That was true – she’d had a very rough night. On top of Silia constantly waking up, Siara had another nightmare. This one was different from the one she usually had of Silky. Instead of him being hit by a car, he was falling into a deep pit… yelling for her help. She’d tossed and turned all night. Siara hadn’t even realized when her alarm went off this morning. Had she not been jolted out of her sleep, she’d probably still be in bed.
Covering her face as her eyes watered, Siara refused to let her tears fall. She felt even worse now. Her first thought was that Silky had taken their daughter away from her, but all he was doing was being a good father and considerate husband. Unable to keep her tears from falling, her shoulders shuddered as she began to cry. As soon as she did, Silia began to cry, too.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, briskly leaving the kitchen.
She took Silia to her room and calmed her down. Once she was, Siara fed her and put her to bed. By the time she was done, Silky had finished breakfast. Even though she was hungry, Siara felt too guilty to eat. That didn’t stop Silky from fixing her a plate and bringing it to her in their bedroom. The gesture only made her feel worse. Covering her face, she inhaled a deep breath as her chin trembled.
“I can’t fix the problem if you don’t tell me what’s going on, bae. What have I done to make you so…” He paused. “Against me?”
She couldn’t pull herself to face him. This wasn’t his fault; it was hers. Even with her unsurety, Siara chose to hide from him. Each day that passed, it felt like another layer of doubt growing between them. This wasn’t Silky’s problem to fix; it was hers. And until she did, she couldn’t tell him about it.
“I’m sorry,” was all she could think of to say as she pulled him into her arms. “I’m going to get it together. I promise.”
Silky only nodded as he held her tighter. She felt foolish even thinking he was capable of murder. But still… there was something off. And it was becoming too much. Siara made up in her mind to meet with one of the private investigators from Taylor’s law firm. At this point, she had to convince herself that her husband hadn’t done anything wrong in order to get her mind right.
Jacob, Taylor’s colleague, recommended she speak to Anthony. He was one of the investigators Taylor used on a consistent basis, and he was already familiar with Silky’s case. He’d been very patient with her, not rushing her through her thoughts as she tried to get them together. Now that she was finally about to speak with someone about it, Siara felt a little silly. She smiled softly and hung her head.
After licking her lips, she swallowed and looked up at him.
“Something is different,” she started, softly. “Off. And I don’t know if it’s him or me.” Anthony nodded, crossing one leg over the other. She watched as his veiny, chocolate brown hand grabbed the legal notepad on his desk. He began to scribble down notes as she continued. “It could be me.” Her palm patted her chest gently before balling into a fist and lowering to her lap. “Things didn’t really start feeling weird until after I had the baby, so maybe that’s it.”
Anthony smiled softly, remained quiet… urging her to continue.
“It’s just… I don’t know if I’m overreacting because of my paranoia and anxiety, or if something is really going on with my husband. I think something happened to him while he was in jail, and he isn’t coming clean about it. Maybe a brain injury or a diagnosis of something that was already there. I don’t know if he has a personality disorder or something blocking his memory. Or maybe he has a secret past that he’s kept hidden, and going to prison woke up that side of him. I don’t know. All I know is that I can’t live in this paranoia anymore. I need to know if I have reason to be concerned or if it’s all in my head.”
“How long was he gone?”
“One week shy of three months. When he first came back, he was vocal about feeling unlike himself. Like he needed time to adjust. It was very hard on him being accused of something so evil, but then I heard him on the phone basically saying he’d kill again if he had to.”
“Do you mind if I speak to his family or friends?”
Her head shook adamantly as she sat up in her seat. “Yes, I mind. They can’t know. They are all very loyal to him – especially his parents. He’s just started putting boundaries in place with them, but this will for sure make them feel like I can’t be trusted.”
Anthony nodded. He stood and grabbed a tape recorder. “I want you to tell me everything you can remember that has seemed off about your husband since he came back home. Then, I’ll need you to fill out a report. I will see what I can come up with. Until I have evidence either way, it’s imperative that you act as you normally would. If your husband is mentally unstable or hiding something, you don’t want to tip him off. If he isn’t, you don’t want to cause conflict within your marriage for nothing.”
Siara nodded in agreement. She inhaled a deep breath before going back as far as she could remember.
The next few days went by in a blur. Silky was perfect, as always. The more perfect he was, the worse Siara felt. She hid her true feelings well, though. As far as Silky was concerned, they didn’t have any issues.
But Siara was finally sure that they had more issues than a little bit.
Earlier today, Silky told her he had to run some errands. Anthony followed him, and she wasn’t expecting what he reported back to her. Her head shook as she tried to wrap her mind around what Anthony was showing her.
He had pictures of Silky handing a very large golden envelope to a correctional officer. Worst, his hair was up, and he looked to have a tattoo with CAS in cursive lettering on his neck. Silky didn’t have that tattoo before he left, and it would explain why he stopped wearing his curly hair up in a bun and letting her scratch and oil his scalp.
Along with his mysterious payment to the officer, there were also several police reports and a restraining order against Silky. From Julia.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” she grumbled, looking from one report to another. “They said Julia was the abusive one.”
Anthony shrugged. “Maybe she was, in their marriage. But check the date.” He pointed to the top of the file that she was reading. “The reports started after their divorce. For the first three years. Granted, she never named Silky, and I think that was because she didn’t want to implicate herself and the abuse she inflicted upon him. Eventually, she filed so many reports that they all but made her get a restraining order.”
Siara looked from Anthony to the paper.
“This went on for three years. She got the restraining order, then she disappeared.” Her mind instantly traveled to the conversation she had with Robin. “So he terrorized her for three years, then she got the restraining order. Maybe she moved, and Silky was unable to find her.” Siara’s face twisted up as she remained in deep thought, trying to put the pieces together. “And he was unable to, until she went to get his sperm. The clinic probably alerted Silky, and that’s how he found her. Less than twenty-four hours later… she ends up dead.”
Siara sat back in her seat as her eyes watered.