Chapter 6 - The Passport with Another Name
Daniel poured himself water.
His hand was steady again.
Mine wasn’t.
I hated that.
“Open the suitcase,” I repeated.
He sat down.
“Claire, we are not turning our marriage into a circus because a woman I dated twelve years ago has unresolved issues.”
Valery’s jaw tightened.
I stared at him.
“Open it.”
“No.”
That single word changed something in me.
I stopped asking.
Ten minutes later, he walked to the front galley to speak with the captain about our arrival time.
He left the suitcase beside his seat.
Valery looked at me.
I looked at the suitcase.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
“You just told me he stole from your mother.”
“I’m telling you not to do anything he can use against you.”
That sounded like experience.
I didn’t open it.
I did notice the side pocket wasn’t fully closed.
A dark blue corner showed through.
I leaned closer.
Passport.
I pulled it out just far enough to see the cover.
United States of America.
Daniel returned.
His eyes went to my hand.
He crossed the cabin fast.
“Give me that.”
He snatched the passport and shoved it inside.
My heart pounded.
“Why do you have your passport in an outside pocket?”
“We’re going to Canada.”
“The trip I didn’t know about.”
“Yes.”
Valery spoke from behind me.
“What name is on it?”
Daniel froze.
I felt every hair on my arms rise.
“Daniel?”
He looked at me.
“Don’t start.”
I reached for the case.
He pulled it away.
The side pocket opened wider.
The passport slid out and hit the carpet.
It landed open.
The photo was Daniel.
The name was not.
ADAM MICHAEL BLAKE.
Valery stopped breathing.
I picked it up.
The passport had been issued three years ago.
Three years ago, Daniel Mercer and I were already dating.
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I remembered the trip he took that spring, supposedly to renew a business license in Seattle. He had been gone four days. He came home with flowers, a leather journal, and a story about missing me so much he had changed his return flight. I had kept the dried ribbon from those flowers in a drawer. Suddenly I wanted to burn it.
Private Jet Story - 20 Chapters
