Chapter One — The Last Video
The screen shook at first.
Rain streaked across a windshield. Claire’s breathing filled the tiny speaker, fast and uneven. She was sitting in her car, parked somewhere dark, her face lit only by the dashboard.
“Alice,” she whispered, “if you’re watching this, it means I couldn’t stop him the normal way.”
My hands went numb.
Megan stood beside me, crying silently.
Claire looked over her shoulder, then back at the camera.
“Ryan is not who you think he is. He came to our office six months ago using a different last name. He was trying to get access to client trust accounts through one of our vendors. I recognized him at dinner the night you introduced him, but I wasn’t sure at first. Then I checked.”
The room tilted.
Ryan had told me Claire hated him because she was jealous. Because she had always judged my choices. Because she couldn’t stand seeing me happy.
And I had believed him.
Claire swallowed hard.
“He has done this before. He gets close to women with access to money, family property, or business accounts. He marries fast. Then accounts get emptied, signatures get forged, and he disappears.”
A small sound escaped my mouth.
Claire’s eyes filled with tears.
“I tried to tell you, but he found out I was digging. He threatened me. He said if I ruined the wedding, he’d make sure everyone believed I was unstable.”
Then, in the video, headlights appeared behind her.
Claire froze.
“Oh God,” she whispered. “He found me.”
