Chapter 8 - The Truth Behind The Accident
Chapter 8 - The Truth Behind The Accident
The words Rebecca had spoken echoed through the chapel.
“I didn’t kill Sarah.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Because even though nobody had accused her…
She had answered a question nobody had asked.
I looked at her.
Rebecca looked terrified by her own words.
Like she realized too late that she had revealed something.
Something hidden.
Something she had carried for years.
I slowly placed the letter back into my jacket.
Then I looked at Daniel.
“What happened the day Sarah died?”
Daniel did not answer immediately.
That hesitation told me more than words could.
“Daniel.”
He looked at Rebecca.
Then at me.
“Are you sure you want to know everything?”
I felt Emily’s hand in mine.
I looked down at my daughter.
She was scared.
But she was still standing there.
Still holding on to me.
“Yes.”
My voice was steady.
“I need the truth.”
Daniel nodded.
He opened the folder again.
“There were things about Sarah’s accident that were never explained.”
I frowned.
“What things?”
“Things that were considered personal.”
“That does not answer my question.”
Daniel took a breath.
“The police report said Sarah lost control of her car during heavy rain.”
I nodded slowly.
“That is what I was told.”
“But there was another detail.”
“What detail?”
Daniel looked at Rebecca.
“Sarah’s phone was missing.”
The chapel became silent.
I stared at him.
“Her phone?”
“Yes.”
“Why would that matter?”
Daniel answered quietly.
“Because Sarah had called someone moments before the accident.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
Nobody answered.
I already knew.
I looked at Rebecca.
Her face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
“Rebecca.”
She looked down.
“Did Sarah call you?”
Rebecca closed her eyes.
The silence was unbearable.
Finally, she whispered:
“Yes.”
A wave of anger moved through me.
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“We argued.”
“About what?”
She said nothing.
“Rebecca.”
Her voice cracked.
“About Emily.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“What about Emily?”
Rebecca looked at my daughter.
Then away.
“Sarah found out about the guardianship idea.”
The room seemed to spin.
“The idea you told me was created later?”
Rebecca said nothing.
Daniel answered.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“She had been thinking about it long before the wedding.”
My hands tightened.
“How long?”
Daniel looked at the documents.
“Almost a year.”
A year.
Rebecca had been planning this for a year.
While smiling at my daughter.
While telling me everything was fine.
I looked at Rebecca.
“You were already planning this when Sarah was alive?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I never wanted it to happen like this.”
“That is not an answer.”
She covered her face.
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
She looked at me.
“Of losing you.”
I almost stepped back.
“Because of Emily?”
“No.”
Her answer came quickly.
But this time I did not believe it.
Rebecca continued.
“Sarah was always there.”
I frowned.
“She was Emily’s mother.”
“I know.”
“She was gone.”
“I know.”
“Then why were you fighting with her?”
Rebecca looked away.
“Because she knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That I wanted to be important.”
The confession was quiet.
But it was devastating.
She was not talking about Emily.
She was talking about herself.
Rebecca wanted a place that belonged to someone else.
She wanted to be the person everyone depended on.
Even if it meant removing the person who already had that place.
I looked at Emily.
My daughter was staring at Rebecca.
Confused.
Hurt.
I hated that she was hearing this.
I turned to Rebecca.
“You argued with Sarah before the accident.”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Rebecca’s eyes filled with tears.
“She told me I needed to understand something.”
“What?”
“She said Emily did not need a new mother.”
The words were painful because they were true.
“She said Emily needed people who respected the family she already had.”
I looked down.
Because Sarah had been right.
Rebecca continued.
“She told me if I really loved you, I would stop trying to replace her.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Daniel added:
“And after that conversation, Sarah changed her will.”
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“She removed Rebecca from every legal decision involving Emily.”
Rebecca’s face became pale.
I understood.
That was the moment everything connected.
The guardianship documents.
The secret wedding plan.
The note.
Rebecca was not just afraid of losing me.
She was afraid of losing control.
I turned toward her.
“You knew.”
She looked at me.
“You knew Sarah changed everything.”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Yes.”
“And you hid it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Rebecca’s voice became almost impossible to hear.
“Because I thought if I married you…”
She stopped.
“Finish.”
She looked at Emily.
“Then I would finally have a family.”
The pain in her voice was real.
But it did not erase what she had done.
Wanting a family did not give someone permission to destroy another one.
Then Daniel suddenly looked at his phone.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He stared at the screen.
Then at me.
“We need to leave.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
He showed me the message.
It was from an unknown number.
Only four words.
But they changed everything.
“Don’t trust Rebecca.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Who sent that?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Another message appeared.
This time, there was a picture attached.
A picture from the night Sarah died.
My blood turned cold.
Because in the background of the image…
Standing near Sarah’s car…
May you like
Was Rebecca.
TO BE CONTINUED...
