondering when someone from his family would finally come looking for me.”
I stepped inside.
Her apartment contained almost nothing.
A small sofa.
A dining table.
Several boxes.
And a framed wedding photograph turned face down on a shelf.
“Were you married to Austin?”
Kathleen nodded.
“For five years.”
“Why did you separate?”
“We didn't.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“He left one morning and never came back.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Did he file for divorce?”
“No.”
“Did you?”
“I couldn't find him.”
I stared at her.
She gave a bitter smile.
“He changed his phone number. Changed jobs. Moved. Every time I found an address, he was gone.”
“Why didn't you contact his family?”
“I did.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
“Knew.”
The room seemed to shrink.
“Knew what?”
“That we were married.”
Kathleen walked to a cabinet and pulled out a folder.
Inside were letters.
Emails.
Copies of legal documents.
And photographs.
My brother standing beside Kathleen.
My brother wearing a wedding ring.
My mother standing behind them at their wedding.
I felt sick.
“She attended your wedding?”
Kathleen nodded.
“She helped pay for it.”
I sat down.
For years, I had thought my mother was protecting Austin from consequences.
I had never imagined she was protecting him from the truth.
“What happened?” I asked.
Kathleen's eyes filled with tears.
“Austin told me he wanted to start a business. He said he needed money. I had an inheritance from my grandmother.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred and eighty thousand dollars.”
I stared at her.
“And you gave it to him?”
“I was his wife.”
Her voice broke.
“He promised we'd build a life together.”
“What happened to the money?”
“Gone.”
I felt a cold anger rising in my chest.
“Do you have proof?”
She nodded.
“Bank transfers. Emails. Everything.”
Then she looked directly at me.
“Why are you here?”
I hesitated.
“He's getting married.”
Kathleen's face went white.
“To whom?”
I told her.
She closed her eyes.
“Then he found another woman to rescue him.”
“No.”
She opened her eyes.
“This isn't just about rescuing him.”
“What do you mean?”
“He didn't marry me because he loved me.”
“What?”
“He married me because of the money.”
I sat perfectly still.
Kathleen reached into the folder and pulled out another document.
“This was the last thing he ever sent me.”
It was a handwritten letter.
Three sentences.
I'm sorry.
I need time.
Don't look for me.
But underneath those words was something else.
A bank account number.
And a transaction date.
The same week Austin disappeared.
I recognized the account.
It belonged to a company I had seen before.
A medical equipment supplier connected to one of the hospitals my employer audited.
My blood ran cold.
Austin wasn't just hiding a marriage.
He might have been hiding a financial crime.
I looked at Kathleen.
“We need to talk to Naomi.”
She nodded.
“Will she believe us?”
“I don't know.”
“But she deserves the truth.”
I called Naomi.
She answered on the second ring.
Her voice was quiet.
“Is it true?”
“Yes.”
A long silence followed.
“Can you prove it?”
“Yes.”
“Then meet me tomorrow.”
May you like
Before hanging up, Naomi said something that I would never forget.
“Monica, I think Austin has been lying to me too.”
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