The Night Before(64)

“The phone records?” he asked cautiously. “What did they find?”

Rosie watched as he picked up the pages. She’d marked his number with a pencil—a small gray dot in front of every one of the calls and texts between his phone and Laura’s.

His face didn’t change when he saw the markings, but she knew he was seeing it. The evidence.

“Rosie…” Now his voice was contrite. He set the papers down, then looked back up at her.

“It went on for weeks,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “And you visited her in New York—at her apartment. And all those nights when you stayed up together, getting drunk and laughing. I could hear you all the way upstairs. Lying in bed with our son, thinking how happy it made me that you were being so generous with her. Making her laugh again when she’d been so sad. I never thought … It never crossed my mind.…”

“What didn’t you think?” Joe looked confused. “What are thinking now? What do you think you’ve discovered?”

Rosie felt the clutch in her chest like she was about to cry, but no tears came. She was too exhausted.

She held her hands to the sky. “Is that what happened to her?” Rosie asked the question at the same time it entered her consciousness. Maybe it had been there since Laura’s roommate had said his name. Or maybe it had come only after she’d seen his phone number in Laura’s records. It didn’t matter—it was here now. The pieces falling into place. “Did you have something to do with her disappearance?”

Joe was frozen, though Rosie could see his world coming apart.

But was it coming apart because she’d stumbled on the truth? Or because she had just wielded a fatal blow to everything that was between them? A lifetime of friendship and trust. And love.

“What am I supposed to make of this, Joe? You’ve been seeing my sister behind my back. Calling and texting her. Staying up late with her. And the one night she decides to start over, to meet another man, she disappears.”

Oh God … Another thought. Another piece of evidence was suddenly before her.

“Where were you Thursday night—after you left our bed? I don’t even know what time you left because I was passed out cold from the Benadryl and the wine, which you saw me take.”

Still, nothing. Not a sound or a movement from her husband. There was no turning back now. She had crossed the line into this dark place where nothing was what it seemed. She stared at her husband, this man she’d known her entire life, and allowed herself to believe that she had never known him at all. It was terrifying, but in the same moment, a relief to know the truth.

“Were you jealous? Did you follow her? God, Joe … what? What happened?”

When he didn’t answer, Rosie sat down at the table and collapsed into her hands.

She heard Joe pull out a chair and sit down across from her. He shifted in his seat nervously.

“Whatever you think is between me and Laura, I promise you—you’re wrong. And I would never…” He stopped then, choking on his own words. “I would never hurt her. Never.”

Rosie looked up and saw tears flood his eyes. But his jaw was stern and filled with anger and regret.

“How do I know? How can I believe you? People do all kinds of things when they love someone. When they want someone…”

“No…” Joe said again. “I would never hurt Laura!”

Rosie repeated her words as well. “How do I know?”

Then he paused as though he was considering his answer. And it was nothing she could have ever imagined.

“Because Laura is my sister. My biological sister.”





THIRTY-SEVEN


Laura. Session Number Fifteen. Six Weeks Ago. New York City.

Dr. Brody: I’m glad you’ve finally told me about Joe. How do you feel about it?

Laura: Confused at first. Disbelieving. I had so many questions—how long did my mother have an affair with his father? Who knew and for how long? How did they find out?

Dr. Brody: Your father knew before you were born, didn’t he?

Laura: How did you know?

Dr. Brody: Because it explains everything. Don’t you see it? It’s the missing piece to the puzzle.

Laura: Dick couldn’t love me because he knew I wasn’t his daughter?

Dr. Brody: And more than that, Laura—you were the living embodiment of his wife’s betrayal. An assault to his manhood—and with a neighbor. Then he had to pretend that you were his to protect the family, and he had to do it in front of everyone. You said the neighborhood was close, parties and impromptu gatherings. Joe’s family didn’t move away until he was in high school, right?

Laura: Yes. Joe said his father didn’t tell his mother until then—which explains so much … why Mrs. Ferro was so friendly with our family, but Mr. Ferro kept his distance. We thought he was just antisocial.

Dr. Brody: I hope you realize that this doesn’t excuse your father’s behavior. You were a child. It wasn’t your fault. He should have found a way to give you what you needed—what any child needs.

Laura: You think this should help me—this information?

Dr. Brody: Doesn’t it? That child inside you asking why her father couldn’t love her—now she knows. It had nothing to do with her. Now she can stop choosing the wrong men so she can repeat the past. It can all stop!