Close enough to watch him fall

CHAPTER TWO

Conrad's side of the bed was cold and empty when I reached across the sheets, the pillow still perfectly fluffed like no one had slept there at all.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and saw it was 6:47 AM. He never left this early for work.

The apartment was silent as I walked through it, checking each room. No note, no text message, nothing. Just the faint smell of his cologne lingering in the hallway as proof that he'd been here at all.

My feet carried me to his office before I could think twice. The door was unlocked, which was unusual because Conrad always locked it and said he kept sensitive client files inside.

I sat in his leather chair and opened the desk drawer. Papers, pens, old receipts crumpled at the bottom. I smoothed one out and saw it was from Bellini's, the Italian restaurant downtown. Three hundred and forty-seven dollars for dinner last Tuesday.

Last Tuesday, Conrad told me he was working late. I'd eaten cereal alone at the kitchen counter, scrolling through Netflix without watching anything.

I dug deeper and found more receipts stuffed in the back of the drawer. My hands shook as I spread them across the desk. Cartier, forty-two hundred dollars for a diamond bracelet. I'd never owned anything from Cartier. The Riverside Inn, eight hundred and ninety dollars for a weekend stay. Conrad said he'd been at a conference in Chicago that weekend. La Petite Fleur, one hundred and fifty-six dollars for roses. A dozen red roses, according to the itemized receipt. He hadn't bought me flowers in over a year.

I pulled up our joint bank account on my phone, the one we'd opened six months ago when Conrad suggested we "build our future together." I scrolled through the transactions, and my stomach twisted with each charge.

All these purchases came from our account. The account I deposited my entire paycheck into every two weeks. Money I'd earned working double shifts at the clinic, money I thought we were saving for our future.

My phone buzzed in my hand, making me jump. Claire's name flashed across the screen.

I stared at it for three rings before answering. "Hey," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Raven?" Claire's voice cracked. "Can we talk? I know it's early, but I really need a friend right now."

I closed my eyes. "Of course. What's wrong?"

"It's Jason." She let out a shaky breath. "He promised me things would change. He said he'd take time off, that we'd work on our marriage. But he's been even more distant lately. He barely comes home anymore."

Because he's been here with me.

"Last night, he didn't come home until almost midnight," Claire continued. "And when I asked where he'd been, he got so defensive. Like I was the one doing something wrong for even asking."

I pressed my palm against my forehead. The irony was suffocating because she was describing last night, when Conrad had been on the couch next to me, watching some action movie I couldn't focus on.

"I'm sorry, Claire."

"He's hiding something. I can feel it." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Do you think he's cheating on me?"

The receipts were still spread across the desk in front of me, evidence of a man who was definitely cheating, just not in the way Claire thought.

"I don't know," I lied. "But you deserve someone who shows up for you."

"You're right." She sniffled. "Thank you for always listening, Raven. You're such a good friend."

The words hit me hard. "I should go. I'll call you later, okay?"

After we hung up, I shoved all the receipts back into the drawer and returned to the bedroom. I needed to act normal and keep playing along until I figured out my next move.

Conrad came home around seven that evening, whistling as he hung his coat by the door. "Hey, babe," he said, kissing my cheek. "How was your day?"

I watched him move through our apartment like he owned it, like he hadn't spent our money on another woman. I followed him to the kitchen. "It was fine. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." He opened the fridge and grabbed a beer.

"I was looking at our bank account earlier, and I noticed some charges I didn't recognize."

His expression shifted, and the smile dropped from his face. "What kind of charges?"

"Just expensive ones. Restaurants, hotels. I was just curious."

"Curious?" He slammed the fridge door. "So now you're monitoring my spending?"

"Our spending. It's our joint account."

"I work sixty hours a week to provide for us, Raven." His voice rose. "And you're going to interrogate me about every purchase I make? Do you know how that makes me feel?"

I stepped back. "I wasn't interrogating you. I just wanted to…"

"You just wanted to what? Control me? Make me feel guilty for treating myself once in a while?" He shook his head. "I can't believe this. After everything I do for you."

The words stuck in my throat. Everything he did for me? I paid half the rent. I bought the groceries. I cleaned this apartment while he "worked late."

"Conrad, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"Forget it." He walked past me toward the bedroom. "I need some space."

I stood in the kitchen with my heart pounding. Somehow, I'd just apologized to him for questioning where our money went.

An hour later, I was getting ready for bed when I opened my jewelry box to put away my earrings. My grandmother's locket wasn't in its usual spot.

I dumped the entire box onto the dresser, sorting through every piece. Necklaces, bracelets, the pearl earrings my mother gave me. Everything was there except the one thing that mattered most. The locket was gone.

"Conrad?" I called out.

He appeared in the doorway. "What?"

"Have you seen my grandmother's locket? The gold one with her picture inside?"

He frowned. "Your what?"

"My locket. I always keep it right here." I gestured to the jewelry box.

"Raven, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you put it somewhere else?"

"I didn't. I always keep it in the same place."

He walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. "You've been really stressed lately. And I've noticed you've been forgetting things. Little things, but still. Maybe you just misplaced it."

"I didn't misplace it."

"Are you sleeping enough?" His voice was gentle now, concerned. "Because sometimes when people don't sleep well, their memory gets fuzzy. It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

I pulled away from him. "I'm not losing my mind."

"I didn't say you were." He held up his hands. "I'm just worried about you. That's all."

I turned back to the jewelry box, my hands trembling as I searched through it again. The locket was still gone. The only thing I had left of my grandmother was gone.

The next evening, Conrad surprised me with takeout from Rosario's. "I thought we could have a nice dinner at home," he said, unpacking the containers. The smell of garlic and basil filled the kitchen.

I stared at the familiar logo on the bags. "You got Rosario's?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"It's my favorite restaurant. I thought you knew that."

He gave me a confused look. "Is it? I just picked a place randomly on my way home."

"Conrad, we've been there for my birthday, our anniversary, Valentine's Day. We've been there at least twenty times."

He laughed, but it sounded forced. "Are you sure? I really don't remember going there. Maybe you're thinking of someone else?"

I stared at him. At the man I'd spent two years with. The man who was now pretending he didn't remember the restaurant where he'd proposed to me.

I opened my mouth, then closed it. There was no point in arguing.

We ate in silence. I pushed pasta around my plate, watching him devour his meal like nothing was wrong, like he hadn't just erased two years of memories.

My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. I glanced at the screen.

"Check his car. Look under the passenger seat. You deserve to know the truth."

My fork clattered against the plate.

"Everything okay?" Conrad asked, his eyes narrowing.

I looked up at him, my heart racing. "Yeah. Everything's fine."

But I was already planning to wait until he fell asleep, because whoever sent that message knew something, and I needed to know what it was.