Chapter 4 - The Unwelcome Guest
I didn't go to Ryan's hotel immediately. I needed leverage.
I went back to my parents' house to search the few boxes of belongings salvaged from the garage.
I was digging through soot-stained paperwork when the doorbell rang.
My mother was out getting groceries, so I went to answer it.
I froze when I saw her through the peephole.
Vanessa Pierce.
I unlocked the door but kept the chain on.
"What do you want?" I asked through the narrow gap.
Vanessa offered a smile that didn't reach her cold, calculating eyes.
"Emily. You look... recovering."
"Leave, Vanessa."
"I just came to drop off Ryan's mail," she said, holding up a stack of letters. "He accidentally forwarded it to my place."
She was marking her territory. Taunting me.
"You can slide it under the door," I said.
She didn't move. "He told me about your memory issues. It must be terrifying, losing your mind on top of everything else."
"I remember enough," I said softly.
Her fake smile slipped.
"What exactly do you remember, Emily?"
"I remember hearing your voice in my kitchen. Smelling the gasoline."
Vanessa stepped closer to the door, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"You're a heavily medicated woman going through a bitter divorce. Nobody will believe you."
"The fire investigator knows Ryan lied about saving me."
A flicker of genuine panic crossed Vanessa's face.
"You're playing a dangerous game, Emily. Sign the divorce papers. Take the alimony. Let it go."
"Did he try to double-cross you, Vanessa?" I asked, testing a theory. "Is that why you hit him?"
She flinched. The reaction was subtle, but I caught it.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she snapped.
"He was unconscious in the guest room. You struck him, didn't you? You started the fire and left him to die."
"You're insane," she hissed, dropping the mail on the porch.
She turned on her heel and practically sprinted to her car.
I closed the door, my hands shaking.
May you like
Ryan hadn't passed out from smoke inhalation. Vanessa had tried to tie up a loose end.
And now, the two of them were back together, bound by a shared, deadly secret.
