PART THREE — THE MAN I MARRIED
I didn’t sleep.
Neither did Caleb.
At least, not that I could tell.
He kept asking if I was okay.
I kept saying yes.
But inside, my mind was racing.
At 6:17 a.m., I slipped out of bed.
Caleb was still lying there.
I walked to the bathroom and locked the door.
Then I opened my phone.
One message had arrived.
From Mara.
My hands shook as I opened it.
There were only six words.
“Don’t trust anyone in the house.”
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
“Especially Caleb.”
I nearly dropped the phone.
Before I could respond, Mara sent a photograph.
It showed a file.
At the top was a name.
CALEB MORRISON.
But beneath it was another name.
A name I had never seen before.
I zoomed in.
The image was blurry.
But I could make out enough.
The original identity wasn’t Caleb Morrison.
It was someone else.
Someone who had apparently disappeared years earlier.
I whispered,
“No…”
Then I heard footsteps outside the bathroom.
I locked the phone.
“Elise?”
Caleb.
“I’m getting ready.”
“You’ve been in there a while.”
“I’m fine.”
A pause.
Then he said,
“Noah’s grandparents are bringing him home this afternoon.”
My stomach tightened.
“Okay.”
“Is that all you’re going to say?”
I stared at the door.
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then his footsteps moved away.
I waited another minute.
When I opened the door, the hallway was empty.
But something had been placed on our bedroom pillow.
An envelope.
My name was written on it.
ELISE.
I opened it with trembling fingers.
Inside was a single photograph.
It was old.
Very old.
It showed a young man standing beside another man.
The younger man was Caleb.
There was no doubt.
I knew his face.
But the man beside him was the stranger from the attic.
On the back of the photograph were three words.
YOU WERE WARNED.
I felt dizzy.
Then I noticed something else.
The photograph had been taken outside a building.
A federal building.
And in the corner was a date.
A date from eleven years ago.
Five years before I met Caleb.
I stared at the photograph.
Why had Mara sent me this?
And why had she known enough to warn me?
I called her.
This time, she answered immediately.
“Elise.”
“Mara, tell me the truth.”
“I will.”
“Who is my husband?”
There was a long silence.
Then Mara whispered,
“Your husband is not Caleb Morrison.”
I closed my eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“It means the man sleeping beside you is using a stolen identity.”
My legs became weak.
“Why?”
“I don’t have time to explain everything.”
“Then explain the passports.”
Mara inhaled sharply.
“You saw them?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Three.”
Another silence.
Then Mara said,
“Those passports weren’t made for travel.”
“What are they for?”
“Disappearance.”
My throat went dry.
“Whose disappearance?”
“Yours.”
I couldn’t speak.
Mara continued.
“They’re preparing to make you and Noah disappear.”
I looked toward the bedroom.
Caleb wasn’t there.
“Mara…”
“What?”
“Caleb is gone.”
PART THREE CLIFFHANGER
I stepped into the hallway.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
“Elise, get out.”
“I can’t. Noah isn’t here.”
“That’s exactly why you have to leave now.”
I reached for the front door.
Then I heard a sound behind me.
A key turning.
I slowly looked over my shoulder.
Caleb stood at the end of the hallway.
He was holding the black passport case.
And he was smiling.
“Going somewhere, Elise?”
I couldn’t move.
Mara was still on the phone.
“Elise?”
Caleb took one step toward me.
Then another.
And suddenly he said something that made me realize he knew everything.
“I was wondering how long it would take your sister to find you.”
