Chapter 3 - The First Lie Falls
Maya stood.
“Did you erase it?”
“No.”
Thomas sounded insulted.
“I told him I couldn't access the system remotely without logging the request.”
“Where is the footage?”
“Local server in the security room, plus encrypted backup.”
My entire body went still.
“Backup?” I whispered.
Thomas heard me.
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Can Ryan delete it?”
“Not the cloud copy.”
I closed my eyes.
For the first time since falling, I felt something that wasn't fear.
Hope.
Maya asked, “Will you speak to police?”
“Yes.”
“Please do it now.”
Thomas agreed.
Then paused.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Mr. Cole didn't just ask about today.”
I opened my eyes.
“He asked whether I could erase footage from the last six months.”
Maya and I looked at each other.
“Why?”
“He didn't say.”
The call ended.
Maya whispered, “This is bigger.”
I wanted to say no.
I wanted one disaster at a time.
A cheating husband.
A violent mistress.
A baby in danger.
That was already more than enough.
But Ryan's request echoed in my head.
Six months.
Why six months?
A nurse entered.
“Mrs. Cole?”
I almost laughed at the name.
Mrs. Cole suddenly sounded like a costume I had forgotten I was wearing.
“There's a police officer here.”
Officer Lena Brooks walked in.
Mid-forties.
Calm eyes.
Notebook in hand.
“I understand you've been through a lot. We can keep this brief.”
“I want to tell you everything.”
She sat.
I described the messages.
Vanessa blocking me.
The argument.
The push.
Ryan immediately claiming I fell.
Then Ryan's text about getting our stories straight.
Officer Brooks photographed the message.
“Do you still have the photos of the affair messages?”
“Yes.”
“Don't delete anything.”
“I won't.”
“Did Ms. Cole threaten you?”
“Vanessa's last name is Cole too?”
The officer checked her notes.
“Vanessa Cole. No relation to your husband as far as we know.”
I gave a bitter laugh.
“Of course.”
I explained Vanessa's words after the fall.
A fall like that could end very badly.
Officer Brooks stopped writing.
“She said that after you fell?”
“Yes.”
“Exactly?”
“Yes.”
She wrote it down.
Then Maya told her about Thomas.
Officer Brooks's expression changed.
She stood.
“I need to make a call.”
Fifteen minutes later, she returned.
“We're taking steps to preserve the system.”
“Can you arrest her?”
“We need to complete the investigation.”
I hated that answer.
But I understood it.
Then the door opened again.
Ryan.
He came in carrying flowers.
Flowers.
After leaving me in an ambulance alone.
Maya immediately stood between us.
“You've got nerve.”
Ryan ignored her.
“Emily, can we talk?”
Officer Brooks remained in the corner.
Ryan noticed her.
His face changed slightly.
“Privately.”
“No,” I said.
“Em—”
“No.”
He looked exhausted.
Beautiful.
Familiar.
The face I had once trusted more than my own.
“I handled this badly.”
“You mean the affair?”
“I mean outside.”
“You mean when your mistress pushed your pregnant wife down stairs and you asked if your mistress was okay?”
His jaw tightened.
“Vanessa says you grabbed her first.”
I stared at him.
“That isn't even the story you told earlier.”
He froze.
Maya smiled without humor.
“Problem, Ryan?”
He looked toward Officer Brooks.
“I might've misunderstood what happened.”
“Interesting,” she said.
He turned back to me.
“Emily, please. Vanessa didn't mean for anyone to get hurt.”
The room became silent.
I felt Maya's hand grip the bed rail.
Officer Brooks spoke first.
“Mr. Cole.”
Ryan realized too late what he'd said.
The officer stepped closer.
“You've been telling us your wife simply fell.”
Ryan swallowed.
“That is what I believe happened.”
Officer Brooks tilted her head.
“Then how do you know Vanessa didn't mean for anyone to get hurt?”
May you like
Ryan's face drained of color.
And just like that, his first lie collapsed.
