Chapter 3

A friend sent me the link. It was a gossip blog, filled with blurry photos of celebrities. But the main picture was sharp and clear. David and Chloe, clinking champagne glasses at a table in the city's most expensive restaurant. The headline read: "Lawyer David Chen Celebrates Victory With Client Chloe Davis."

I had to see it for myself.

I found them at a corner table, bathed in the soft, golden light of the restaurant. They were laughing, their heads close together. Chloe was telling a story, her hands animated. David was watching her with an expression I hadn't seen on his face in years. It was adoration.

I walked toward them, my steps unsteady. A waiter tried to stop me, but I pushed past him.

David saw me first. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by a dark scowl.

"What are you doing here, Sarah?" he hissed, keeping his voice low.

"Celebrating?" I asked, my voice trembling. "You're celebrating her getting away with murder."

"Keep your voice down," he ordered. "You're stalking us. It's pathetic."

"You're pathetic," I shot back. "Our daughter is dead, and you're buying her killer champagne."

"You're the one who can't let go," he said, his eyes cold and hard. "You're destroying your own life with this obsession."

Chloe placed a delicate hand on David's arm. "David, darling," she cooed, "don't let her ruin our lovely evening. Let's ignore her."

He turned to Chloe, and his entire demeanor softened. He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a protective embrace. "You're right. She's not worth it."

Then, as if to prove his point, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. He opened it. Inside was a diamond bracelet that glittered under the restaurant lights.

"A small token," he said softly to Chloe, "for everything you've had to endure."

Endure? My daughter had to endure a speeding car. I had to endure burying her. What had Chloe endured? A few uncomfortable questions she had been coached to answer?

Chloe gasped, her eyes wide with delight. "Oh, David. It's beautiful." She held out her wrist, and he fastened the bracelet around it.

Then, she leaned in and kissed him. Not a peck on the cheek. A real, lingering kiss, right there in front of me, in front of the whole restaurant.

The other diners were starting to stare. I could hear their whispers.

"Is that his wife?"

"No, I think it's his crazy ex."

"She looks unhinged."

The room started to spin. My chest felt tight, like a band was constricting around it. I couldn't breathe. The faces around me blurred, the whispers turning into a deafening roar.

I put a hand out to steady myself on a nearby table, but my legs gave out. The last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me was David' s face, not with concern, but with pure, undiluted annoyance.

I woke up to the rhythmic beeping of a machine and the sterile smell of antiseptic. A hospital. A thin blanket was pulled up to my chin. My phone was on the bedside table.

It buzzed with a new message. An unknown number.

I opened it.

The words swam before my eyes.

"Heard you put on quite a show tonight. You should really learn to handle your emotions better. By the way, the bracelet is stunning. It almost makes running over your kid worth it. Almost."

My hand flew to my mouth to stifle a sob. It was from her. It had to be.

The message wasn't just a taunt. It was a confession.