I CAME HOME TO FIND MY HUSBAND AND HIS EX DIGGING IN MY GARDEN — WHAT THEY HID THERE 10 YEARS AGO LEFT ME SPEECHLESS.
As I pulled into the driveway, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! My HUSBAND and his EX-WIFE, Janet, were DIGGING UP all the flowers I’d worked so hard to grow. My heart SANK. 
I had no idea Janet was even coming over — I thought they weren’t even on speaking terms! 
I jumped out of the car and RAN over to them, demanding to know what in the world they were doing. That’s when Janet turned to MY HUSBAND and said:
“Oh, you didn’t tell her? Love, she DESERVES to know that 10 years ago we buried something important here,” Janet said, looking at my husband with a mix of urgency and hesitation.
My mind was spinning. Important? Buried? I looked at my husband, expecting him to deny it, to laugh it off, to explain. But instead, he just looked… guilty. He had the same expression he wore when he forgot our anniversary a few years ago, only this time, it was mixed with something else — fear, maybe? Regret? I couldn’t tell, but my heart started pounding.
“What is she talking about?” I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady. “What did you bury?”
My husband, Alan, looked at me, then at Janet, and I could see the silent exchange passing between them. For a moment, I thought he might brush it off, pretend it was nothing, but then he sighed deeply, dropping the shovel and running a hand through his hair.
“It’s… complicated,” he said finally, avoiding my eyes. “I was going to tell you, I swear, but—”
“But you didn’t!” I snapped, my patience wearing thin. “So maybe you can start now, because this? This is insane!”
Janet sighed and stepped closer to me, her hands covered in dirt. “Look, I know this must be confusing for you,” she said, and I couldn’t help but notice how calm she seemed. Like she’d been waiting for this moment. “But there’s something we need to explain.”
I folded my arms, my heart racing, and nodded. “I’m listening.”
She glanced at Alan before continuing. “Ten years ago, when Alan and I were still married, we… well, we were going through a really tough time. We were fighting a lot, and one night, we made a huge mistake. We got involved with something — someone, really — who wasn’t exactly… legal.”
I blinked, my stomach twisting. “Illegal? What are you talking about?”
“Do you remember a man named Greg Patterson?” Janet asked, her voice cautious.
I searched my memory, and then it clicked. Greg Patterson. The name had been all over the news a decade ago, tied to some kind of white-collar crime scandal. I remembered hearing about it, but I hadn’t thought much of it at the time. “Yeah, I remember. He got arrested for fraud, right? Embezzling money or something?”
Janet nodded. “Yes, and what no one knew is that Alan and I… well, we were involved. Not in the fraud, but we got mixed up with him. He owed us a lot of money, and he promised to pay us back. But when everything fell apart, he disappeared. We were scared, panicking, and we didn’t know what to do. We thought the money was gone, and then one day, out of nowhere, he showed up with a suitcase. He said he was going on the run and he needed to hide it. We didn’t know what was in it, but… we buried it here, in the garden.”
I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. “A suitcase? Buried here? And you’re just telling me this now?”
“I thought it was over!” Alan burst out, his voice cracking. “After Greg was caught, I thought that was it. I didn’t want to dig up the past — literally or figuratively. I just wanted to move on. But then, last week, Janet called me. She said she got a letter.”
“A letter?” I echoed, my head spinning with all this information. “From who?”
“From Greg,” Janet said, her voice barely above a whisper. “He’s out on parole. And he wants what’s his.”
I felt cold all over. “And you’re just going to give it to him?”
Alan looked at me, his eyes desperate. “I don’t know what else to do. I’m scared, Kelly. I don’t know what’s in that suitcase, but if it’s something dangerous, something that could come back to haunt us… we have to deal with it. I didn’t want you to get involved, but—”
“Well, it’s too late for that!” I shouted, feeling the tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “I’m already involved! And what’s worse is that you kept this from me! I thought we didn’t have any secrets, Alan.”
He flinched at that, but before he could respond, Janet interrupted. “Look, I get that you’re angry. But standing here fighting isn’t going to help. We need to dig up that suitcase and figure out what we’re dealing with.”
I stared at them both, my mind whirling with disbelief, anger, and a growing sense of dread. Part of me wanted to tell them to stop, to just put the shovels down and walk away. But I knew it wouldn’t solve anything. If Greg was really out, if he was coming back… we needed to know what was buried in my garden.
“Fine,” I said finally, my voice trembling. “But I’m not leaving. If you’re going to dig it up, I’m going to be right here.”
Alan nodded, and Janet gave me a tight, sympathetic smile. “Fair enough,” she said, picking up the shovel again.
The three of us stood there, in the middle of the garden I’d spent so many hours tending, and began to dig. I felt sick as I watched the soil get overturned, my mind running wild with possibilities. What could be in that suitcase? Money? Documents? Something worse?
It took about twenty minutes before we heard a dull clunk. Alan and Janet exchanged a tense glance, and my heart jumped into my throat. Slowly, they cleared away the remaining dirt, revealing the corner of a battered, mud-streaked suitcase. Alan hesitated, his hands trembling as he reached down to pull it out.
For a moment, none of us moved. The suitcase was covered in dirt, the once-black leather now faded and scratched. I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears as Alan knelt down and carefully unlatched it. He hesitated for a moment, glancing up at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
And then, he opened it.
My breath caught as I saw what was inside. It wasn’t cash, or jewelry, or anything I had imagined. It was a stack of old, weathered journals, bound together with twine. And on top of them, a faded photograph of a little girl with curly blonde hair, smiling at the camera.
I stared at it, confused, as Alan picked up the photo. “What… what is this?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Janet’s face had gone pale, her eyes wide. “Oh my god,” she whispered. “It’s his daughter. Greg’s daughter. He told us she was missing… he said he’d lost her…”
Alan slowly opened one of the journals, and I could see his hands shaking as he flipped through the pages. “These are letters,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Letters he wrote to her… but they were never sent.”
I looked at Janet, my heart pounding. “Why would he bury this?”
Janet’s eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “But if Greg wants these back… it must mean she’s still out there. Somewhere.”
And just like that, the world shifted. What had started as a simple confrontation over a garden had turned into something much, much darker. I didn’t know what secrets those journals held, or what Greg wanted with them. But I knew one thing: whatever we had just uncovered, it was only the beginning.
