The Night He Chose Her Part 2: The Secret He Buried
The Night He Chose Her
Part 2: The Secret He Buried
Hannah stared at the photograph for nearly a minute.
It showed her leaving the St. Augustine Women’s Medical Center three weeks earlier.
She remembered that afternoon clearly. Caleb had been away on business, and she had gone to the clinic for a routine prenatal examination.
Nothing unusual had happened.
Or so she thought.
“What exactly are you trying to tell me, Dean?”
Dean Rourke folded his arms.
“Three weeks ago, someone accessed your medical records.”
Hannah’s heart skipped.
“Who?”
“We don’t know yet. But the person used an authorization code belonging to Caleb.”
She looked down at the photograph again.
“Why would my husband need to access my medical records?”
Dean hesitated.
“Because he was looking for something.”
“Something about the baby?”
He didn’t answer.
Hannah’s fingers tightened around the envelope.
“Stop protecting him. Whatever you know, tell me.”
Dean exhaled slowly.
“Five years ago, before you and Caleb got married, he was involved with Mara Lennox.”
Hannah looked up.
“I know they knew each other.”
“No. You don’t understand. They weren’t just acquaintances.”
Dean moved closer.
“They were engaged.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“What?”
“They were together for almost two years. Their families knew about it. There was even a wedding planned.”
Hannah felt as though someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart.
“Why didn’t Caleb tell me?”
“Because Mara disappeared shortly before the wedding. She was believed to have died in a car accident.”
“And now she’s back.”
“Yes.”
Hannah looked toward the window.
“So the woman he chose to save last night was his former fiancée.”
Dean nodded.
“But that’s not the biggest secret.”
He opened his phone and showed her a photograph.
It was an old hospital document, dated five years earlier.
A newborn baby.
A hospital bracelet.
And Mara Lennox’s name.
Hannah stared at it.
“Whose child is this?”
Dean’s expression darkened.
“Mara gave birth to a baby boy shortly before she disappeared.”
Hannah felt the blood drain from her face.
“Caleb’s?”
“We believe so.”
For several seconds, she couldn’t speak.
Then she whispered, “How old is he?”
“Almost five.”
The same age as their marriage.
Hannah closed her eyes.
All those business trips. All those unexplained absences. All those times Caleb had insisted that Mara was merely a source of information.
Perhaps the affair rumors hadn’t been rumors at all.
But one question remained.
“Why would someone attack our home because of me?”
Dean looked uncomfortable.
“Because Silas Vane believes you know where Mara’s son is.”
“I’ve never even met the child!”
“I know.”
“Then why would he target me?”
Dean lowered his voice.
“Because Caleb told Vane something. He claimed that you were holding the information needed to find the boy.”
Hannah stared at him in disbelief.
“My husband used me as bait?”
“I’m afraid so.”
A bitter laugh escaped her.
“Five years. Five years of marriage, and apparently I was just another piece in his investigation.”
Before Dean could respond, the door opened.
Caleb stood there.
His eyes immediately moved from Dean to the photograph in Hannah’s hand.
“What the hell is going on?”
Hannah didn’t move.
“Tell me about your son.”
Caleb froze.
Dean quietly stepped away.
“Hannah, we need to talk privately.”
“No. We’ve had five years of private conversations. I’m tired of secrets.”
Caleb closed the door.
“Who told you?”
“Does it matter?”
He rubbed his forehead.
“Mara had a child before she disappeared. I didn’t know he was mine until recently.”
Hannah swallowed.
“And when did you find out?”
“Six months ago.”
Six months.
The exact time the photographs of Caleb and Mara had started appearing everywhere.
“You knew for six months?”
“I was trying to confirm everything.”
“Did you visit him?”
Caleb didn’t answer.
Hannah’s eyes filled with tears.
“Did you hold him?”
His silence was enough.
She looked down at her stomach.
Their little boy kicked gently beneath her palm.
“Did you ever think about telling me that your son might have another child?”
“Hannah, I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“You didn’t want to lose your comfortable life!”
Caleb stepped forward.
“I love you.”
She shook her head.
“Don’t say that while hiding an entire family from me.”
His phone rang.
He ignored it.
It rang again.
This time, he checked the screen.
Mara.
Hannah gave a small, broken smile.
“Go ahead. She might need you.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Then answer it.”
Caleb hesitated before accepting the call.
Mara’s voice came through, trembling.
“Caleb, they found us.”
His face changed.
“What?”
“The safe house. Someone knows where the boy is.”
Caleb immediately grabbed his jacket.
“Stay there. I’m coming.”
Hannah watched him.
He was already moving toward the door.
“Caleb.”
He stopped.
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Your wife is seven months pregnant. Your son is inside me. And you are running to another woman again.”
His jaw tightened.
“This isn’t the time.”
She nodded slowly.
“It’s never the time with you.”
Then he left.
And Hannah finally understood something.
She wasn’t losing her husband to another woman.
She had already lost him to the secrets he had chosen to keep.
But before she could decide what to do next, her phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A message appeared.
You deserve to know why Caleb married you. Ask him what happened on September 14, five years ago.
Hannah stared at the screen.
September 14.
Her wedding anniversary.
And suddenly, she wondered whether her marriage had begun with a lie.
