Chapter 7: The Person Behind The Wheel
The black car disappeared before the police could reach it.
But the image stayed in my mind.
The dark windows.
The engine running.
The feeling that someone had been waiting for us.
Watching us.
My entire life had become a nightmare where every person I trusted had a secret.
My mother noticed me staring through the window.
“Lena.””
I looked at her.
“What if everyone was lying?””
Her expression softened.
“Not everyone.””
I almost laughed.
“How do I know?””
She didn’t answer immediately.
Because she knew I was right.
Three years ago, I thought I had lost my mother.
Today, I discovered she was alive.
Then I discovered my father tried to kill her.
Then I discovered my grandmother knew.
Now someone else was threatening us.
I felt like the ground beneath me had disappeared.
Daniel picked up the flash drive from the police.
“We need to see what’s on this.””
The officer hesitated.
“It’s evidence.””
Daniel looked at him.
“And if this proves someone attempted murder?””
The officer exchanged a glance with his partner.
Finally, he nodded.
“Five minutes.””
We gathered around the small laptop in the conference room.
My mother sat beside me.
Her hand held mine.
The video loaded.
Static filled the screen.
Then an image appeared.
A dark mountain road.
The date in the corner showed three years earlier.
The night my mother supposedly died.
Nobody spoke.
A car entered the frame.
My mother’s car.
I watched as it slowly pulled to the side of the road.
Then another vehicle appeared behind it.
My heart started pounding.
A person stepped out.
The camera quality was terrible.
The figure was blurry.
But I could see something.
They weren’t wearing a jacket.
They weren’t carrying a flashlight.
They walked toward my mother’s car like they already knew exactly what they were doing.
My mother leaned closer.
“That’s him.””
I looked at her.
“You know who it is?””
Her face went pale.
“I know the way he walks.””
The video continued.
The person opened the driver’s side door.
Then the screen glitched.
A few seconds disappeared.
When the footage returned, the person was gone.
The car started moving.
Then my mother’s vehicle crashed through the barrier.
The room went silent.
The officer leaned toward the screen.
“We need to enhance this.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
Everyone looked at him.
He pointed at the screen.
“Look at the reflection.””
In the corner of the footage, the second vehicle’s windshield reflected the face of the person standing near the car.
Only for a moment.
But long enough.
The officer paused the video.
Then zoomed in.
The image became clearer.
My mother stopped breathing.
I looked at the screen.
And my heart shattered.
Because I knew that face.
Everyone in the room knew that face.
The person who had tried to kill my mother wasn’t a stranger.
It was someone who had been at my graduation.
Someone who had cried beside me.
Someone who had spent years pretending to protect me.
“Vanessa,” I whispered.
My mother closed her eyes.
“No.””
Daniel looked devastated.
“She was there.””
The officer immediately reached for his radio.
“We need to locate Vanessa Carter.””
But before he could call, the door opened.
A second officer rushed inside.
“Her phone is gone.””
Everyone turned.
“What?””
The officer held a report.
“She left the building ten minutes ago.””
My stomach dropped.
“She escaped?””
The officer shook his head.
“Not exactly.””
He looked at my mother.
“Someone helped her.””
A cold silence filled the room.
“Who?”” I asked.
The officer swallowed.
“Your father.””
I felt dizzy.
Marcus and Vanessa.
Together.
Still working together.
My mother grabbed the edge of the table.
“No.””
Daniel looked at the video again.
Then at me.
“Lena, there’s something else.””
“What?””
He opened the folder.
“There was another payment.””
My stomach tightened.
“From Marcus?””
Daniel shook his head.
“From Vanessa.””
He placed the document in front of me.
The payment was made yesterday.
The amount was small.
Only enough to look unimportant.
But the description made my blood run cold.
*Final witness removal.*
I looked at my mother.
“What witness?””
Nobody answered.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
And my entire body froze.
It was a photograph.
A recent photograph.
Taken inside the school.
It showed me standing beside my mother on stage.
But the picture had been taken from behind us.
From the audience.
Someone had been there.
Someone had been close.
The message below said:
*You found your mother. Now find the person who helped her survive.*
I looked up.
My mother was staring at the phone.
Her face changed.
“Lena…”
“What?””
She pointed at the picture.
“At the bottom corner.””
I zoomed in.
There was a person sitting in the audience.
A person I didn’t notice before.
A person watching us.
My mother whispered:
“That’s impossible.””
“Who is it?””
May you like
She touched the screen with shaking fingers.
“That person died three years ago.””
