My Wife Took A Phone Call During Dinner And Forgot I Speak Spanish
Chapter 4
Daniel couldn’t breathe.
No longer safe.
The words were still on the screen when the front door opened.
Sophia.
Daniel quickly placed the phone back.
He stepped out of the office.
Sophia entered carrying groceries.
“You’re home early.”
“Yeah.”
She smiled.
“How was work?”
“Fine.”
She looked at him.
“You seem pale.”
“I’m tired.”
Sophia walked closer.
“You should rest.”
Daniel looked into her eyes.
“Who is Isabella?”
The grocery bag slipped slightly in her hand.
For one second, she didn’t move.
Then she smiled.
“I don’t know anyone by that name.”
Daniel’s heart sank.
He wanted her to tell the truth.
She didn’t.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Never heard of her?”
“No.”
Daniel nodded.
“Okay.”
Sophia kissed his cheek.
“I’ll make dinner.”
She walked away.
Daniel stood still.
Now he knew she was lying.
But he still didn’t know why.
That evening, Sophia cooked.
They ate in silence.
Then her phone rang.
She looked at it.
This time, she didn’t answer.
She silenced it.
Daniel watched.
“Who is it?”
“Work.”
“Again?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
After dinner, Sophia showered.
Daniel checked the phone.
The caller had left a voicemail.
He listened.
A man’s voice said:
“Victor knows.”
Daniel froze.
Victor was dead.
Or supposedly dead.
The next morning, Daniel hired a private investigator.
He didn’t tell Marcus.
He gave the investigator one instruction:
Find out whether Victor Alvarez is really dead.
Three days later, the investigator called.
“Mr. Brooks?”
“Yes.”
“I found something.”
“What?”
“Victor Alvarez died officially six years ago.”
“I know.”
“But there was a second identity.”
Daniel’s heart pounded.
“What?”
“A man named Adrian Vale has been living in Mexico for six years.”
“Does he look like Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Guadalajara.”
Daniel sat down.
“Send me everything.”
The files arrived.
Photographs.
Travel records.
Bank accounts.
Daniel stared at a photograph.
It was Victor.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakable.
He was alive.
Daniel called Sophia.
“Where are you?”
“At work.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“Victor.”
Silence.
Then Sophia said:
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Daniel hung up.
He drove home.
But before he reached the house, a black SUV followed him.
He changed lanes.
It followed.
He turned.
It followed.
Daniel drove into a crowded shopping center.
The SUV stopped.
No one came out.
He waited.
Then the vehicle drove away.
Daniel called the investigator.
“I think I’m being followed.”
The investigator answered:
“Then stop using your normal routes.”
Daniel returned home through a different street.
Sophia was waiting.
“You scared me.”
“Why?”
“You didn’t answer.”
“I was busy.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Are you in danger?”
Sophia stared.
“What?”
“Are you?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Then why are you lying to me?”
She went pale.
“I don’t understand.”
“You know about Isabella.”
Sophia’s eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
“You know Victor is alive.”
She froze.
“Daniel…”
“I heard the phone call.”
Sophia’s face changed completely.
“You understood?”
“Yes.”
She sat down.
“Oh God.”
Daniel’s voice cracked.
“How long?”
“How long what?”
“How long have you been hiding this from me?”
Sophia covered her face.
“Six years.”
The answer destroyed him.
“Isabella is my daughter, isn’t she?”
Sophia looked up.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Yes.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Six years.
A daughter.
A life.
A family he never knew existed.
But then Sophia said:
“I wasn’t the one who hid her from you.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Who was?”
Sophia whispered:
“Your brother.”
