My stomach lurches.
He got what was coming to him.
That’s what he said.
I don’t want to consider what Daniel was suggesting. Could he be responsible for Guy’s death? I wouldn’t want to believe it. But after tonight, Daniel’s violent, unhinged behaviour, it seems more than possible.
And the videos of Guy and I together, going to our hotel. I never knew how Daniel found out. I always wondered if it was Evelyn, Guy’s wife — that she secretly always knew, her phone calls and endless texts about Guy’s murder just a way of punishing me further for my infidelity.
But… Craig?
Craig. My best friend. My constant. The man who has been in my corner through everything. My relationship with Daniel, my father dying, Guy’s murder. I’ve trusted him implicitly for years.
He wouldn’tdo that. Would he?
And yet, Sam said Craig lied. Lied about James being investigated. And Daniel said Craig sent the video. And my phone blocking Daniel, the only person with access to block him was Craig.
My head is pounding.
I grab my phone. The screen glows too bright against the dark of the living room. I scroll to Craig’s name — the only person I’ve ever trusted without hesitation — and hit call before I can talk myself out of it.
He answers on the second ring. “Tom? What’s wrong?”
His voice is calm but alert — police tone, professional tone. He’s in control before I even start.
“He broke in,” I say. My voice comes out as a whisper. “Daniel. He broke into my house. He tied me up, Craig. He—” I can’t say the wordwaterboarded. It feels absurd, cinematic, until you’ve felt it. “He was going to kill me. Sam was here. He—he saved me.”
There’s a sharp inhale. “What?”
“He’s gone now,” I continue. “Daniel. He’s—he fell down the stairs, I think, but when we looked again, he was gone.”
“Okay. Okay, listen to me,” Craig says quickly. “You need to stay where you are. Don’t go outside. I’ll call it in right now. We’ll get a unit round, and I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
But something inside me hardens, sharp and furious. “No.”
“Tom—”
“No, Craig.” The words come faster now, driven by something more dangerous than fear: betrayal. “I need to ask you something first. Did you send Daniel videos of me and Guy?”
Craig doesn’t answer. Not right away. And that silence — that tiny beat too long — detonates inside me.
“Oh, my God,” I whisper. “You did.”
“Tom—”
“Youdid! He told me! He said you sent it! That’s how he knew! That’s how he found out!”
His voice changes, quiet, deliberate. “Tom, I did what I had to do to—”
My heart spikes. “What you had to do? You gave himproof!”
“I was protecting you,” Craig says. “You weren’t safe with him. You couldn’t see it, but I could. You think I enjoyed it? I did what I thought would make him go.”
My laugh comes out wrong — a dry, shocked sound that tastes of salt and disbelief. “You thinkthathelped? You think sending him a video of me with another man helped?”
“You were never going to leave him, Tom, until I showed you what he was capable of,” Craig says, his voice growing tighter.
I am in disbelief. It was the revelation of the videos, which pushed Daniel to be violent, leading to the final breakdown in our relationship “So, you wanted him to find out so he would hit me?!”
