Acting strange
Dora's phone buzzed face down on her desk, the vibration loud in the quiet office. She flipped it over, expecting another ridiculous message from Sienna. Instead, an unknown number glared up at her:
Ask him about the warehouse by the docks. 8 PM tonight.
Her coffee cup slipped from suddenly numb fingers, splashing across her keyboard.
"Damn it!" She grabbed tissues, mopping up the mess while her pulse hammered against her ribs. Across the office, Austin's door remained firmly shut - unusual for mid-morning. Through the glass, she could see him pacing, phone pressed to his ear, his free hand tugging at his hair the way he only did when stressed.
Sienna materialized beside her, tossing down a stack of files. "You look like you just saw a ghost. What's—" Her eyes dropped to the still-lit phone screen. "Oh."
Dora snatched it up. "It's nothing."
"Bullshit." Sienna pulled up a chair, her perfume suddenly overwhelming. "That's the same look you got when—"
"When what?"
"When Austin first accused you of cheating." Sienna's voice dropped. "Who sent that?"
"I don't know!" Dora's whisper came out strangled. She glanced toward Austin's office just as his head snapped up, his gaze locking onto hers through the glass.
He mouthed You okay?
She forced a nod, turning her back to him. The lie tasted bitter.
By lunch, three more messages arrived:
He's not who you think he is.
Ask about the night Daniel disappeared.
Warehouse. 8 PM. Come alone if you want the truth.
Dora's salad sat untouched as Sienna read them over her shoulder. "Okay, new plan," Sienna said, stealing a cherry tomato. "We tell Austin right now..."
"No!" Dora grabbed her wrist. "What if...what if there's something he's not telling me?"
The possibility lodged in her chest like a knife. After everything - the accusations, the lost baby, the divorce - they'd only just begun rebuilding trust. But this? Anonymous messages hinting at secrets? Her hands shook.
Sienna sighed. "Fine. Then we will go together tonight."
"He said come alone."
"And I say screw that." Sienna's nails tapped the table. "I'll stay hidden, just in case. But Dora..." She waited until their eyes met. "If this turns out to be nothing, you have to tell him. Secrets will destroy you two all over again."
Austin was acting strange. Not obviously strange - just little things. The way he checked his watch every few minutes. How he jumped when his phone rang. The tension in his shoulders when she casually mentioned dinner plans.
"You should stay home tonight," he said, kneading the back of her neck as they stood by the elevators. "You've been tired lately."
The concern in his voice almost made her confess everything. Instead, she leaned into his touch. "I'm fine. Just...thinking about the baby."
His hands stilled. When she turned, his face had gone pale.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He kissed her forehead. "Just...be careful, okay?"
The elevator doors opened before she could respond.
The docks at night were nothing like the bustling port of daytime. Fog curled around rusted shipping containers, and the only light came from flickering street lamps. Dora parked three blocks away, her stomach in knots.
"This is insane," Sienna muttered, zipping her leather jacket. "I'm staying close. Scream if you need me."
Dora's phone buzzed: North warehouse. Door's open.
The warehouse loomed ahead, its broken windows like missing teeth. Gravel crunched under her boots as she approached, each step louder than her pounding heart. Inside, shadows stretched across concrete floors littered with chains and oil stains.
"You came."
She whirled. Austin stood ten feet away, backlit by a single hanging bulb. Not surprised. Not confused.
Expecting her.
Her mouth went dry. "You...knew about the texts?"
He stepped forward, his face unreadable. "I sent them."
The world tilted. "What?"
"I needed you to hear this where no one could interrupt." His hands flexed at his sides. "Where you could walk away if...if after what I tell you, you never want to see me again."
Ice flooded her veins. "Austin, what did you do?"
The story came out in jagged pieces:
The night two years ago when he'd gotten a call about Daniel.
The fight at these very docks.
The way Daniel had fallen, hitting his head on the concrete.
The blood.
So much blood.
"I thought I killed him," Austin whispered, his voice raw. "I panicked. Called my mother to help cover it up. That's why...that's why I pushed you away. Why did I make you get rid of the baby? I couldn't…" His breath hitched. "I couldn't let you be tied to a murderer."
Dora's legs gave out. She caught herself on a rusted pipe, the metal cold beneath her fingers. "Is he...?"
"Alive." The new voice came from the shadows. Daniel limped into the light, his face bearing a scar that hadn't been there before. "Though not for lack of trying."
Austin didn't move. "I paid for his medical care. Set him up with a new identity overseas."
"You bought my silence," Daniel corrected. He looked at Dora. "I came back because the money ran out. Your husband has a temper, but he's no killer." A bitter smile. "Just a rich boy who thinks he can fix everything with a check."
The pieces clicked together. "The texts...the meeting..." Dora stared at Austin. "This was some kind of test?"
"I needed you to hear the truth from both of us." Austin's eyes glittered in the dim light. "No more lies. No more secrets. Even if it means..." He swallowed hard. "Even if it means you leave."
Silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant horn of a cargo ship. Dora studied the man she'd married - the man who'd hurt her, betrayed her, and now stood before her with his darkest truth laid bare.
She took a step forward. Then another.
And slapped him hard across the face.
The crack echoed off the metal walls. Austin didn't flinch, just stood there absorbing it, his cheek reddening.
"That's for the abortion," she hissed.
Then she grabbed his face and kissed him.
Austin froze for half a second before crushing her against him, his hands fisting in her jacket like he was drowning. When they broke apart, she pressed her forehead to his.
"And that's for finally telling me the truth."
Behind them, Sienna cleared her throat. "As touching as this is, can we go? This place is creeping me out."
Daniel snorted. "I like her."
Austin kept his arms around Dora, his breath warm against her hair. "You're really not...?"
"Angry? Furious." She pulled back to meet his gaze. "But we'll deal with it. Together."
For the first time in years, Austin's smile reached his eyes.
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