Chapter 13 - Ryan's Last Lie
Ryan did not try to deny it.
That almost made it worse.
“I followed Dad,” he said. “I knew he was meeting Thomas.”
“Why?”
“Because Mom told me Thomas was trying to destroy us.”
I laughed once.
“Us.”
“I believed her.”
“What happened?”
Ryan stared at his hands.
“I saw your dad leave the garage. I stopped him in the parking lot.”
My throat tightened.
“What did you say?”
“I asked him not to turn the records over.”
“You begged him to protect the people stealing from him?”
“Yes.”
The word sat between us.
Then Ryan looked up.
“He told me I had one night to tell you the truth.”
My chest hurt.
“He gave you a chance.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t take it.”
“No.”
“What happened after he drove away?”
Ryan swallowed.
“My father followed him.”
Ortiz leaned forward.
“You saw George leave?”
“Yes.”
“Why wasn’t that in the police report?”
“Because I lied.”
I closed my eyes.
For eleven years, I had slept beside the man who knew his father followed mine onto a dark highway.
“Did George cause the crash?”
“I don’t know.”
“You never asked?”
“I asked once.”
“And?”
Ryan’s face broke.
“He hit me.”
No one spoke.
“He said accidents happen to people who forget where they belong.”
My stomach turned.
Before I could answer, Ortiz’s phone rang.
She listened, then grabbed her coat.
“They found Elise.”
Ryan shot up.
“Alive?”
Ortiz nodded.
“Barely.”
I held the table.
“Where?”
“Same county where Thomas Carter crashed.”
Samuel looked at me.
That was not coincidence.
Ortiz continued.
“And there’s something else. Elise wasn’t alone.”
“Who was with her?”
“A woman.”
Ryan’s face went white.
May you like
Ortiz looked directly at him.
“Your mother.”
