Chapter 2

Five years. Five years of David’s quiet protection, of a life rebuilt on a fragile foundation. Our house was nice, in a quiet Portland suburb. I didn’t bake anymore. The smell brought back too much. I was pregnant. A tiny flutter of life inside me, a secret joy. David was a good husband, steady, if a little distant sometimes. He still worked long hours, the weight of his badge always there. The case of my parents’ murder remained a closed book, filed away, unsolved. He’d tried, he said. No leads. I was in the kitchen, late one night, craving pickles, when I heard voices from his study. David and his partner, Mike Johnson. Their words, low and urgent, drifted through the slightly open door. "You can't keep this up, Dave," Mike was saying. His voice was strained. "It's eating you alive." "What choice do I have, Mike?" David’s voice was rough, tired. "She was there. All the initial evidence pointed to Veronica Hayes." Veronica. The name hit me like a physical blow. Mark’s wife. The woman he left me for. "But you buried it," Mike pressed. "You said she couldn't have done it. You said she was innocent." "She *is* innocent," David insisted, a raw emotion in his tone I’d never heard before. "I know her. She wouldn't… she couldn't." My hand flew to my mouth, stifling a gasp. "You know her? Or you *love* her?" Mike’s question hung in the air, sharp and accusatory. "It doesn't matter," David bit out. "I stalled the investigation. I had to. To protect her." Protect Veronica? The prime suspect in my parents' murder? "And Sarah?" Mike’s voice was softer now. "What about her? You married her, Dave. You live with her. She thinks you’re trying to find her parents’ killer." The floor beneath my feet seemed to tilt. "I did it to keep her close," David admitted, his voice dropping even lower. "To make sure she didn’t stir things up. To protect Veronica from any… fallout." My blood ran cold. He married me… to protect their killer? "You compromised everything, man," Mike said, a note of despair in his voice. "Your badge, your integrity. For Veronica Hayes. A woman who’s married to your own brother. A woman who probably doesn’t even know how deep you’re in this for her." "She knows I care about her," David said, a strange mix of defiance and pain. "And that's enough. I'd do anything to keep her safe, to see her happy. Even if she never loves me back." The words were a confession, a declaration of a twisted, unrequited love. My reality shattered. The man I trusted, my protector, my husband… was a liar. His care, his comfort, his proposal – all a calculated deception. The baby inside me kicked, a small, innocent movement. This life, this marriage, was built on a monstrous lie. "I have to go," Mike said, his voice heavy with resignation. "Think about what you're doing, Dave. This won't end well." I heard the study door open and close. I backed away, silent, my heart pounding in my chest. David thought Veronica was innocent because he *loved* her. He had deliberately sabotaged the investigation into my parents’ murders. He had chosen Veronica over justice, over me, over the memory of my parents. I felt sick. He’d sacrificed his soul for her. And I was just a pawn in his game. The realization was a crushing weight. My marriage, my supposed safe haven, was a cage. I had to get out. I had to know everything.