I paused the video.
The sign outside showed a woman’s figure—arched back, raised arms—blocking most of the text.
Mike leaned in to say something to Vivian. She went inside alone.
Mike waited. Checked his phone. Paced. Then returned to the car.
Twenty minutes passed.
Then thirty.
I sat frozen, heart pounding. The footage didn’t show anything explicit—but it didn’t show enough to feel right.
What kind of place was open that late?
And why lie?
When Vivian came back, Mike opened the door for her. On the way home, her reflection flashed across the windshield as she laughed at something he said.
I closed the laptop and sat in darkness, staring at myself in the blank screen.
I didn’t sleep.
By morning, I’d replayed the footage so many times I questioned my own memory.
I made breakfast. Packed lunches. Functioned.
But inside, I was unraveling.
The dashcam hadn’t given me answers—it had made everything worse.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I needed the truth.
The next evening, after dinner, I called Vivian over while Mike sat in the living room.
“Vivian, can you come sit with us for a minute?”
She glanced nervously at Mike before sitting on the edge of the couch.
“I took the memory card from your dashcam, Mike. I watched the footage from your last ‘ice cream run.'”
Mike blinked.
“You want to tell me where you’re taking my daughter, and why you’ve kept it a secret?” I asked.
He flinched—but Vivian spoke first.
“It’s not his fault. I made him keep it secret because I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
“What wouldn’t I understand?”
Silence.
“One of you needs to start talking.”
I looked between them, feeling my pulse race.
“Mike, where have you been taking her?”
He sighed and looked at Vivian. “Sorry, Viv, but we can’t keep this to ourselves any longer.”
Vivian shook her head. “Please, don’t…”
Mike turned to me. “It’s a dance studio. Vivian has been taking late classes there since the summer.”
The words stunned me.
“Dance?” I repeated.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Vivian swallowed. “Because you would’ve said no.”
“What? Why would you think that?”
