Chapter 3 - The Accidents
Emily remembered the mountain road first.
It had happened six weeks earlier.
She had been driving home from a prenatal appointment when the brake pedal suddenly sank to the floor.
Nothing happened.
She had screamed as the car gained speed.
The road curved along a steep hillside.
A guardrail stood between her and a hundred-foot drop.
Emily had pulled the emergency brake and crashed into a grassy ditch.
The mechanic later called it a damaged brake line.
Daniel had called it bad luck.
Then there had been the food poisoning.
Daniel had prepared dinner himself.
He rarely cooked.
That night, he insisted Emily eat the mushroom risotto he had made especially for her.
Within forty minutes, she was vomiting.
At the hospital, doctors blamed contaminated ingredients.
Daniel stayed beside her bed all night.
He held her hand.
He cried.
Emily had believed every tear.
Then there was the staircase.
Two weeks later, she slipped near the top step.
Mara caught her before she fell.
A thin layer of clear oil had been spread across the polished wood.
Daniel claimed a cleaning product had leaked.
Mara had apologized because she assumed one of the staff had made a mistake.
Now Emily remembered Daniel’s reaction.
He had not seemed frightened.
He had seemed irritated.
She looked at him across the ruined foyer.
“Three accidents.”
Daniel’s expression stayed calm.
“What?”
“My brakes.”
“Emily.”
“The food.”
“Stop.”
“The stairs.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You’re letting her poison your mind.”
Mara stepped closer.
“No.”
Daniel glared at her.
“You poisoned the food.”
Mara’s eyes widened.
“Daniel.”
“You had access to the kitchen.”
Emily stared at her husband.
His accusation came too quickly.
As if prepared.
Mara noticed too.
“You already thought about blaming me.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
Emily touched her belly.
The baby moved beneath her palm.
Suddenly every memory felt different.
Every kiss after an accident.
Every worried phone call.
Every time Daniel had insisted she was fragile.
Perhaps he had not been protecting her.
Perhaps he had been measuring how difficult she was to kill.
Emily felt nauseated.
Daniel approached.
“Look at me.”
She did.
His face was handsome.
Familiar.
The face she woke beside every morning.
But something had disappeared from it.
Or perhaps she was finally seeing what had always been there.
Emptiness.
“You think I would hurt you?” he whispered.
Emily wanted to say no.
She wanted desperately to return to yesterday.
Instead she asked another question.
“Why was the life insurance policy increased?”
Daniel went perfectly still.
Mara looked at Emily.
Emily had almost forgotten about the paperwork Daniel made her sign after their wedding.
Twenty million dollars.
Double payment for accidental death.
Daniel smiled carefully.
“That was financial planning.”
“For whom?”
“For our family.”
“If I die, you get everything.”
Daniel’s eyes hardened.
Emily saw it.
Only for a moment.
But it was enough.
Mara moved beside her.
“We need to get out of this house.”
Daniel looked toward the front doors.
May you like
Then he smiled.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
