Chapter 8: The Recording on the Memory Card

Paige didn't move from the doorway.

“You really are going to the gala?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“Even after what you found?”

I held her gaze.

“Especially after what I found.”

She looked down at the memory card in my hand.

“You haven't watched it yet.”

“Not yet.”

“Maybe you shouldn't.”

I almost smiled.

“That's exactly what someone says when they don't want me to watch something.”

Paige sighed and walked farther into the room.

“I stole that card because Dad was planning to destroy it.”

“When?”

“Years ago. I found it in his desk after he discovered I'd been asking questions about the accident.”

“What does it show?”

She hesitated.

“The road.”

My stomach tightened.

“And?”

“The accident.”

I inserted the card into my laptop.

Paige immediately looked away.

The first few seconds showed a dark mountain road covered in snow.

Then headlights appeared.

My mother's car was moving slowly along the curve.

A second vehicle approached from behind.

I recognized the shape immediately.

My father's SUV.

The footage shook violently.

There was a collision.

My mother's car spun toward the guardrail.

The screen went black for several seconds.

Then my father's voice appeared in the recording.

“Oh God.”

Another voice answered.

It belonged to the private investigator.

“Don't touch the other vehicle.”

My father sounded panicked.

“She's still alive.”

“Then call emergency services.”

“No.”

I froze.

My father had refused to call for help.

The investigator asked why.

My father answered in a broken whisper.

“Because they'll test me.”

I stopped the video.

My hands were shaking.

Paige covered her face.

“I told you.”

I looked at her.

“You knew she was alive?”

“Only from the recording.”

“What happened afterward?”

“The investigator called emergency services anonymously. Dad left before they arrived.”

My chest hurt.

For twelve years, I had believed my mother died instantly.

But she had been alive after the crash.

And my father had left her there.

I pressed play again.

The investigator's voice came through.

“If you leave now, there is still a chance nobody connects you to this.”

My father replied, “And Nora?”

“She'll believe whatever you tell her.”

The recording ended.

I stared at the black screen.

Paige whispered, “There's more.”

I looked at her.

“What?”

“The investigator wasn't working for Dad alone.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Who else?”

She didn't answer immediately.

Then she said, “Caleb's father.”

My breath caught.

“What does Caleb's father have to do with my mother's death?”

“I don't know everything. But Dad's company was drowning in debt back then. Caleb's father helped him cover it up.”

I remembered Caleb telling me how our families had supported each other for years.

I remembered his father attending every major Bennett event.

I remembered Caleb saying our marriage would bring both families closer.

Suddenly, it didn't sound romantic anymore.

It sounded like a business arrangement.

My phone buzzed.

A message from Caleb appeared.

“We need to talk before the gala.”

A second message followed.

“Please don't listen to Paige.”

I looked at Paige.

She had seen the message over my shoulder.

“He knows,” she whispered.

“He knows you have the recording.”

I locked my phone.

“Then he'll have to wait.”

“For what?”

I looked at the memory card.

“For the gala.”

Paige stared at me.

“Nora, if you play that recording publicly, everything changes.”

“That's the point.”

She shook her head.

“Dad will destroy you.”

I closed the laptop.

“He already spent ten years trying.”

I slipped the memory card into my pocket.

“This time, he doesn't get to choose how the story ends.”