Chapter 2 I Wasn't in the Car

When my car plunged into the river, I was sitting in Mary's tow truck.

After leaving the hotel, I had parked at the bend in the riverside road. Mary reattached the old brake line she had just removed, then cut it open again.

I placed my phone, my wedding ring, and the gift box containing my prenatal report on the driver's seat.

Mary handed me a small knife.

"Do you really have to go this far?"

I cut my palm and smeared blood over the steering wheel and the seat. The cut wasn't deep, but blood quickly covered half my hand.

"Clara wants proof I didn't get out." I handed the knife back to Mary. "If there's no blood in the car, she won't believe I'm dead."

I took off my coat and threw it onto the passenger seat. Mary bandaged my hand, then pulled me toward the back of the car.

The car stood at the edge of the slope. We pushed together, and the wheels slowly began to turn.

Once the front of the car passed the edge, the whole vehicle suddenly picked up speed, smashed through the guardrail, and plunged into the river.

I watched the headlights sink beneath the water, then climbed into Mary's tow truck.

Mary started the engine. "Where do we go now?"

"Away from this city."

She floored the gas. The hotel, the home I had shared with Jacob, and Jacob himself were all left behind.

I opened my injured hand. My palm was still bleeding, but the baby inside me was safe.

Mary glanced at me. "The photos and the messages about the hit are all on my phone. Once you're somewhere safe, I'll give them to the police."

"Okay."

I leaned back and closed my eyes. The tow truck entered the highway and never turned around.

Mary turned on the heater and pressed a bottle of water into my hand. There was mud on the hem of my dress and a bandage around my palm. My phone and wedding ring were at the bottom of the river.

"Your phone is gone too," Mary said.

"Good." I took a drink of water. "Starting tonight, they won't be able to find Ella."

Half an hour later, the police used the license plate to contact Jacob.

He was still drinking at the restaurant when the call came. When he heard that my car had gone into the river, his only response was, "What is she trying to pull now?"

The officer told him to come to the scene immediately. He dropped his glass and called my number for the first time that night.

Jacob was still wearing the suit he'd worn to the dinner when he reached the river. Clara followed behind him, her red evening gown still visible beneath her coat.

"Where's Ella?" Jacob stared at the broken guardrail. "Did she leave the car here and hide just to make a scene?"

An officer ordered him to stay behind the police tape.

"The car has already sunk. Divers are searching for her."

Jacob took out his phone and called me again.

He called more than a dozen times. Each time he called, he stared at the black surface of the river while the phone rang. Clara called his name twice, but he didn't answer.

A faint glow appeared beneath the water. No one onshore could hear the ringtone through the river, but they could all see the light.

Jacob stared at it, and the impatience vanished from his face.

He suddenly crossed the police tape and ran toward the water. Two officers grabbed his arms and dragged him back.

"Ella can't swim!" he shouted as he struggled against them. "Get down there and find her!"

Behind him, Clara quietly took out her phone. The mechanic had just sent her a message.

"The car is in the water."

She deleted it, put her phone back in her purse, and went to support Jacob.

"Maybe Ella made it to shore."

Jacob shook off her hand and returned to the police tape.

"Keep searching."

Once the divers went in, only engines and searchlights broke the silence along the riverbank.

At one in the morning, an officer received a message over his radio and turned to Jacob.

"We found the car."

Jacob immediately asked, "Where is my wife?"

The officer paused for several seconds.

"There's no one inside."