Chapter Four

I took a photo of the panties with my phone.

Then I found a manila envelope and slipped them inside.

I’d just finished when my mom called.

Luke had never dropped Mia off.

They’d left over an hour ago. Where were they?

I already had a pretty good guess, but I called to make sure.

He picked up right away.

“Luke, my mom just called and said you never dropped Mia off. Where are you?”

It was noisy on his end, but he sounded perfectly relaxed. “Sorry, forgot to tell you. Mia’s art class. Her teacher called out of nowhere today and said the new materials came in, so we went to the center. She’s right here. I’ll put her on.”

A moment later, my daughter’s sweet voice came through. “Mommy, I can’t go to Grandma’s today. Ms. Shannon is teaching something new, and there’s an extra class tonight. Daddy and I might be home really late. Don’t worry about us!”

On my other phone, I was looking at the story Shannon had posted three minutes earlier.

“So many people today said we look like a real family!”

In the photo, Shannon was crouched down while Luke and my daughter each kissed one of her cheeks.

And now, the lies coming out of the two of them.

New materials?

An extra class?

I bit down on my lip so hard I tasted blood, and I still didn’t let go.

I didn’t understand. A man who can’t control himself and cheats, fine. But why would the child I carried for nine months betray me too?

How awful a mother must I be, for my own daughter to be happy to help her dad lie to me so he could go on a date with another woman?

My throat ached. I swallowed and asked her gently,

“Mia, you’re my daughter. Would you ever lie to Mommy for someone else?”

Even then, I was still holding on to one last shred of hope for the little girl I’d loved her whole life.

If she stood on my side, I would forgive everything. When we divorced, I’d fight Luke for custody.

But reality slapped me in the face all over again.

She didn’t hesitate for a second. “Mia loves Mommy the most! Why would I lie to Mommy? Okay, Mommy, I have to go to class. Bye!”

I listened to the dial tone, clenched my fist, let the tears fall, and laughed quietly.

Something inside me went cold and bleak.

Everything I’d given this family, given this daughter, all these years. It was the cruelest kind of joke.

If Luke’s betrayal made me furious and heartbroken,

then Mia’s made my blood run cold.

I’d decorated every inch of this house myself. Now every corner reeked of them.

I couldn’t stand to be there one more second.

I picked up the suitcase I hadn’t even unpacked, left the divorce papers on the dining table, and drove to a hotel.

On my way, I overnighted those panties to the enrichment center where Shannon worked, and sent screenshots of her stories to the center’s director.

My note was one line: “One of your teachers left her underwear in my bed. I’ve sent it back to your center. Please confirm receipt.”