My sibling recommended that I set up a surveillance device in our home prior to departing on a one-month professional journey to a different town. I chose to heed his suggestion…

My brother advised me to install a listening device in our apartment before I left for a month-long business trip to another city. I decided to follow his advice. When I left, two days later, I decided to turn on the listening device.

But what I heard made me freeze in horror. I never thought my life would change so rapidly. Just a month ago, I was a completely happy woman.

I had everything one could dream of. A loving husband, a good job, a cozy apartment in the center of the city. John and I had been living together for almost seven years.

We met in college, in our junior year. He was studying economics, I was in the foreign languages department. We dated other people who didn’t know English.

I taught English and German at a language school. The money was enough for all necessities and even a little more. We traveled abroad for vacations, furnished our apartment, made plans for the future.

Everything was fine. Until that day. At the language school where I worked, they offered me a month-long trip to San Francisco.

A branch of our school was opening, and they needed an experienced teacher to help set up operations and train new staff. It was a great opportunity for career growth, and the salary was promised to be 1.5 times higher. I agreed without hesitation, and John reacted calmly to the news.

He said he would miss me, but understood how important it was for me. He promised to call every day and look after the apartment. It seemed everything was fine.

A week before departure, I visited my parents. Mom and dad lived in the suburbs, in a small cozy house. I couldn’t visit them often due to work, but before a long business trip, I decided to see them for sure.

My brother Michael also came to the parental home that day. He is 4 years older than me, always been a caring and attentive brother. He works as a programmer at an import-export company, lives alone.

He had a decent relationship with John, though they weren’t close friends. We sat on the veranda, drinking tea. Parents went to the store, and Michael and I were left alone.

I told him about the upcoming business trip, my plans, how I missed San Francisco, where we once went on a school excursion. Suddenly, Michael interrupted me. «Emily, are you sure everything is okay with you and John?» The question caught me off guard.

Of course, everything is fine. Why do you ask? Michael paused, obviously choosing his words. I just have a strange premonition.

I can’t explain it. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that John has been behaving differently lately. I was surprised.

Michael saw John not that often, once a month at most. Where did these conclusions come from? What do you mean? Everything is normal with us. No problems.

Michael shrugged. Maybe. But you know, I would play it safe in your place.

What do you suggest? Install a listening device in the apartment. Before you leave. I laughed.

It seemed like my brother was joking. But he looked serious. Have you lost your mind? Why? I trust my husband.

Listen, Emily. I’m not saying that John is hiding something. But a month is a long time.

Better to be safe. I’ll give you a good device, compact, inconspicuous. Install it somewhere in the living room.

You’ll remotely listen to the recordings. If everything is normal, then you’ll remove it and forget. But if something is wrong.

Agree, it’s better to know the truth. I refused for a long time. The thought of spying on my own husband seemed wild to me.

But Michael was persistent. And in the end, I agreed. I thought that indeed, if everything is fine, no one will know, and I’ll be calm.

The next day, Michael brought me a small device, the size of a USB drive. He explained how to activate it, how to connect to it remotely through a special app on the phone. He said the battery would last a month, and the recording activates only when there are sounds in the room.

In general, everything is thought out. I hid the device in my bag and went home, feeling like a spy from a cheap detective novel. John wasn’t home, he was late at work.

I took advantage of the moment and installed the listening device in the living room, hiding it behind books on the shelf. Then I checked if the app worked on the phone. Everything functioned perfectly.

When John returned home, I felt a sharp pang of shame. How could I give in to my brother’s persuasion? How could I doubt the person with whom I had lived for so many years? I wanted to immediately retrieve the device and throw it away. But something stopped me.

Perhaps curiosity? Or deep inside, I had doubts that I myself wasn’t aware of. The following days passed in pre-departure fuss. I needed to prepare materials for classes, pack things, solve many organizational issues.

I hardly paid attention to the listening device. I turned it on in test mode only once, when John and I were having dinner. The recording was clear, words distinguishable.

