Chapter 8: Eleven Minutes
Nia stared at her father.
“No.””
Arthur didn't move.
“I was driving behind them.””
“You just said Vanessa was driving.””
“She was.””
“Then how were you driving?””
“I switched cars.””
Nia shook her head.
“This doesn't make sense.””
Arthur looked exhausted.
“I followed Vanessa after she left your mother's house.””
Calvin leaned against the wall.
“You chased them.””
“I was trying to stop them.””
“From what?”” Nia demanded.
Arthur looked at the floor.
“Your mother had the evidence.””
“What evidence?””
“The bank records. The transfer documents. Everything Calvin had done.””
Nia held up the notebook.
“This?””
“Some of it.””
“Why would she run?””
“Because she realized Calvin had followed her.””
Calvin scoffed.
“I didn't chase her.””
“You were behind her car.””
“I wanted the notebook.””
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
“And you were willing to kill for it.””
Calvin's expression hardened.
“I never touched her car.””
Vanessa suddenly said, “He's telling the truth.””
Everyone looked at her.
Nia whispered, “Then what happened?””
Vanessa sat down on the bottom stair.
Her hands were trembling.
“Your mother was driving.””
Nia frowned.
“You said you were.””
“I got out before the crash.””
“Why?””
“Because she told me to.””
“Why?””
Vanessa stared at the floor.
“She knew Calvin was following us.””
Nia's eyes widened.
“You were trying to protect her?””
“I was trying to protect myself.””
The honesty in her voice was almost worse.
Nia stepped closer.
“What happened after you got out?””
“I called Arthur.””
Arthur nodded.
“She told me where they were.””
“Then you drove there?””
“Yes.””
“What did you see?””
Arthur's eyes filled.
“Your mother's car had gone off the road.””
Nia's breathing became uneven.
“And she was inside?””
“Yes.””
“Was she alive?””
Arthur didn't answer immediately.
Then—
“Yes.””
Nia covered her mouth.
“She was alive.””
“Yes.””
“You said the crash killed her.””
“I thought it did.””
“But you saw her.””
“Yes.””
“What did she say?””
Arthur looked at Nia.
“She told me to find you.””
Nia began crying.
“What else?””
“She gave me the key.””
Nia looked at the brass key in her hand.
“17B.””
Arthur nodded.
“She told me there was something inside that would explain everything.””
“Then why didn't you get it?””
Arthur's face collapsed.
“Because Calvin arrived.””
Calvin looked away.
Nia turned toward him.
“What happened?””
Calvin's voice was quiet.
“Your mother was conscious.””
Arthur glared at him.
“You weren't supposed to be there.””
“I followed you.””
“What did you do?””
“I took the notebook.””
Nia's eyes narrowed.
“And left her?””
Calvin looked at the floor.
“Yes.””
Nia stepped toward him.
“You left my mother dying in a car?””
“I panicked.””
“You stole from her.””
“Yes.””
“You left her.””
“Yes.””
Nia slapped him.
The sound echoed through the foyer.
Calvin didn't react.
Arthur reached for Nia.
She pulled away.
“Don't touch me.””
Arthur stopped.
Nia turned toward Vanessa.
“And you?””
Vanessa was crying.
“I got out because I was afraid Calvin would find me.””
“You left her too.””
“Yes.””
Nia looked at her father.
“And you?””
Arthur's voice broke.
“I stayed.””
“You helped her?””
“I tried.””
“Then why didn't you call an ambulance?””
Arthur looked at Marcus.
Marcus closed his eyes.
Nia understood.
“What did you do?””
Arthur whispered, “I did call.””
“When?””
“Immediately.””
“Then why?””
“Because Calvin took the phone.””
Calvin looked up.
“I thought she'd already died.””
“But she hadn't.””
“No.””
Nia stared at all three of them.
Three adults.
Three secrets.
Three people who had watched her mother's final moments and then let Nia grow up believing she had simply lost her.
“Who was driving when the crash happened?””
Arthur answered.
“Your mother.””
Nia exhaled.
“But the caller said you were driving.””
Arthur nodded.
“Because after the crash, I moved the car.””
“Why?””
“To make it look like she lost control.””
Nia's eyes widened.
“You staged the scene?””
“I was terrified.””
“Of what?””
“Of you.””
Nia stared.
Arthur continued.
“If the police investigated the financial records, they would find Calvin. They would find Vanessa. They would find me.””
“And you thought hiding the truth would protect me.””
“Yes.””
“You let me believe Mom caused her own death.””
“I was wrong.””
Nia turned away.
Marcus finally spoke.
“There is one thing you still haven't told her.””
Arthur looked at him.
“What?””
Marcus reached into his coat.
He pulled out a folded photograph.
“Your mother wasn't dead when the ambulance arrived.””
Nia turned around.
“What?””
Arthur's face went blank.
Marcus handed her the photograph.
It showed the accident scene.
Emergency lights.
Paramedics.
The wrecked car.
And a timestamp.
*11:47 P.M.*
Nia stared.
“What am I looking at?””
Marcus pointed to the photograph.
“Look inside the ambulance.””
Nia's eyes followed his finger.
Her mother's face was visible through the rear window.
Alive.
Nia's knees nearly gave out.
“She survived the crash.””
Arthur whispered, “For twenty-three minutes.””
Nia looked at him.
“Then what killed her?””
Arthur couldn't answer.
Marcus could.
“She told the paramedics someone had tried to kill her.””
Nia's hands shook.
“Who?””
Marcus stared at Arthur.
“That's the part your father never told you.””
He pointed to the photograph.
“Because before the paramedics could take her to the hospital, someone walked into that ambulance.””
Nia looked closer.
A blurred figure stood beside the rear doors.
Dark coat.
Baseball cap.
The same figure she'd seen outside the house.
Her mother's hand was raised toward him.
And on the photograph, beneath the image, Marcus had written three words:
*He was family.*
Nia looked up.
“Who was it?””
Marcus didn't answer.
Arthur did.
“Calvin.””
Calvin shook his head violently.
“No.””
Nia looked at him.
“You were there.””
“I never entered that ambulance.””
“Then who did?””
Calvin's face changed.
He stared at Vanessa.
May you like
And Vanessa whispered—
“It was me.””
