Daniel looked at the screen.
"Ryan says he needs more investors before the end of the month."
Clara nodded slowly.
"That's what he told me."
"And you believed him?"
"I didn't know what else to do."
Daniel's voice became quieter.
"Clara, I need you to listen carefully. I think you may have been involved in something that is much more serious than a bad investment."
She stared at him.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we need to find out where the money went, who received it, and whether this company actually exists."
Clara sat down.
For several seconds, she did not speak.
Then she whispered something that made Daniel look at her sharply.
"There's something I haven't told you about Marcus."
Daniel felt his heart begin to race.
"What?"
Clara looked toward the closed study door.
"Ryan said Marcus was going to arrange a meeting with me."
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
"Why?"
"He said there was a way to recover the money."
Daniel stared at her.
"And you agreed?"
Clara shook her head.
"I haven't answered him yet."
"Did Ryan ask you to meet Marcus alone?"
She nodded.
Daniel's expression hardened.
"You're not going."
"But—"
"You're not meeting a man you don't know, especially when money is involved and we don't know what has happened to our savings."
Clara lowered her head.
"I understand."
Daniel returned to the desk.
He looked at the messages again.
Then he noticed something he had overlooked.
A message from Ryan to Clara, sent only two days before the bathroom incident.
It read:
Don't tell Daniel about the second account. Once everything is settled, we can explain.
Daniel read it twice.
"The second account?"
Clara closed her eyes.
Daniel turned toward her.
"What second account?"
She did not answer.
"Clara, what second account?"
Her voice was barely audible.
"Ryan opened another account for me."
Daniel felt his chest tighten.
"Under your name?"
She nodded.
"Why?"
"He said it was necessary for the investment."
"Does it contain money?"
"I don't know."
Daniel stared at her.
"You don't know whether there's money in an account opened in your name?"
She shook her head.
He sat down slowly.
For the first time, he began to suspect that Clara might not have been the only person being deceived.
But that possibility did not erase what she had done.
It only made the situation more complicated.
He closed the laptop.
"Tomorrow morning, we're going to examine everything. And we're going to get professional advice before you transfer another dollar."
Clara nodded.
Daniel looked at her.
"And from now on, there will be no more secrets."
She wiped her tears.
"I promise."
He wanted to believe her.
But promises had become very difficult to trust.
***
That evening, Margaret prepared dinner.
Nobody had much appetite.
Daniel sat at the table, occasionally checking his phone for messages from Ryan. Clara barely touched her food.
Margaret watched them both.
She had spent years believing that a happy family was built through patience, understanding, and forgiveness.
But she was beginning to understand that forgiveness without honesty could become another way of allowing someone to continue hurting you.
After dinner, Clara went upstairs.
Margaret remained in the kitchen with Daniel.
"Have you discovered anything else?"
Daniel explained the messages and the second account.
Margaret listened carefully.
When he finished, she shook her head.
"This is becoming very serious."
"I know."
"Do you think Ryan deliberately involved her in this?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think he used her?"
Daniel looked down.
"Possibly."
Margaret took a deep breath.
"Then you need to protect yourself."
"I will."
She hesitated.
"And your marriage?"
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
"I don't know, Mom."
Margaret nodded.
"You don't have to decide tonight."
He picked up his phone.
A new message had arrived.
It was from Ryan.
We need to talk urgently. Marcus is asking questions about Clara.
Daniel read the message again.
Before he could respond, another message appeared.
Tell her not to contact him directly.
Daniel's expression changed.
He typed:
Why? What is happening?
The reply came almost immediately.
Because Marcus knows about you now.
Daniel stared at the screen.
A third message followed.
And he wants to meet you.
For several seconds, Daniel could not move.
He slowly placed the phone on the table.
Margaret noticed his expression.
"What is it?"
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
Then back at his mother.
"Apparently, this isn't over."
He picked up the phone again and opened the latest message.
There was one final sentence.
You need to hear what he knows about your wife before tomorrow.
Daniel felt a knot forming in his stomach.
He had spent the entire day trying to uncover the truth about Ryan, the missing money, and the mysterious investment.
Now another man was asking to meet him.
And that man apparently knew something about Clara that Daniel had never imagined.
Upstairs, a door closed.
Daniel looked at the ceiling.
For the first time, he wondered whether the woman he had married had become involved in something she could no longer control.
And whether the man who had betrayed him might also be hiding from someone far more dangerous.
The truth was getting closer.
But it was no longer clear who would be hurt most when it finally came out.