Chapter 7 - The Man Behind The Wheel
The message appeared on Dominic’s phone: "Ask Dominic who was driving the car."
When I opened the old accident report hidden inside my father's file, I found one name erased from the document.
The missing name was written underneath in my own handwriting: "Dominic Caruso."
I suddenly realized the person who saved my life might have been the reason I almost lost it.
I stared at the message.
Six words.
That was all it took to destroy the last piece of trust I had left.
Ask Dominic who was driving the car.
I looked at my husband.
He didn't look surprised.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
Like he had been waiting for this question for years.
"Tell me."
My voice was quiet.
Almost calm.
But inside, everything was collapsing.
"Who was driving?"
Dominic looked at Richard.
My father looked away.
That was when I understood something.
They both knew.
They had both carried this secret.
And they had both allowed me to live inside a lie.
"Dominic."
He closed his eyes.
"I was."
The room went completely silent.
I felt my fingers go cold.
"You were driving?"
He nodded.
I waited for an explanation.
A reason.
Anything.
But nothing came.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Dominic looked at me.
"Because you didn't remember."
I almost couldn't believe what I heard.
"So your solution was to let me believe I was in a random accident?"
"No."
"Then what was your solution?"
His voice became lower.
"To keep you alive."
I laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
I pointed around the room.
"Everyone keeps telling me they lied because they were protecting me."
I looked at Richard.
"You hid my father."
I looked at Victoria.
"You hid your past."
Then I looked at Dominic.
"And you hid the fact that you were behind the wheel when my life changed forever."
Dominic took a step toward me.
"Emma, listen to me."
"No."
The word came out immediately.
"Not this time."
I walked toward the desk.
The old accident report was still there.
I picked it up.
The paper was damaged.
Old.
But there was something strange.
A section near the bottom had been covered.
A name had been removed.
I looked closer.
"What is this?"
Richard moved toward me.
"Emma."
"No."
I held up the paper.
"Why is my name here?"
Everyone froze.
Because beneath the erased information was another note.
A note written in my handwriting.
My handwriting.
Six years ago.
I recognized it.
Even though I didn't remember writing it.
The sentence said:
"Dominic knows what happened."
My heart dropped.
I looked at him.
"You knew I wrote this?"
He didn't answer.
"Dominic."
His eyes filled with regret.
"Yes."
"How?"
He sat down slowly.
"Because you wrote it in front of me."
I stared.
"What?"
He looked at the floor.
"The night before the accident, you discovered something."
"What?"
He hesitated.
"Information about Richard Vale."
My father stepped forward.
"You found evidence."
I looked at him.
"What evidence?"
Richard's expression became serious.
"Proof that Richard Vale had been controlling parts of the company for years."
I looked back at Dominic.
"And you?"
His face tightened.
"I was helping your father."
"Helping him?"
"Yes."
"Then why was I afraid of you?"
The question hit harder than anything else.
Because nobody had an answer.
Dominic looked away.
And that told me there was more.
Much more.
I stepped closer.
"My recording said not to trust the person who says they saved me."
Dominic whispered:
"I know."
"Was that about you?"
Silence.
Then:
"Partly."
My chest tightened.
"Partly?"
Dominic looked at me.
"The person who caused the accident was not me."
I didn't speak.
"But I was driving because I was trying to get you away."
"From who?"
He looked toward the window.
"Richard Vale."
My father shook his head.
"He found out too late."
Dominic turned.
"You knew he was following us."
Richard's expression changed.
"I knew someone was."
The two men stared at each other.
Two people who had spent years protecting secrets.
Two people who knew exactly how much danger I had been in.
And somehow...
Neither had told me.
I grabbed the accident report.
"What happened that night?"
Nobody answered.
So I forced the answer.
"What happened?"
Dominic finally spoke.
"You found the evidence."
"What evidence?"
"A recording."
My heart stopped.
"A recording of Richard Vale admitting what he had done."
I looked at Richard.
"Where is it?"
Nobody moved.
Then Victoria spoke.
"Emma..."
Her voice was shaking.
"The recording was hidden before the accident."
"Where?"
She looked at me.
"You."
I frowned.
"What?"
"You hid it."
I shook my head.
"No."
"You did."
Victoria walked closer.
"Your memory was damaged because you were trying to protect yourself."
I stared at her.
"What are you saying?"
She took a breath.
"You knew someone would search your house."
I looked around.
The old house.
The office.
The journal.
The hidden files.
"You hid the recording somewhere nobody would find."
"Where?"
Nobody answered.
Because they didn't know.
Then something happened.
A memory returned.
Not a dream.
Not a fragment.
A real memory.
Me standing in my bedroom.
Six years earlier.
My hands shaking.
A small object in my fingers.
A voice behind me.
Dominic.
"Emma, we need to leave."
My younger self looked at him.
"No."
"Emma."
"If something happens to me, you need to find this."
I watched my own memory.
I walked toward the mirror.
I removed my necklace.
The necklace.
The same necklace I was wearing now.
Then I opened the back.
There was a tiny compartment.
Inside...
A memory card.
I opened my eyes.
Everyone was staring at me.
"I know where it is."
Dominic stepped forward.
"Where?"
I touched the necklace.
But before I could answer, my phone vibrated.
A new message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
One sentence.
"You're too late."
Then another message appeared.
A photo.
My bedroom.
The same angle as before.
But this time, someone was standing in front of my mirror.
Holding my necklace.
The person slowly turned toward the camera.
And I recognized the face.
May you like
Because it was the face of the person I had trusted the most...
My mother.
