We might know someone for years or even decades without ever thinking they’re hiding a big, shocking secret. In this collection, people have shared the surprising truths they found out about the people closest to them. We admire their honesty and bravery in sharing these stories with so many others.

The Story:

A week after my 35-year-old husband died suddenly, I looked through his emails. I found a “location tracking” service he had secretly subscribed to for months. Curious, I logged in using one of his old passwords. To my shock, it showed his live location—not far from our home.

After taking a few minutes to calm down, I got in my car to go check it out. Suddenly, a chat window popped up on the screen with a photo of a girl and a message from a username I didn’t know, asking, “Are you still there? What should we do next?” Then, someone replied from my husband’s account with a selfie, but it wasn’t my husband.

I felt sick when I realized that someone else had hacked his account. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or even more heartbroken at the small hope that he might still be alive.