Chapter 2 - The Phone Taylor BuriedMarcus slept downstairs without sleeping.

At four sixteen in the morning, he sat alone on the living-room sofa listening to the rain and the occasional cry from the nursery overhead.

His wedding ring remained on his finger.

He hated that.

He also hated the thought of removing it.

Every few minutes another memory returned differently.

Taylor suggesting the name Andre during dinner six months earlier.

"I've always liked it."

Nicole quickly changing the subject.

Marcus joking that Andre Reed sounded like somebody destined to play linebacker.

Taylor laughing too loudly.

At the time, nothing had seemed wrong.

Now every harmless moment looked rehearsed.

Footsteps came down the staircase.

Nicole appeared.

Marcus didn't look at her.

"Where's Taylor?"

"Feeding the baby."

"Andre?"

Nicole flinched.

Marcus finally looked up.

"That's his name, isn't it?"

"For now."

Nicole sat in an armchair across from him.

Marcus's expression warned her not to come closer.

"What phone?"

Nicole rubbed her palms together.

"Taylor kept her old phone from college."

"People keep old phones."

"Not like this."

Marcus waited.

Nicole glanced upstairs.

"Andre died in 2019."

Marcus knew Taylor had lost someone around that time. She had always described him as a college boyfriend who died unexpectedly.

She had never said his name.

Marcus had never pushed.

He had thought respecting grief was an act of love.

Apparently silence had become shelter for something else.

"What happened?"

"Car accident."

"And?"

"Taylor fell apart."

"I understand grief."

"No," Nicole said softly. "You understand what she let you see."

Marcus's jaw tightened.

Nicole continued.

"They were together almost five years."

Marcus stared.

Taylor had told him three.

"They met freshman year. They broke up twice, but they always got back together."

"Was she still with him when he died?"

Nicole hesitated.

Marcus leaned forward.

"Nicole."

"Yes."

He sat back.

Another correction to the history of his marriage.

"Taylor told me they had already ended things."

"They'd been fighting."

"That's not the same thing."

"I know."

Marcus stood.

"Where's the phone?"

"I don't know exactly."

"But you told her to show me."

"Because I know she still has it."

"What is on it?"

Nicole closed her eyes.

"Messages. Pictures. Voice notes."

"Between her and Andre?"

"Some."

Marcus felt his stomach knot.

"What else?"

"Messages between Taylor and me."

Taylor appeared on the stairs.

She had changed into a robe and was holding the baby against her chest.

"Nicole, stop."

Marcus looked at his son first.

Always the baby first.

The newborn was sleeping safely in Taylor's arms.

Then Marcus looked at his wife.

"Where's the phone?"

Taylor descended carefully.

"Can we not do this at four in the morning?"

"You've had years."

"Marcus—"

"Where is it?"

Taylor looked toward Nicole with betrayal.

Nicole whispered, "He has a right."

Taylor gave a bitter laugh.

"Now you're brave?"

Nicole stood.

"I told you this would happen."

"You helped me!"

"I helped you survive after Andre died. I didn't agree to this."

"You kept the secret."

"Because you begged me."

Marcus held up one hand.

"Enough."

Both women fell silent.

He looked at Taylor.

"The phone."

Taylor rocked the baby gently.

"Some things on that phone are private."

Marcus laughed softly.

"You named my child after the man in them."

"Andre is not your property just because—"

Marcus's eyes flashed.

Taylor stopped.

"Finish that sentence."

She looked down.

Marcus spoke more quietly.

"You had every right to love somebody before me. You had every right to grieve him. You had every right to keep photographs."

He pointed toward the ceiling.

"You did not have the right to make me participate in a memorial without telling me."

Taylor's face collapsed.

Marcus continued.

"And if there's more, I need it now."

Taylor stared at him for several seconds.

Then she handed the baby to Nicole.

"Support his head."

"I know."

Taylor walked upstairs.

Marcus followed.

She entered the bedroom, opened her closet and pulled down a shoebox from the top shelf.

Inside were old birthday cards, concert tickets and a small velvet pouch.

Underneath them sat a black iPhone with a cracked corner.

Marcus recognized it.

Taylor had told him years ago that it had stopped working.

She connected it to a charger.

Nothing happened.

"Battery takes a while."

Marcus stared at the device.

"What am I going to find?"

Taylor sat on the edge of the bed.

"I don't know."

"You know exactly what's there."

"No. I haven't opened it in years."

Nicole entered carrying the sleeping baby.

"That's not true."

Taylor looked up sharply.

Nicole's voice trembled.

"You used it last summer."

Marcus slowly turned.

Last summer.

Taylor had already been pregnant.

"What?"

Taylor said nothing.

Nicole continued.

"You sent me a picture from it."

"Nicole."

"You said you'd found Andre's last voicemail."

Marcus looked at Taylor.

"While you were pregnant with my son?"

Taylor began crying again.

"I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Becoming a mother. Losing myself. Losing people."

"So you went looking for him."

"I went looking for who I used to be."

Marcus wanted to shout.

The sleeping newborn prevented it.

The restraint hurt physically.

The phone finally lit.

A faded lock screen appeared.

A young Taylor and Andre stood together beneath Christmas lights.

Marcus stared.

Taylor reached for the phone.

"You don't need to see everything."

Marcus held her gaze.

"You don't get to decide that anymore."

She slowly withdrew her hand.

The phone required a six-digit code.

Taylor entered it.

Marcus noticed the numbers.

"What is that?"

Taylor froze.

Nicole closed her eyes.

Marcus looked at the photograph on the lock screen.

Then back at Taylor.

"His birthday?"

Taylor shook her head.

Their baby stirred.

Taylor whispered the answer.

"The day Andre asked me to marry him."

Marcus felt the air leave his lungs.

He had been told Andre was a boyfriend.

He had not been told Taylor had once been engaged.

Nicole looked toward the floor.

Marcus's voice was almost calm.

"You were going to marry him?"

Taylor nodded.

The phone unlocked.

A message notification immediately appeared from an email account synced years earlier.

Not new.

An old starred email.

The subject line was visible.

LIFE INSURANCE BENEFICIARY CONFIRMATION — ANDRE BELL

Marcus stopped breathing.

He looked at Taylor.

"What does life insurance have to do with you?"

Taylor's face drained of color.

Nicole whispered, "Oh, God."

Marcus opened the email.

Taylor reached for him.

"Marcus, please."

He moved the phone beyond her reach.

The document stated that following Andre Bell's death, the designated beneficiary had received a payment.

Marcus stared at the figure.

$150,000.

Then at the beneficiary.

Taylor Denise Carter.

Marcus looked up.

Taylor's maiden name.

His voice came quietly.

"What happened to the money?"

Taylor didn't answer.

Marcus thought of their house.

The house Taylor had said she helped purchase using "family savings."

A terrible possibility formed.

"Taylor."

She covered her face.

Marcus understood before she spoke.

"The down payment," he whispered.

Taylor began sobbing.

May you like

92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Fathe...

91 A Cruel Hotel Manager Fired a Receptionist for Defending a Poor Old G...

90 On Christmas Eve, My Daughter-in-Law Stole $12,000 From My Card—Then...

And Marcus realized that the dead man whose name was on his son had been inside their marriage long before the baby was born.

He had helped buy the house too.