Chapter 1
Sloane's POV
They pulled Beckett’s car out of the Avery River at four in the morning.
I was sitting in the reception area of the Ardenvale police station, having waited all night. Everyone thought I was just the pathetic wife—the one who had been humiliated at her mother-in-law’s birthday banquet, went home early, and panicked when her husband never returned.
No one knew that from the moment I dialed 911, this was exactly the news I had been waiting for.
He was dead. And I was the one who made it happen.
At 4:20 AM, Detective Carolyn Moss pushed through the doors. In her early forties, petite, with a sharp bob cut, she carried two cups of coffee and slid one across the table to me.
I didn't touch it. I just let my hands tremble as I gripped the hem of my coat.
"Mrs. Hale." She sat straight across from me. "The dive team found your husband's car in the river bend. He was still inside." She paused. "I'm sorry. He didn't make it."
The moment the words dropped, the breath I had been holding all night finally settled deep into my chest.
I let the tears fall before my voice broke. My shoulders shook violently, my knee bumping the table and rattling the coffee cup.
"No... you have to keep looking. Could he have washed up on the bank—"
"Mrs. Hale," her voice was steady. "We are certain."
I buried my face in my hands, sobbing until I couldn't catch my breath. She didn't rush to interrupt me. She waited until I had cried it out before handing me a tissue.
"I know this is hard. But I need you to walk me through last night again." She flipped open her notepad. "Several guests at Vivienne Hale's birthday banquet noted that you left alone before nine. What happened?"
I sniffled, taking my time before speaking.
"It was Beckett," I said, my voice quivering. "At the party, he wouldn't leave the family's new maid alone. In front of a room full of people, he had his arm around her waist, whispering in her ear. I went over to pull him away, and he shoved me. He said I was 'having an episode' again, that I was embarrassing him in front of everyone." I bit my lip, letting a fresh wave of tears fall. "So many eyes on me... I couldn't take it. I just left."
"What state was he in when you left?"
"He'd been drinking. He was swaying, slurring his words," I choked out. "I wanted to wait for him so we could go home together... but I just couldn't stay. I went home and waited. He never came back, and he wasn't answering his phone. Something felt wrong, so I called the police."
Moss stared at me in silence. The young officer standing behind her looked away.
"We pulled the dashcam from his car," she suddenly said. "The footage right before it hit the water was still readable. At 9:40 PM, he got onto Highway 37 alone. No one else was in the car."
She locked eyes with me. "But there's something I can't figure out. You said he was swaying and slurring. I pulled the EMT's breathalyzer report. His blood alcohol level wasn't that high. That amount of liquor wasn't enough to get him that drunk."
My heart skipped a beat.
"And then, he just slowly, gradually drifted out of his lane, as if he had fallen dead asleep, and nose-dived into the river." She snapped her notepad shut. "A grown man, barely buzzed, just falling asleep at the wheel. Tell me, Mrs. Hale, does that sound normal to you?"
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.
She stood up and took away my untouched coffee. "The ME is running a full toxicology panel. Until the results come back, I'll have to ask you not to leave town."
