Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 5
Episode 5: Three Big Secrets
The bedroom was very dark, but the blue light from Linda’s phone was very bright. It felt like a tiny star was shining in Mark’s hand, but this star did not bring any light or hope. It only brought a very cold and very scary truth. Mark stared at the screen of the phone. His eyes were wide, and he forgot to blink. He read the message again and again.
The message said: Did the hospital call you? We need to talk about our kids.
Those two words, "our kids," felt like a piece of hot iron being pressed against Mark’s soul. A hot iron is something that leaves a mark that never goes away. Mark felt a cold shiver run all the way down his spine. It was a feeling of pure ice. He felt like his heart had stopped beating for a moment. For ten years, Mark had said the words "my kids." He had said it with so much pride. Now, someone else was using the word "our" to talk about Leo, Sarah, and little Mia.
Mark did not check the name of the person who sent the message. He did not want to click on anything and accidentally wake Linda up. She was still sleeping peacefully in the big bed. Instead, he stared at the numbers on the screen. He looked at them until they were burned into his brain. He memorized every single digit. He whispered the number to himself in a tiny voice so he would never forget it.
In that moment, Mark realized something that made his stomach turn. This betrayal was not just a mistake from a long time ago. It was not just a ghost from the past that had finally been caught. No, this was something much worse. This was a living and breathing part of his life right now. Linda had not just made a mistake once. She had been keeping this man on the sidelines for ten years. While Mark was working hard to buy toys and clothes, this other man was somewhere nearby. While Mark was hugging the children, this man was sending messages to Linda. Mark felt like a fool. He felt like he was the only person in a room who did not know the joke was about him.
He put the phone back on the nightstand very gently. He did not want it to make a sound. He crept out of the bedroom, his feet feeling heavy like stones. He needed to find more answers. He needed to find something that would tell him who this person was. He needed a name.
Mark went to the very top of the house. He went to the attic. The attic was a place where they kept things they did not use anymore. It was a dusty place with a low ceiling. It smelled like old paper and wood. Mark turned on the small light bulb that hung from the ceiling. The light was yellow and dim, making long shadows on the walls.
He began to search. He moved old boxes filled with Christmas decorations. He moved bags of old clothes that the children had outgrown. He felt like a detective looking for a criminal. He looked behind a stack of heavy winter coats that were hanging on a rack. There, hidden in a dark corner where nobody would ever look, he found something.
It was an old shoe box. It was covered in a thick layer of dust. Mark picked it up and sat down on a wooden crate. His heart was beating very fast again. He took a deep breath and opened the lid.
Inside the box, there were no shoes. Instead, there were many small pictures called polaroids. Mark picked up the first one. His hand began to shake. The picture was of a man standing in a garden. The man was smiling. Mark looked at the man’s face and felt a cold wave of shock. This man looked exactly like Leo. He had the same straight nose. He had the same strong chin. Mark picked up another picture. This one showed the man sitting on a bench. He had the same eyes as Sarah.
Mark felt like he was drowning in a big, dark sea of secrets. He could not breathe. He looked at more pictures. In some of them, Linda was standing next to the man. They looked happy. They looked like a couple. Mark felt a pain in his chest that was so sharp he had to hold his breath.
Then, he found the letters. There were many of them, tied together with a piece of blue string. Mark untied the string and started to read. The letters were filled with words of love and secrets. And in every letter, the name was there.
The man’s name was David.
Mark closed his eyes and tried to remember. David. David. Where had he heard that name? Then, it hit him like a lightning bolt. He remembered a neighborhood party from many years ago. It was a sunny afternoon, and everyone was eating and laughing. He remembered meeting a man named David. David had been polite and friendly. Mark had shaken his hand. He had even shared a drink with him.
The depth of the lie was staggering. Staggering means it was so big that it made Mark feel like he was going to fall over. Linda had not just found a stranger. She had chosen someone from their own world. She had kept the truth hidden while David lived his life, perhaps only a few streets away. Every time Mark saw his children, he was seeing the face of a man he had met at a party.
Mark felt like his whole life was a house made of cards, and someone had just blown a very strong wind. Everything was falling down. He looked at the polaroids and felt a terrible anger. He wanted to scream. He wanted to break everything in the attic. But he stayed very still. He just sat there in the yellow light, surrounded by the proof of his wife’s lies.
He realized that he had been living in a dream. He thought he was a father, a husband, and a happy man. But the letters in the box told a different story. They told a story of a woman who wanted a family so much that she was willing to destroy a good man to get it.
Suddenly, Mark heard a sound. It was a very small sound, but in the quiet attic, it sounded like a drum.
Creak.
It was the sound of a floorboard. Someone was behind him.
Mark turned around very slowly. His heart was in his throat. Standing in the doorway of the attic was Linda. She was wearing her bathrobe, and her hair was messy. Her eyes were very red and puffy from crying all night. She looked at Mark, and then she looked at the shoe box in his lap. She saw the polaroids. She saw the letters.
She did not try to run away. She did not try to tell another lie. She just stood there, looking very tired and very sad. But she was not empty-handed.
Linda was holding something against her chest. It was a small, old diary. The cover was faded and the edges were torn. It looked like something she had kept for a very long time.
"You found them," Linda said. Her voice was very thin and weak. It sounded like it was coming from far away.
Mark did not speak. He just stared at her. He felt like there were no words left in the world.
Linda walked a few steps closer into the attic. The yellow light made her look like a ghost. She held out the small diary toward Mark.
"I was going to keep this secret forever," she whispered. "I thought it was the only way to keep us together. But the hospital changed everything. I have decided to show you this. It is my diary from the year we got married. The third secret is inside these pages, Mark. And it is a secret that might be the biggest one of all."
Mark looked at the diary. He looked at the woman he thought he knew. He reached out his hand, but he was afraid to touch it. He knew that once he opened that diary, there would be no going back. The first secret was the blood. The second secret was David. And now, the third secret was waiting for him in Linda’s shaky hands.
The attic felt very small. The air was very still. Mark looked into Linda’s eyes and saw a look of pure fear. He realized that the story was not over yet. In fact, the most shocking part was just about to begin.
What do you think is the third big secret?
Why did Linda keep pictures of David if she was trying to keep a secret?
How would you feel if you found out your neighbor was the real father of your children?
What do you think is written in that old diary?
Is it possible that there is a secret even bigger than the cheating?
Do you think Mark should read the diary or just leave the house?
The mystery is growing! We now know about the man named David, but what is the "third secret" that Linda is so afraid of? Why is it in her old diary? You cannot afford to miss the next episode! Make sure you follow our page right now so you can be the first to read Episode 6. The truth is finally coming out, and it will change everything you think you know about this family!
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