Chapter 8
I wanted to say yes immediately.
Michael said no.
Detective Ruiz said absolutely not.
The prosecutor said maybe.
That was how I ended up sitting in a conference room for an hour while lawyers argued about whether I should be allowed to face the man who may have murdered my wife.
Finally, they agreed.
I could observe through glass.
Ryan wouldn’t know whether I was there.
That wasn’t his condition.
He wanted me in front of him.
But prosecutors weren’t willing to risk it.
So they lied.
For once, I didn’t feel guilty about deception.
Ryan had built his entire life on it.
He entered the interrogation room wearing county jail clothes.
For the first time, I saw him clearly.
Mid-forties.
Short dark hair.
Ordinary face.
That bothered me.
Monsters should look different.
They shouldn’t look like someone who could stand behind you at a grocery store.
He sat.
Ruiz entered with another detective.
Ryan smiled.
“Where’s Daniel?”
“Nearby.”
“I said in the room.”
“You don’t set the rules.”
“Then I don’t talk.”
Ruiz placed a folder on the table.
“Your truck was photographed behind Emma Carter twelve minutes before she died.”
Ryan’s smile faded slightly.
“We have your phone near the crash site.”
No reaction.
“We have a repair invoice for front-end damage two days later.”
He leaned back.
“Deer.”
“We have Melissa saying you killed her.”
That got him.
Not much.
Just a flicker.
Then he smiled again.
“Melissa says a lot when she’s scared.”
Ruiz opened the folder.
“We have Noah.”
Ryan’s face changed.
There.
Real fear.
“He’s alive?”
Ruiz said nothing.
Ryan leaned forward.
“You found him?”
The detective beside Ruiz said, “You’re worried.”
“I’m surprised.”
“Why?”
Ryan laughed softly.
“Because Noah was never good at staying alive.”
My hands tightened behind the glass.
Ruiz changed direction.
“Why did you target Daniel Carter?”
“I didn’t.”
“You sent his daughter a bus ticket.”
“I purchased transportation for my wife.”
“Melissa was illegally married to Daniel.”
“That’s their problem.”
“You forged guardianship papers.”
“No.”
“You broke into Daniel’s garage.”
“I had permission.”
“From whom?”
“Melissa.”
“She didn’t own the vehicle.”
“She used it.”
“You had sleeping pills.”
“Prescription.”
“In Daniel’s drinks.”
His eyes narrowed.
Ruiz pushed forward.
“You discussed his life insurance.”
Silence.
“You discussed waiting until he was out of the picture.”
Ryan smiled.
“People say things.”
“You discussed changing Lily’s guardianship before Daniel’s death.”
“Hypotheticals.”
“You hid evidence from Emma’s death.”
That smile disappeared.
The room went still.
Ruiz placed a photograph of Emma’s memory box on the table.
“Why did you take this?”
Ryan looked at it.
Then at Ruiz.
“Sentimental.”
“You barely knew Emma?”
He smiled again.
“That’s what Daniel thinks.”
My heart stopped.
Ruiz said, “Explain.”
“Put him in here.”
“No.”
“Then we’re done.”
He folded his arms.
Ruiz stared at him for several seconds.
Then left the room.
She came behind the glass.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“You didn’t even ask.”
“I’m telling you no.”
“He knows something.”
“He wants control.”
“He already has it.”
“No, Daniel. He wants to hurt you.”
“He killed Emma.”
“We don’t know that yet.”
“I need to hear him.”
“You need to stay useful to Lily.”
Those words hit me.
Lily.
Everything came back to her.
I breathed slowly.
“If I go in, can officers stay?”
“Yes.”
“Can you remove me if I lose control?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me.”
Ruiz looked at the prosecutor.
He nodded once.
Five minutes later, I entered the room.
Ryan smiled immediately.
“There he is.”
I sat across from him.
Every instinct screamed at me to cross the table.
I kept my hands flat on my knees.
“You wanted me.”
“I wanted to see your face.”
“You’ve seen it.”
Ryan leaned back.
“You look like hell.”
“What happened to Emma?”
No warm-up.
No games.
His smile faded.
“You still love her.”
“Yes.”
“Even after Melissa?”
“Melissa has nothing to do with Emma.”
