The video shifted wildly as Claire grabbed the phone and lowered it toward her lap.
A car door slammed.
Then Ryan’s voice came through the rain.
“Claire, open the door.”
My stomach turned.
Not a stranger.
Not a misunderstanding.
My husband.
Claire’s voice trembled. “Get away from me.”
“You’re making this harder than it has to be,” he said. “Give me the files.”
“I already sent them.”
A pause.
Then Ryan laughed softly.
“To who?”
Claire didn’t answer.
The phone angled just enough to catch him through the wet window. Same face. Same mouth that had kissed my forehead at the altar. Same hands that had held mine while I promised forever.
But his eyes were different.
Cold.
Empty.
“You think Alice will believe you?” he asked. “She chose me already.”
Those words cut deeper than anything else.
Because he was right.
I had chosen him.
And I had left Claire standing alone with the truth.
The video ended with Claire starting the car, tires scraping gravel, Ryan shouting her name behind her.
Then black.
I stared at the screen until Megan gently took the phone from my hands.
“There’s more,” she whispered.