Then I turned off the app and almost forgot about it. The day of departure came unexpectedly fast. John drove me to the airport, helped with the luggage, kissed goodbye.

He promised to call every day, said he would miss me. Everything as usual, nothing suspicious. The first two days in San Francisco passed in a frantic rhythm.

New team, new tasks, new city. I returned to the rented apartment late in the evening, exhausted. John called every day, told about his affairs, asked how I was settling in.

Ordinary conversations of loving spouses. On the third day, I returned home earlier than usual. Brewed tea, settled on the couch with a laptop.

There was a lot of work, I needed to prepare materials for tomorrow’s classes. And then I remembered the listening device. I don’t know why, but I decided to check the recordings.

Just like that, out of curiosity. Opened the app on the phone, connected to the device. It worked fine, several hours of recordings had accumulated.

I started listening from the beginning, from the moment of my departure. The first recordings were boring. John came home, turned on the TV, talked on the phone about work matters.

Nothing interesting. I was about to turn it off, but decided to check a little more. And then I heard it.

The sound of the front door. Footsteps. A woman’s voice.

So, she left? The voice was unfamiliar. Young, with a slight hoarseness. Yes, for a month.

We can not worry. This was John answering. I would recognize his voice out of thousands.

Great. So, we have plenty of time. The sound of a kiss.

Laughter, my heart clenched in pain. The first thought. Betrayal.

Banal, vulgar betrayal. The husband brought his mistress to our apartment as soon as I left. So predictable, so offensive.

But the next words made me freeze. Are you sure she suspects nothing? This is risky. Absolutely.

Emily completely trusts me. She thinks I work as a financial analyst, toiling over reports. She has no idea what I really do.

And if she finds out? She won’t. And if she does, it will be too late. By then, everything will be done, and we will be far away.

What? What is he talking about? What will be done? Where are they planning to go? Are you sure this will work? So much money is at stake. Everything is calculated. The scheme has been perfected over years.

No traces, no evidence. Clean work. And your boss? He won’t suspect? Mark won’t suspect anything.

He completely trusts me. Thinks I’m his right hand. Has no idea that I’ve been leaking information to competitors for years.

By the time he realizes what happened, his business will be destroyed. My brain refused to process what I heard. John.

My John, a calm, decent, honest person, is talking about some crime? About betraying his boss? About stealing money? And your wife. Is she not a problem? Pause. I held my breath.

Emily? No, not a problem. She knows nothing. And won’t know.

And when everything happens, it won’t matter anymore. You talk as if you’re going to get rid of her. Laughter.

Cold, unfamiliar laughter. There are different ways to get rid of a person. Not necessarily physically eliminate.

You can just disappear. New documents, new country, new life. For us with you.

Let her stay here, deal with the consequences. If lucky, she’ll get off with interrogations. If not, she might even go to jail as an accomplice.

In any case, I don’t care. I listened, and it seemed like some dream, nightmare. My husband, the person with whom I lived seven years, can’t say such things.

So cold-bloodedly plan betrayal, theft, escape. So indifferently discuss my fate. When do we start? In two weeks.

On the 14th, Mark will sign the documents, transfer the money. We must finish everything by the 15th and disappear. Tickets are already booked.

New passports will be ready by the 10th. And your friend is reliable? The one helping with documents? Ian? Yes, a tested person. Has been working with such things for a long time.

No problems. I listened further, and each word hit like a slap. They discussed details of some scam with stocks, withdrawing money through shell companies.

Talked about sums with six zeros. Planned an escape to some country without extradition. And all this was said by my husband.

The person I thought I knew better than anyone in the world. The recording continued. They moved to the bedroom.

Our bedroom. The bed creaked, the woman moaned. I turned off the app.

It was too much. Betrayal after seven years of marriage is painful. But what I learned before that was much worse.

My husband is a criminal. He has been deceiving his boss for years, leaking information to competitors. Planning some major scam.

