Chapter 4: The Secret Behind the Fire
For several seconds, I couldn't hear anything.
The ballroom was still filled with people, but their voices seemed to disappear beneath the weight of the photograph in Richard Cole's hand.
Daniel stood motionless.
And for the first time that evening, I saw something in his eyes that had nothing to do with losing money.
Fear.
"What does that mean?"" I asked Richard.
He glanced at Daniel before answering.
"It means the accident that nearly killed you may not have been an accident.""
My fingers tightened around the photograph.
"Explain.""
Richard motioned toward the quieter hallway outside the ballroom.
"Not here.""
I looked at Daniel.
He was already shaking his head.
"Richard, don't do this.""
The older man turned toward him.
"You've had two years to tell the truth.""
Vanessa stepped between them.
"Dad, what truth?""
Richard hesitated.
Then he looked at his daughter.
"Something happened before your relationship with Daniel began. Something that should have been reported to the police.""
Daniel grabbed his arm.
"Enough.""
Richard pulled free.
"Take your hands off me.""
The security guards near the entrance noticed the confrontation and started approaching.
I raised one hand.
"Nobody needs to remove anyone. I just want an answer.""
Richard nodded.
He opened the envelope again and handed me another photograph.
This one showed my car.
Or what remained of it.
The front passenger side was crushed against the highway barrier. The windshield was shattered, and black smoke rose from the engine.
I remembered the scene.
I remembered the rain hitting my face.
But something about the photograph caught my attention.
The front tire.
It looked damaged in a way I had never noticed before.
"What am I looking at?"" I asked.
Richard pointed to the lower corner.
"The brake line.""
I frowned.
"That was never mentioned in the accident report.""
"Exactly.""
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"This is ridiculous. The police investigated everything.""
"Then why was the original maintenance report altered?"" Richard asked.
Daniel went silent.
I turned toward him.
"What maintenance report?""
He looked at me.
"Emily, don't listen to him. He's trying to protect his own interests.""
Richard removed a final document from the envelope.
"This was recovered from a private insurance investigation. Your vehicle had been serviced four days before the accident.""
I scanned the page.
The service had been authorized under Daniel's name.
My stomach dropped.
"I didn't know you took my car to the garage.""
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"You were busy with the company.""
"That doesn't answer my question.""
Richard continued.
"The mechanic who signed this report later admitted that the vehicle had been returned with an unresolved issue involving the braking system.""
I looked up.
"Did he say someone tampered with it?""
"Not directly. He said the brake line had been damaged after the inspection.""
The room seemed to tilt.
I remembered pressing the brake pedal on the highway.
I remembered how it had gone all the way to the floor.
I remembered Daniel shouting from the passenger seat.
"Emily! Brake!""
And then the impact.
I had always believed the accident happened because the road was wet.
I had blamed myself for losing control.
For months, I had woken up in the middle of the night hearing the sound of metal twisting.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"" I whispered.
Richard looked uncomfortable.
"Because the investigation was closed before the mechanic came forward.""
"Who closed it?""
He hesitated.
Daniel answered for him.
"Nobody. There was nothing to investigate.""
I turned toward my husband.
"Did you know about the brakes?""
He stared at me.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
"I didn't think it would happen that night.""
Silence.
Richard's face hardened.
Vanessa slowly covered her mouth.
I couldn't move.
"What did you just say?""
Daniel looked as though he wanted to take the words back.
"I meant the car had been having problems. I didn't know it would become that serious.""
"Problems?""
He took a step toward me.
"Emily, I was under pressure. We were drowning in debt. You kept insisting on driving that car even though I told you to replace it.""
I stared at him.
"You told me it was safe.""
He looked away.
Richard interrupted.
"Daniel, stop talking.""
But Daniel was losing control.
"You don't understand what was happening back then!""
I felt something inside me turn cold.
"Then explain it.""
He looked at the guests, the investors, the cameras.
His public image was collapsing around him.
Finally, he whispered, "I never wanted you to get hurt.""
I stared at him.
"Did you know the brakes were damaged?""
He didn't answer.
And that was answer enough.
Mr. Collins stepped beside me.
"Emily, we need to leave. This is now a criminal matter.""
Daniel lunged forward.
"Wait!""
Security moved between us.
"Emily, you can't do this!""
I looked at him over the guard's shoulder.
"You spent two years telling everyone I was damaged.""
My voice trembled, but I didn't stop.
"Now I'm beginning to understand that you were the one who was broken long before the accident.""
I turned away.
As I walked toward the exit, Vanessa followed me.
"Emily, wait.""
I stopped.
She was crying now.
"I didn't know.""
I looked at her pregnant stomach.
"About the marriage or the money?""
"Any of it.""
I studied her face.
For the first time, I believed her.
She wiped her cheeks.
"Daniel told me you had left him before the accident. He said you were already living separately.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"We were celebrating our anniversary the night of the accident.""
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"Oh, God.""
"He was supposed to take me to dinner. Instead, I drove because he said he was too tired.""
She looked toward the ballroom.
Daniel was shouting at the security guards.
Then Vanessa said something I wasn't prepared to hear.
"There's something else.""
I turned.
"What?""
She reached into her handbag and removed her phone.
"I found a message on his old laptop last week. I didn't understand it at the time.""
She unlocked the screen and showed me a photograph of an email.
The subject line read:
*THE EMILY PROBLEM.*
May you like
The date was two days before the accident.
And the sender was Daniel.
