I stared at the footage on the screen, my hands trembling slightly as I pressed play. The grainy video captured the mont in excruciating detail—a blue car speeding down the street, its driver clearly desperate, breaking through a red light. And then, with a sickening inevitability, it slamd into a couple crossing the road. The impact was brutal, sending the two bodies flying. The woman’s body crumpled imdiately, the man’s wasn’t far behind. I watched as they hit the ground with a lifeless thud, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles. Blood pooled around them, the scene a grotesque tableau of violence.
I watched it again. And again. The sick feeling in my stomach only grew with each replay. The cara captured the bystanders who rushed to the scene, their horrified faces reflecting the carnage. But my eyes were fixed on the wrecked car, the one that had taken away so much in an instant. As the people sward around it, soone finally managed to pry open the door. They pulled an unconscious body from the driver’s seat—Ash. His face was pale, sared with blood, and completely still. My heart clenched painfully, the reality of it all nearly choking .
I paused the video, unable to watch anymore. I leaned back in the chair, rubbing my face with both hands. It all made sense now. This was the accident. This was how it all happened. The night that shattered everything. The night that killed my parents.
My thoughts were a storm, crashing and colliding with one another. I knew Ash was responsible for the accident, but seeing it like this, so raw and unfiltered, was different. How could I reconcile the man I loved with the one who had taken everything from ? The grief and anger I’d carried for so long, the hatred that had fueled my every action against him—all of it warred with the reality that Ash had been unconscious, his body pulled from the wreckage like a broken doll. But it didn’t erase the fact that it was his car, his actions, that had ended their lives.
I turned to the man, John, who stood quietly in the corner of the room, watching with a mix of pity and caution. My voice was rough as I asked, "Why didn’t you take this CD before? Why give it to now?"
John sighed deeply, his eyes heavy with the weight of what he was about to say. "I used to work with Darren," he began, his voice steady. "Darren helped take care of my family, always made sure we were alright. Before he died, he told that soone would co asking about the accident—the child of the couple who died. Darren said when that person cos, I should hand them this CD. It’s the only evidence left."
My mind reeled. So, Darren knew I would investigate this case. He had kept this evidence all these years, knowing that eventually, I would co searching for answers.
"And why didn’t he destroy it?" I
John shook his head. "Darren wanted you to have it. He felt guilty for what happened to your parents, but he was just trying to save his child. He asked to tell you that he’s sorry, but he couldn’t let Ash suffer for a mistake he wasn’t fully responsible for. He knew you’d want retribution, but he hoped that once you knew the truth, you wouldn’t hurt Ash."
My chest tightened, my breath coming in short bursts. "The truth?" I repeated, feeling like the ground was slipping away from under . "What truth?"
John’s gaze softened, as if he pitied . "Ash didn’t cause the accident because he was drunk. He wasn’t even supposed to be driving that night. He went to a premiere party, one of those big Hollywood events. The directors there...they were monsters. They offered him roles in exchange for using his body—sex, favours, whatever they wanted. Ash refused, but they drugged him. The kid was only seventeen. They drugged him so heavily that he couldn’t think straight. He tried to run, tried to escape those n who wanted to assault him. But he was so terrified, so out of control, that he got in the car and drove off. That’s when the accident happened."
The words hit like a physical blow. My mind struggled to process what he was saying. The image of Ash, frightened and desperate, being chased by predators...it made sick to my core. Oh, how I wish I could kill those monsters.
"He wasn’t drunk because he wanted to be," John continued, his voice solemn. "He was drugged. He was trying to get away, and that’s why he lost control. He didn’t an to hurt anyone. The child is just a victim."
A wave of nausea washed over as the implications settled in. The accident, the deaths...they were the result of a horrific chain of events that Ash had been dragged into against his will. My parents’ deaths, the very foundation of my hatred, were rooted in sothing far more complex than I’d ever imagined. Ash wasn’t just the man who had killed my parents—he was a victim too, caught in the crossfire of other people’s cruelty.
"But why tell this now?" I asked.
He looked square in the eyes. "Darren wanted you to know the whole truth before you decided what to do. He didn’t want you to hurt Ash, but he also knew you had a right to know. Darren knew you would find out eventually, and he hoped that when you did, you would choose to forgive."
Forgive. The word echoed in my mind, but I couldn’t grasp it. But after knowing what Ash had gone through, how could I not?
"I’ll never turn Ash over to the cops," I said, my voice firm with conviction. I didn’t know what I would do, but one thing was certain—I wasn’t going to let Ash suffer any more than he already had.
John nodded, as if he’d expected my answer. "There’s more on the CD," he said quietly. "Things Darren didn’t want anyone to see. But you should watch it all before you decide what cos next."
I nodded, gripping the CD tightly in my hand. Whatever was on it, I knew it would change everything. But first, I had to find Ash. I had to tell him...sothing. I just didn’t know what yet.
My chest burned with guilt as I clutched the CD in my hand. Ash was barely more than a child when it all happened—drugged, chased, terrified out of his mind. The thought of him, vulnerable and scared, going through sothing so horrific made my stomach turn.
How much had he suffered? How much was he still suffering? The anguish clawed at my insides. I want to quickly go back to him. I want to make this right, sohow, soway.
I raced back to the hospital, my heart hamring in my chest. I needed to see him, to tell him that I knew the truth, that I didn’t bla him for what happened. I would convince him that we could move past this, that we could still be together. I burst into the ward and called out for him, my voice echoing off the sterile walls. But there was no answer. My heart thundered in my chest, a cold fear gripping as I moved through the empty room.
"Ash?" I called out, my voice rising with panic. Still nothing. My heart was pounding so hard, I could barely hear myself think. I sprinted to the bathroom door and shoved it open, praying that he’d just locked himself away again. But it was empty. Ash wasn’t there. My heartbeat quickened, sanity slipping through my fingers. "Ash!" I yelled, my voice cracking. "Ash, where are you?"
No response.
I clutched my hair, feeling like I was going insane. The walls of the room seed to close in on , and I yelled his na again, louder, more desperate. "ASH!" My voice echoed down the halls, frantic, broken. I couldn’t lose him, not now.
Nurses rushed in, drawn by my shouting. I grabbed the collar of the nearest one, my eyes wild with fear. "Where is he? Where’s Ash?" I demanded, my voice shaking with desperation.
The nurse’s eyes were filled with an unmistakable fear, her voice trembling as she stamred out the words. "He—he left a while ago. We tried to stop him, but he was insistent on going sowhere. We called you in a panic, but you didn’t answer."
Her words landed like a hamr blow to my chest, knocking the breath out of . My legs felt weak and shaky, struggling to support as the world spun around . Ash was gone.
Panic and despair threatened to overwhelm as I stumbled away from the nurse and out of the ward. Every step felt like lead, my heart pounding so loudly in my ears that I could barely hear the sounds of the hospital around . I had to find him. I couldn’t bear the thought of him being out there alone.
I ran with only one thing echoing through my head.
Please co back.
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)
Reviews
All reviews (0)