My five-year-old son came charging into the kitchen like he had just uncovered something priceless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMommy, look what I found!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was standing at the sink, hands deep in hot, soapy water, scrubbing dried egg yolk off a pan that refused to cooperate. \u201cIf it\u2019s another bug, I don\u2019t want to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a bug,\u201d he said, clearly offended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I turned, ready to give him a quick smile and go back to the dishes\u2014but then I saw what he was holding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A purple plastic Easter egg. Cracked down one side. Smudged with dirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Something about it felt\u2026 wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhere did you get that?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy the fence,\u201d he said casually. \u201cIt was hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word landed oddly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHiding?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He crouched low, grinning, then popped back up. \u201cLike this. Open it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I dried my hands slowly and took the egg. It felt heavier than it should have. Something rattled inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I twisted it open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A small folded piece of paper slipped into my palm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I unfolded it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CHECK YOUR HUSBAND\u2019S CAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a second, I just stood there, staring at the words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat does it say, Mommy?\u201d Tommy asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s\u2026 an old shopping list,\u201d I said quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He accepted that without question and ran back outside, already onto the next adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through the kitchen window, I could see Mike\u2019s car sitting in the driveway. Black sedan. Clean. Exactly where he\u2019d left it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twelve years of marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least, that\u2019s what I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is ridiculous,\u201d I muttered, more to break the silence than because I believed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, I grabbed my keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside, the air felt colder than it should have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I unlocked the car and started with the obvious places. Center console. Nothing but receipts, sunglasses, and a nearly empty pack of gum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I opened the glove compartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Papers shifted forward. Registration. Insurance. Manual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I almost closed it again\u2014until I noticed a folded sheet tucked neatly beneath the manual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My fingers didn\u2019t feel steady as I pulled it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MEET ME AT THE PARK. 10 A.M. DON\u2019T TELL HER.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I read it once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t tell her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t tell me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The words blurred slightly as heat crept up my neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I whispered. \u201cNo, no\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There had to be an explanation. Something harmless. Something old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But even as I thought it, I knew I was lying to myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inside, I placed both notes on the counter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The one from the egg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The one from the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone had led me to the second message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deliberately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My eyes moved over the handwriting again. Block letters, careful, trying to disguise itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But something about the shape of the letters tugged at me.Read More Below<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My five-year-old son came charging into the kitchen like he had just uncovered something priceless. \u201cMommy, look what I found!\u201d I was standing at the sink, hands deep in hot, soapy water, scrubbing dried...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=705"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":706,"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705\/revisions\/706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystori.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}