Chapter 6: The Woman Who Protected The Wrong Man
The phone slipped from Ryan’s hand.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The rain outside had stopped.
But inside the house, everything felt like a storm.
“Your wife.””
Those words echoed.
The mechanic had said them clearly.
There was no misunderstanding.
No confusion.
No mistake.
Ryan looked at me.
And I saw the same fear I had seen when Jessica first called.
Except this time, it was different.
Because he wasn’t afraid of losing me.
He was afraid of the truth.
“Sarah…”
I stepped back.
“No.””
His expression collapsed.
“I know what you’re thinking.””
“Do you?””
“Yes.””
“No, Ryan.””
My voice shook.
“You don’t.””
I pointed toward the phone.
“Someone just said your wife paid him to hide evidence.””
Ryan looked sick.
“You know I didn’t do that.””
I stared at him.
The cruelest part was that I didn’t know anymore.
A month ago, I would have believed him immediately.
I would have defended him.
I would have found reasons.
But Ryan had spent months proving that he was capable of lying to me.
So now every truth came with a shadow.
“Call him back.””
Ryan hesitated.
“Sarah.””
“Call him.””
He pressed the number.
It rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then voicemail.
Ryan looked frustrated.
“Again.””
He tried.
Nothing.
The mechanic was gone.
By sunrise, we had contacted a private investigator.
His name was Marcus Reed.
He met us at a quiet office downtown.
The strange thing was sitting beside Ryan.
I never imagined I would be sitting next to the man who broke my heart, trying to uncover a mystery surrounding his own life.
Marcus looked through the documents.
The photographs.
The financial records.
The voicemail.
Then he looked at Ryan.
“You have a complicated situation.””
Ryan gave a bitter smile.
“You could say that.””
Marcus looked at me.
“And you’re Sarah?””
“Yes.””
He nodded.
“I’m going to ask both of you something.””
“What?””
“Are you sure you want the truth?””
I almost laughed.
“Yes.””
Marcus leaned back.
“Because sometimes the truth doesn’t repair damage.””
I looked at Ryan.
“I know.””
Marcus opened a folder.
“I started looking into the accident this morning.””
“And?””
He looked serious.
“The brake line was cut.””
Ryan closed his eyes.
“So Jessica was telling the truth.””
“Yes.””
I looked at Marcus.
“Then who did it?””
“That’s what we need to determine.””
He placed another document on the table.
“But I found something interesting.””
I picked it up.
It was a security report.
From a repair shop.
“What is this?””
“The car was serviced three days before the accident.””
Ryan frowned.
“I didn’t take it there.””
Marcus nodded.
“Exactly.””
I looked at him.
“Then who did?””
Marcus turned another page.
A name was written there.
Linda Whitmore.
My stomach dropped.
Ryan looked horrified.
“My mother?””
The investigator explained that Linda had brought the car in for a “routine inspection.””
She claimed she was worried because Ryan had been driving in bad weather.
But the mechanic remembered something strange.
She wasn’t alone.
“Who was with her?”” Ryan asked.
Marcus looked at the file.
“Jessica.””
The room went silent.
Ryan looked confused.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because Jessica and my mother hated each other.””
I almost smiled.
“You really believed everyone was honest except you.””
Ryan looked away.
Because he knew I was right.
That afternoon, Linda called.
Ryan answered.
I watched his face carefully.
“Mom.””
A pause.
Then his expression changed.
“What do you mean?””
He stood up.
“You’re leaving town?””
Another pause.
His hand tightened around the phone.
“No. You need to explain.””
I couldn’t hear her voice.
But I saw Ryan’s reaction.
Fear.
“Mom, wait.””
The call ended.
“She knows,” he said.
I frowned.
“Knows what?””
“That we found out.””
“How?””
Ryan looked toward the window.
“Because she told me not to look for answers.””
I stood.
“What did she say?””
Ryan hesitated.
Then whispered:
“She said if I keep digging, I’ll discover why she had to protect me.””
I felt a chill.
“Protect you?””
Ryan nodded.
Then his phone received a message.
He looked down.
His face turned pale.
“What?””
He handed me the phone.
The message was from Linda.
Only one sentence.
*“You need to stop blaming Jessica. She wasn’t the person who caused the accident.””*
I read it again.
Then again.
Below the message was a second line.
A photo attachment.
Ryan opened it.
And when the image loaded, my heart stopped.
Because the person standing beside Linda at the repair shop three days before the accident…
May you like
was not Jessica.
It was me.
