Mark handled everything—the funeral arrangements, paperwork, and conversations with relatives. Whenever questions came up, he answered them before I could.
At the time, I believed he was helping me through the worst moment of my life.
I didn’t realize he was hiding something.
Five days after the funeral, Ava’s teacher, Miss Greenwood, called again.
She sounded nervous.
While reviewing security footage from the daycare, she had noticed something concerning and felt I needed to see it.
Minutes later, the video arrived.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
Mark walked Ava toward the daycare entrance.
Then a woman appeared beside them.
She handed Ava a bottled drink and spoke to her warmly.
The woman wasn’t a stranger.
It was Lauren, one of Mark’s coworkers.
I recognized her immediately.
The footage showed Lauren touching Mark’s arm affectionately before the two of them walked away together.
My heart dropped.
Suddenly, months of strange behavior came rushing back.
The late-night texts.
The locked phone.
The endless “work dinners.”
The excuses.