Ryan laughed.
“She has everything to do with Emma.”
My pulse hammered.
“Explain.”
He looked toward the camera.
“I want a deal.”
The prosecutor’s voice came through a speaker.
“Talk first.”
Ryan chuckled.
“Worth trying.”
He looked at me.
“Emma was smarter than Melissa.”
I said nothing.
“She figured out the land scheme.”
“What scheme?”
“Phoenix developers wanted your father-in-law’s property. Old man wouldn’t sell. After he died, ownership fractured through the family trust.”
“And Lily inherited Emma’s share.”
“Yes.”
“How much was it worth then?”
“Maybe eight hundred thousand.”
“And now?”
“Closer to six million.”
My breath caught.
“Why?”
“Development corridor. New logistics project. Land prices exploded.”
“And you wanted Lily’s share.”
“I wanted control of the signatures.”
“You threatened Emma.”
“She threatened me first.”
“With police?”
“With prison.”
I leaned forward.
“What happened the night she died?”
Ryan studied me.
Then smiled.
“She called you.”
My chest tightened.
“You knew?”
“I was behind her.”
My jaw clenched.
“She was crying.”
Stop.
“She kept looking at her phone.”
Stop.
“She called you.”
I dug my fingernails into my palms.
“You didn’t answer.”
He knew exactly where to cut.
I stared at him.
“That’s why you wanted me here.”
He smiled.
“I wanted you to know she asked for you.”
Ruiz shifted beside me.
Ryan continued.
“She was scared.”
I stood.
An officer stepped closer.
Ryan’s smile widened.
“Sit down, Daniel.”
I wanted to kill him.
That was the truth.
For one terrible second, I imagined doing it.
Then I saw Lily’s face.
I sat.
Ryan looked disappointed.
“What happened?”
He shrugged.
“I followed her.”
“Why?”
“To scare her.”
“Then?”
“She sped up.”
“Then?”
“She tried calling you again.”
My chest hurt.
“There was only one call.”
“She started dialing. Maybe she changed her mind.”
“What happened?”
Ryan looked at the table.
For the first time, confidence slipped.
“She braked.”
“Why?”
“Animal in the road.”
“Did you hit her?”
He didn’t answer.
“Did you hit her car?”
“It was raining.”
“Did you hit her?”
“She stopped too fast.”
My breath became shallow.
“I tapped her bumper.”
“Tapped?”
“She lost control.”
My entire body turned cold.
“She went off the road.”
Ryan looked away.
“And you left her there?”
Silence.
“She was alive, wasn’t she?”
His eyes returned to mine.
I saw the answer.
“Oh my God.”
Ruiz leaned forward.
“Ryan.”
He looked at her.
“You approached Emma after the crash?”
Ryan said nothing.
I whispered, “She was alive.”
He smiled faintly.
Not because it was funny.
Because he knew silence hurt more.
“What did you do?”
No answer.
“What did you do to my wife?”
My voice cracked.
Ryan finally said, “She begged.”
The room disappeared.
I lunged before I knew I moved.
Two officers grabbed me.
Ryan shoved his chair backward.
For the first time, fear crossed his face.
“Daniel!”
Ruiz grabbed my shoulder.
“Think about Lily!”
That name pulled me back.
Lily.
I stopped fighting.
The officers held me.
Ryan adjusted his shirt.
“You wanted the truth.”
I breathed hard.
“What did she beg for?”
He looked at me.
“For me to call you.”
My eyes filled.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Did you call 911?”
“No.”
“You left her?”
Ryan hesitated.
“I made sure she couldn’t identify me.”
The room went dead.
Ruiz’s voice changed.
“How?”
Ryan realized his mistake.
He smiled again.
“I want a lawyer.”
Too late.
Ruiz stood.
“This interview is over.”
He had said enough.
Not everything.
But enough.
The prosecutor rushed out.
Officers took Ryan away.
As he passed me, he leaned close.
“Melissa knows the rest.”
I looked at him.
“And she’ll sell you out before I do.”
He was gone.
I sat there shaking.
Ruiz put water in front of me.
I couldn’t drink.
“What does ‘made sure she couldn’t identify me’ mean?”
“We’ll determine that.”
“You know what it means.”
She didn’t answer.
