Chapter 12: The Assistant’s Secret
Rachel arrived twenty minutes later.
She looked exactly the way she always had.
Professional.
Calm.
Controlled.
The same person who had organized my life for seven years.
The same person who knew my meetings, my passwords, my habits.
The same person who knew exactly when I would be driving that night.
She walked into my apartment and stopped when she saw Ethan.
Her face changed.
Only for a second.
But I noticed.
“You’re alive,” she whispered.
Ethan stood.
“Yes.””
Rachel looked at me.
“Daniel, you need to listen to me.””
I held up the photo.
Her expression dropped.
“Explain this.””
She looked at the picture.
Then closed her eyes.
“Where did you get that?””
“Answer me.””
She sat down slowly.
“I can explain.””
“That’s what everyone says.””
My voice was colder than I expected.
Rachel looked at Ethan.
“You shouldn’t have come back.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“And you shouldn’t have helped him.””
Her face changed.
“I didn’t.””
“Then why were you meeting Marcus?””
Rachel looked away.
Because she had no answer.
I felt something break inside.
“Seven years.””
She looked at me.
“What?””
“Seven years I trusted you.””
Her eyes filled.
“I know.””
“You knew everything.””
“Yes.””
“You knew my schedule.””
“Yes.””
“You knew where I would be.””
Her silence answered.
I walked toward the window.
“Tell me you didn’t do this.””
Rachel started crying.
“I didn’t cause the accident.””
I turned around.
“But you knew it would happen.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Then why did you know where I was?””
“Because Marcus asked me.””
The room went silent.
Ethan clenched his fists.
“You helped him.””
Rachel looked at him.
“I was trying to stop him.””
“No one believes that anymore.””
She looked at me.
“Daniel, please.””
I waited.
She took a deep breath.
“I found out Marcus was stealing money from the company.””
“So you told him my schedule?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
“I gave him fake information.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“I knew he was watching me.””
Rachel wiped her tears.
“I tried to mislead him.””
“Then why was my route changed that night?””
Her face went pale.
Because she knew the answer.
“I didn’t change it.””
“Who did?””
Rachel looked at Ethan.
Then at me.
“The person who had access to your calendar.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Who?””
Rachel whispered:
“Claire.””
The room froze.
Again.
Claire.
The name that kept appearing.
The name that was either the villain…
or the person everyone wanted me to blame.
Ethan shook his head.
“No.””
Rachel looked at him.
“She changed the meeting location.””
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
I stared at the three people in front of me.
Everyone had a piece of the truth.
Everyone had a reason.
Everyone had secrets.
Then my phone buzzed.
A new message.
From Claire.
*“Daniel, I know what Rachel told you.””*
I stared.
Another message followed.
*“But she didn’t tell you why I changed the location.””*
My heart pounded.
Then the final message arrived.
*“Because if I hadn’t changed it, you would have died that night.””*
I looked up.
Nobody spoke.
Because now the biggest question wasn’t who betrayed me.
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It was this:
Who was Claire trying to save me from?
