The Secret My Sister-in-Law Tried to Hide for Seventeen Nights

Chapter 1: The Truth in the Darkness

The realization hit me so suddenly that it stole the air from my lungs.

Lucía had never been trying to get close to my husband.

She had been hiding from him.

Under the blanket, her hand still gripped mine tightly.

The thin strip of light beneath the door vanished.

A few moments later, footsteps retreated down the hallway.

Only then did Lucía slowly release my hand.

Neither of us spoke.

Neither of us slept.

The next morning, I found her alone in the kitchen, staring into a cup of coffee she hadn’t touched.

Her hands trembled.

“Lucía,” I said quietly, sitting across from her. “Who was outside the door last night?”

Her face instantly drained of color.

“You heard it?” she whispered.

I nodded.

Tears filled her eyes.

“Please don’t tell him.”