Neither did I.
There are truths you don’t need spoken.
Ryan had caused the crash.
Emma survived.
And then he did something that ensured she didn’t.
Hours later, prosecutors added charges related to Emma’s death.
The former highway patrol supervisor was arrested too.
His name was Calvin Drake.
The investigation uncovered payments from Ryan.
Not just around Emma’s crash.
For years.
Tickets disappeared.
Reports changed.
Evidence went missing.
Ryan hadn’t survived by being clever alone.
He bought people.
That evening, Melissa requested a meeting with prosecutors.
She wanted a deal.
Ryan had predicted correctly.
She was going to sell him out.
The next morning, Ruiz called me.
“Melissa gave us a statement.”
“What did she say?”
“She says Ryan confessed Emma’s murder to her years ago.”
My stomach tightened.
“Did she know before marrying me?”
Silence.
“Elena.”
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
“How long before?”
“She knew who you were before the fundraiser.”
There it was.
Proof.
Not a marriage gone bad.
A mission from the start.
“She targeted me.”
“Yes.”
“Did she know Lily?”
“She knew about Lily.”
I gripped the counter.
“Why marry me instead of just stealing the property documents?”
“Because Ryan needed legal access.”
“Through me.”
“Through Lily.”
I closed my eyes.
Ruiz continued.
“There’s something else.”
There always was.
“Melissa claims she didn’t originally plan to hurt Lily.”
I laughed bitterly.
“She locked her in a shed.”
“She says Ryan’s plan changed.”
“How?”
“At first they intended to manipulate you into voluntarily giving Melissa guardianship authority if something happened to you.”
“Something meaning they murdered me.”
“Yes.”
I swallowed.
“And then?”
“Melissa says she became afraid Lily would tell you too much.”
I stared through the kitchen window.
“Like she did.”
“Yes.”
“What was supposed to happen after they drugged me?”
Ruiz was silent.
“Elena.”
“They planned to stage a carbon monoxide accident.”
My stomach dropped.
“How?”
“Garage. Running vehicle. You asleep inside.”
I sat down.
“And Lily?”
“She was supposed to already be on the way to Phoenix.”
“With Melissa?”
“Yes.”
“Then why lock her in the shed?”
“Punishment. Intimidation. Melissa says she intended to let her out before you came home.”
Forty-three minutes.
Ninety degrees.
My daughter could have died before their plan even began.
I looked toward the living room.
Lily was building blocks with my mother.
Alive because Mrs. Alvarez looked through her window.
“Will Melissa testify against Ryan?”
“That’s what she’s offering.”
“In exchange for what?”
“A reduced sentence.”
I felt sick.
“After what she did to Lily?”
“The prosecutor hasn’t agreed.”
“Don’t.”
“That isn’t my decision.”
I knew that.
But I hated it.
Then Ruiz said, “There’s one thing Melissa won’t explain.”
“What?”
“The Arizona property.”
“What about it?”
“She says Ryan wasn’t the only person trying to get it.”
My skin prickled.
“Who else?”
“She won’t say without immunity.”
“Then don’t give it to her.”
“Daniel.”
“No.”
“Listen.”
I went quiet.
Ruiz lowered her voice.
“Someone accessed Lily’s trust file yesterday.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Melissa is in jail.”
“Yes.”
“Ryan is in jail.”
“Yes.”
“Then who accessed it?”
“That’s the problem.”
I stared at Lily across the room.
Someone else was still out there.
Someone connected to the land.
Someone who knew enough to access my daughter’s financial records even after Melissa and Ryan were arrested.
I walked toward the window and checked the street.
A dark sedan sat across from my mother’s house.
Engine running.
I had never seen it before.
“Elena.”
“What?”
“There’s a car outside.”
“What car?”
“Black sedan.”
“Can you see the driver?”
The car pulled away.
“No.”
“Get Lily away from the windows.”
I moved immediately.
“Mom. Take Lily upstairs.”
My mother saw my face and didn’t argue.
Ruiz said, “Officers are on the way.”
I stared after the disappearing sedan.
Ryan and Melissa were behind bars.
But the nightmare wasn’t over.
May you like
Maybe they had never been the top of it.
Maybe they were just the people close enough for me to see.
