Chapter 4 - The Watch
Sophie had been found with Daniel's watch.
That single fact consumed me.
I spent the afternoon searching through everything I could find about the accident.
The police report was difficult to obtain, but an old journalist had written about it.
Sophia Bennett.
Age twenty-six.
Financial analyst.
Vehicle left roadway at 11:47 p.m.
Death declared at scene.
No evidence of foul play.
I read the report three times.
Then I noticed something.
Personal property recovered: one silver bracelet, one leather wallet, one wristwatch.
No brand listed.
No photograph.
I called the journalist.
She didn't answer.
I left a message.
Then another number appeared on my phone.
Not a text.
A call.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A man's voice said:
“Stop digging.”
My heart pounded.
“Who is this?”
“You don't know what you're getting involved in.”
“Tell me who you are.”
“You were supposed to marry Daniel.”
“I was.”
“You were supposed to become part of the family.”
“What family?”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Then someone knocked on my car window.
I screamed.
It was Daniel.
He stepped back.
“Sorry.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I followed you.”
“You can't keep following me.”
“I know.”
“Then stop.”
He looked exhausted.
“Emma, I need to show you something.”
He handed me an envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Sophie.
Alive.
Standing outside a café.
Wearing Daniel's watch.
I looked at him.
“This was taken the day she died.”
“Yes.”
“You knew she had your watch.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know what it meant.”
“You didn't ask?”
“I did.”
“Who?”
“Sophie's sister.”
“Chloe?”
“No.”
I frowned.
“Sophie had another sister?”
Daniel nodded.
“Her name was Rachel.”
I stared at the photograph.
“Where is she?”
“She disappeared.”
My phone buzzed again.
This time, the message contained an address.
421 Willow Street.
Daniel saw it.
“That place…”
“You know it?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Sophie's old apartment.”
We drove there together.
I didn't want to.
But I knew I had to.
The building was abandoned.
Inside, dust covered the floor.
Daniel found the apartment.
The door was unlocked.
There was almost nothing inside.
A broken chair.
An empty bookshelf.
A kitchen table.
Then I saw the wall.
Someone had written words in black marker.
HE DIDN'T KILL HER. HE LET HER DIE.
Daniel froze.
I turned toward him.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Daniel grabbed my hand.
“Stay behind me.”
“No.”
The footsteps stopped.
A man appeared in the doorway.
Older.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
He looked directly at Daniel.
Then at me.
“You're Emma.”
My heart raced.
“How do you know my name?”
He ignored the question.
“Daniel never told you what happened in the car.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Leave her out of this.”
The man smiled.
“That's what you said three years ago.”
Daniel went rigid.
The man turned toward me.
“Sophie wasn't alone that night.”
My breathing stopped.
“Who was with her?”
He looked at Daniel.
“Ask him.”
Then he walked away.
I ran after him.
By the time I reached the stairs, he was gone.
When I returned, Daniel was standing beside the wall.
He looked broken.
“What aren't you telling me?”
He swallowed.
“Sophie called me that night.”
“And?”
“She said someone was following her.”
“Who?”
“She wouldn't say.”
“Why?”
“She was scared.”
I stepped closer.
“What did you do?”
“I told her to keep driving.”
My stomach twisted.
“Where?”
“To a safe house.”
“Did she make it?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“No.”
The room went silent.
“You told her to drive while someone followed her?”
“I thought I could intercept them.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
“And that's why you think you caused her death.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
For the first time, I saw the guilt behind his eyes.
Not the guilt of a cheating man.
The guilt of someone who had been carrying a graveyard inside himself.
But guilt didn't make lies harmless.
I whispered:
“Why did you marry Chloe last night?”
Daniel looked at me.
“I thought you were leaving me.”
“So you married someone else?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was terrified of losing you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“And now?”
May you like
He looked at my empty ring finger.
“Now I know exactly what losing you feels like.”
