Chapter 8: The Witness Nobody Expected
The police station smelled like old paper and coffee.
It was nothing like the wedding.
No flowers.
No music.
No expensive decorations.
Just gray walls and uncomfortable chairs.
But somehow, this place felt more honest.
Because nobody here was pretending.
Daniel sat beside me.
Lily was with a family friend in the waiting room, drawing pictures like the world hadn’t completely fallen apart.
I envied her.
Children could still believe tomorrow would be normal.
Adults knew better.
Detective Harris placed a folder on the table.
“We reopened the case after reviewing the evidence.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“What evidence?””
The detective looked at him.
“The original statement.””
He opened the folder.
My hands tightened.
“Who wrote it?””
Detective Harris looked at Daniel.
“You did.””
I froze.
Daniel looked confused.
“I never wrote a statement.””
The detective pushed the paper forward.
“Read it.””
Daniel picked it up.
His face changed after only a few seconds.
“This is my handwriting.””
Nobody spoke.
I looked at him.
“What does it say?””
He swallowed.
“I don’t remember writing this.””
The detective explained.
“Your statement was found inside the storage unit. It appears you wrote it shortly before the crash.””
Daniel stared at the page.
Then he read silently.
I watched the color disappear from his face.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“It says I discovered who was behind the financial fraud.””
“Who?””
Daniel looked back at the paper.
“It doesn’t say.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“Because the sentence ends.””
The detective pointed.
The final line was incomplete.
*The person helping Vanessa is someone Claire trusts. Someone who has been lying to her since the beginning.*
I felt cold.
Someone who had been lying since the beginning.
My mother.
Vanessa.
But there was someone else.
Someone we hadn’t considered.
The detective turned another page.
“There’s more.””
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed a man standing near Daniel’s car the night of the crash.
I stared.
I didn’t recognize him.
“Who is that?””
Detective Harris looked at Daniel.
“You tell us.””
Daniel’s face changed.
“I’ve never seen him before.””
The detective nodded slowly.
“Interesting.””
“What?””
“Because this man was found in your phone records.””
My stomach twisted.
“What do you mean?””
“He called you seventeen times before the accident.””
Daniel looked shocked.
“I don’t know him.””
The detective leaned back.
“Then someone used his phone.””
The room went quiet.
I looked at Daniel.
“Who knew about your phone?””
His eyes slowly moved.
And then stopped.
On me.
I felt hurt immediately.
“Daniel?””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“Not you.””
“Then who?””
He looked away.
“I gave Vanessa access once.””
My heart sank.
“When?””
“Before everything happened.””
The detective wrote something down.
“So Vanessa could have accessed your calls.””
“Yes.””
“But she wasn’t the only one.””
That sentence bothered me.
“What do you mean?””
The detective pulled out another document.
“Your mother’s phone records.””
I stopped breathing.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“She contacted the same number three days before the crash.””
I closed my eyes.
The pain was worse because part of me still wanted to defend her.
She was my mother.
The woman who held me as a baby.
The woman who taught me how to ride a bike.
But she was also the woman who let me grieve a lie.
Daniel reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
Not because I hated him.
Because I didn’t know who to trust anymore.
The detective noticed.
“I know this is difficult.””
I laughed softly.
“Difficult?””
My voice cracked.
“My sister tried to steal everything from me. My mother hid my husband’s death. My husband disappeared for three years.””
I looked at him.
“What exactly should I call this?””
Nobody answered.
Then the station door opened.
An officer walked inside.
“Detective Harris?””
He nodded.
The officer held a sealed envelope.
“We found this in the storage unit.””
The detective took it.
“Another document?””
The officer shook his head.
“No.””
He looked at Daniel.
“It’s a video recording.””
Daniel stood.
“What?””
The officer handed over a small memory card.
“It was labeled with one name.””
I stared.
“What name?””
May you like
The officer looked at me.
“Claire.””
