The Secret Bill Chapter 2

My blood ran cold. Someone had been in our apartment. So why did Chloe lie?

And if someone was here, how did they get past the smart lock without leaving a trace?

I didn't sleep a wink. The next morning, I went back down to the management office. The friendly guard with the canines wasn't there; a different guard wearing glasses was at the desk.

"Can you tell me if I've had any visitors recently?"

My apartment is a full-floor residence, so checking the elevator security footage for my level is easy. The guard pulled up the recordings for the past two weeks.

We watched the footage. Nothing. Not a single person got off on my floor. This was getting bizarre. Could the network manager app be bugged?

I was distracted and unproductive all day at work. When I got home, I collapsed onto the sofa in a foul mood.

Chloe came over, her hands behind her back, and snuggled up next to me with a grin. "What's wrong, honey? Why the long face?"

I frowned, about to push her away, but she suddenly revealed what she was hiding. A brand new phone.

"Ta-da! I was going to wait for your birthday, but you've seemed so down lately, I decided to give it to you early!"

My eyes went wide. I couldn't believe it.

It was the first new phone I’d ever owned since we got married. I always got Chloe's hand-me-downs when she upgraded. Even though we could easily afford it, she was always frugal when it came to electronics.

I was so happy I was speechless. "Is... is this really for me?"

Chloe beamed. "Of course! My husband works so hard. You deserve a little reward, don't you think?" She leaned in and planted a loud kiss on my cheek.

A wave of euphoria washed over me, instantly followed by a pang of guilt.

Damn it. My wife was so good to me, and here I was suspecting her of cheating.

As for the router thing, it was probably just a neighbor piggybacking on our Wi-Fi. Or maybe the app was just glitchy.

I tore off the plastic wrap and powered on the new phone. I wanted to transfer everything from my old one. But as I went to log in with my Apple ID, I saw that an account was already signed in.

That was impossible. I had just broken the seal myself. How could it have been used before?

Did Chloe get scammed? Did she buy a refurbished phone to save a few bucks?

I stood up, ready to ask her what was going on. But then I stopped. Too many strange things had happened lately. Should I confront her now?

I hesitated. A new, darker curiosity took hold. I wanted to know who the phone's original owner was.

I opened the photo album, hoping for a clue. There were two pictures. One was a blurry shot taken somewhere in our apartment complex. The other was taken inside my home.

And in the corner of that second photo, there was a part of a man's hand—tanned skin, long fingers.