Planning to flee the country with his mistress, leaving me to deal with the consequences. Possibly, arrest, prison awaited me. I sat, not moving, unable to believe.

Maybe this is some mistake? Maybe a prank? Maybe Vladimir is shooting some movie, rehearsing a role? Maybe? No. Everything was real. Every word, every intonation.

This was my husband, but at the same time, a completely unfamiliar person to me. The first thought was to call him. Scream, demand explanations.

But I restrained myself. If he finds out that I know everything, what then? What will he do? Accelerate his plans? Come up with something even more dangerous? Or maybe even… No, I couldn’t allow such thoughts. Vladimir is not capable of physical violence.

At least, the Vladimir I knew. But now I understood that I didn’t know him at all. I decided to call my brother.

Michael always knew how to stay calm in critical situations, could give reasonable advice. Moreover, it was he who insisted on installing the listening device. As if he had a premonition of something.

Dialed the number. Beeps. Long, endless beeps.

Michael didn’t answer. Perhaps he was busy at work. I sent a message.

Call back urgently. It’s very important. While waiting for a response, I tried to gather my thoughts.

What should I do next? Go to the police? But I have no evidence except for the illegally made recording. Moreover, I didn’t even know exactly what the crime Vladimir is planning consists of. Talk to his boss, this Mark? But I didn’t even know who he is.

John never told me in detail about his work. The phone vibrated. Anton, Emily, what happened? Are you okay? Michael, I need to talk to you.

It’s urgent. Can you now? Of course. I’m at work, but I can step away.

Something serious? Very. It’s about John. I. I heard something on the recording.

Something terrible. Pause. What exactly did you hear? I briefly retold the content of the recording.

A strange woman, talks about some scam, about fleeing the country, about new documents. About the fact that I may be accused of complicity. Michael was silent.

Then he sighed heavily. Damn! I suspected something was wrong with him, but I didn’t think it was so serious. Emily, listen to me carefully.

Don’t call John. Don’t show that you know something. Behave as usual if he calls.

I’m flying to San Francisco right now. Why? Michael, what’s going on? Do you know something? Not on the phone. I’ll explain everything when I arrive.

Wait for me, don’t go anywhere. And for God’s sake, be careful, he disconnected. I remained sitting with the phone in my hand, even more confused than before.

What does Michael know? Why is he so alarmed? Why is he flying to me? What is going on? Fragments of thoughts, memories swirled in my head. John, his work, his frequent business trips, calls at night, which he explained by urgent matters. Sudden money that appeared from bonuses.

New car last year, expensive watches, jewelry for my birthday. Everything seemed logical, explainable. Successful career, good salary.

I never doubted. And should I have? Were there signs that I missed? Hints that I didn’t notice? Could I have prevented what is happening now? The phone vibrated again. This time John.

I froze. What to tell him? How to behave? Can I hide that I know everything? Deep breath. Calm.

I must act normally, as if nothing happened. Otherwise, he will suspect something. Hello? Hi, sunshine.

How are you there? How is San Francisco. His voice sounded as usual. Warm, interested.

No signs of tension or falseness. A professional actor, no less. Everything is good.

Lots of work, I’m tired. And you? What’s new? Nothing special. Work, home, TV.

I miss you without you. Misses. Of course.

So much that he brought another woman to our bed. I miss you too. Listen, sorry, I have to run.

Meeting in five minutes. We’ll talk in the evening, okay? Of course, run. Love you.

And I you. Hung up. My hands were shaking.

I just lied to the person I never lied to. Said I love, although inside there was only pain and fear. How easy it turned out to pretend.

Perhaps, for him it was also easy. Seven years pretending to be a loving husband, while planning something completely different. I turned on the listening app again.

There were more recordings, later ones. I didn’t want to listen to them, but I had to know everything. Had to understand what John is planning exactly, how serious the danger is.

New recording. Again a woman’s voice, but now different. Lower, more confident.

John, do you understand what you’re getting into? This is no longer just leaking information. This is direct theft, in particularly large amount. Serious charge…