Chapter 8: The Accident That Never Happened
I didn't remember leaving Room 412.
One moment I was staring at Vanessa, and the next I was standing in the hospital corridor with Marcus holding my elbow.
His mouth was moving.
I couldn't hear him.
My father had killed my mother.
The words repeated themselves until they no longer sounded like words.
I looked at Marcus.
"Tell me she's lying.""
He didn't answer.
"Marcus.""
He swallowed.
"I don't know what to believe.""
I pulled my arm away.
"Then we're both in the same position.""
I walked toward the waiting area.
My father stood beside the vending machines, speaking to James. Olivia was sitting with a paper cup of coffee between her hands.
The moment my father saw me, he stopped talking.
"Nia.""
I stared at him.
"Did you kill Mom?""
His face crumpled.
"No.""
"Vanessa says you drove the car.""
He closed his eyes.
"I did drive that night.""
My chest tightened.
"What?""
James stepped forward.
"Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere private.""
"No.""
I looked directly at my father.
"I have spent twenty years believing you were dead. I just found out you were alive. Now someone is telling me you killed my mother. I am done being protected from the truth.""
My father lowered his head.
Then he nodded.
"All right.""
He led us into an empty consultation room.
He remained standing.
"Your mother and I argued that night," he began.
"About what?""
"The ledger.""
I waited.
"She wanted to take the evidence to the authorities immediately. I wanted to move you somewhere safe first.""
"Why?""
"Because Edward had discovered what she knew. He had been following us for days.""
My father rubbed his face.
"That evening, your mother insisted on meeting Vanessa. She believed she could convince her to cooperate.""
I remembered the photograph of the two women.
"What happened?""
"Vanessa arrived with Edward. I stayed outside in the car with you.""
I frowned.
"I was there?""
He nodded.
"You were asleep in the back seat.""
A faint memory surfaced.
Rain against glass.
The smell of leather.
My mother's voice saying my name.
My father continued.
"Your mother came out forty minutes later. She was crying. She told me Vanessa had betrayed her.""
"Then what?""
"We drove away.""
He paused.
"About ten minutes later, another car began following us.""
My stomach tightened.
"Edward?""
"I thought so.""
"Did he hit you?""
"No. He forced us off the road near the old bridge.""
I covered my mouth.
My father looked at the floor.
"The car struck a barrier. Your mother was badly injured. I managed to get you out through the back door.""
"And Mom?""
"I went back for her.""
His voice broke.
"But before I could reach her, someone pulled me away.""
"Who?""
"I never saw his face clearly. He wore a dark coat. He told me the police were coming and that if I stayed, they would make sure you were taken away from me.""
I stared at him.
"You left her?""
"I thought I could get help.""
He wiped his eyes.
"When I returned, the car was burning.""
I felt tears sliding down my cheeks.
"Where was I?""
"At the hospital. A woman had taken you there.""
"Who?""
He looked at James.
James answered quietly.
"Eleanor Whitmore.""
I closed my eyes.
Richard's late wife.
My father nodded.
"She knew your mother. She took you somewhere safe. By the time I reached the hospital, Edward's people had already begun telling the police that I had been driving recklessly and had caused the accident.""
"But you were driving.""
"Yes. But I wasn't responsible for what happened.""
He reached into his coat and removed a folded newspaper clipping.
It was dated twenty years earlier.
The headline read:
*LOCAL ACCOUNTANT DIES IN FIERY CAR CRASH. HUSBAND BELIEVED TO HAVE FLED SCENE.*
My hands trembled.
"Why did you let them believe you abandoned me?""
"Because Edward threatened to have you placed in foster care if I came forward. He had connections in the police department. I had no money, no evidence, and no way to prove what had happened.""
"Mom was dead.""
He nodded.
"And I believed you were the only thing I had left.""
I looked at him.
"Then why didn't you contact me when I grew up?""
He didn't answer immediately.
Finally, he said, "Because the threats never stopped.""
I thought about the letters.
The photograph.
The messages.
Everything was beginning to form a picture.
But something still didn't fit.
"Vanessa said you drove the car.""
My father nodded.
"That's true.""
"She said you killed Mom.""
"That's a lie.""
"How do I know?""
He looked directly into my eyes.
"Because your mother was alive when I pulled her from that car.""
My heart stopped.
"What?""
He swallowed.
"She was breathing. She was conscious. She grabbed my wrist and told me something.""
"What?""
He looked toward James.
"She told me to find the recording.""
I sat down.
"What recording?""
"She had hidden a small recorder in the glove compartment. She had recorded her conversation with Edward and Vanessa earlier that evening.""
James immediately leaned forward.
"Thomas, are you saying the recording survived?""
"I don't know.""
"Where is it?""
My father looked at me.
"Your mother told me it was inside the car.""
I felt cold.
The car had burned.
He continued.
"After the accident, I went back to the scene. The recorder was gone.""
"Who took it?""
"That's what I've spent twenty years trying to discover.""
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
It contained a short video.
I pressed play.
The image was dark and grainy, apparently recorded from inside a vehicle.
A woman's voice was unmistakable.
My mother's.
"Vanessa, I trusted you.""
Then another voice answered.
Vanessa.
"You shouldn't have.""
A third voice interrupted.
Edward.
"Enough. We don't have time.""
The recording ended.
I stared at the screen.
Olivia leaned over my shoulder.
"Where did that come from?""
Before I could answer, another message appeared.
If you want the rest, come to Eleanor's house.
Come alone.
Then a final sentence.
Ask your father what he did with the second car.
I slowly turned toward him.
He was staring at my phone.
His expression told me he recognized the message.
"What second car?"" I asked.
My father didn't answer.
James stood.
"Thomas?""
My father closed his eyes.
May you like
Then he whispered:
"I wasn't driving the only vehicle that night.""
