When my husband’s family was caught in a massive pileup on the highway, he was at the beach with the woman he had loved before me—and this time, instead of begging him to come home, I let him go.
Chapter 2
For a moment, the hospital disappeared around me.
“What are you saying?”
“We’re saying this may not have been an accident.”
Behind him, another gurney raced through the doors.
I forced myself to stay upright.
“Who would do that?”
“We don’t know yet. We’ll need access to the Larson residence security system and vehicle records.”
“Take whatever you need.”
Derek arrived twenty minutes later, pale and breathless.
“I’ve got employees coming.”
“How many?”
“Thirty-eight so far.”
I stared at him.
“Why not everyone?”
His jaw tightened.
“Ryan fired me.”
“What?”
“I called him after I saw the news. He told me anyone leaving company property to donate blood would be terminated. I told him I’d authorize it anyway.”
Derek looked sick.
“He dismissed me on the spot.”
My phone buzzed.
A text from Ryan.
Stop involving my company in your drama.
I read it twice.
Then deleted it.
I called the small research subsidiary still registered solely under my name. Every employee who could donate agreed to come.
The next hours blurred.
Doctors.
Forms.
Blood bags.
Police officers.
Telephone calls.
Families crying in hallways.
More than a hundred people had been hurt in the chain-reaction crash. Every emergency department in the county was strained.
I donated blood myself.
Derek did too.
By evening, Richard, Eleanor, and Sophie were alive but critical.
The surgeon came out shortly before midnight.
“We’ve stabilized all three temporarily.”
I sagged against the wall.
“Thank God.”
He held up a hand.
“I need you to understand that the next several hours are dangerous. Your father-in-law has severe internal injuries. Mrs. Larson has extensive trauma. Sophie needs additional surgery.”
“But they’re alive.”
“For now.”
I went to the ICU window.
Three people who had always treated me with kindness lay behind glass.
Richard had welcomed me into his family even after admitting his son married me partly because Lewis Pharmaceuticals could rescue Larson Group from a debt crisis.
Eleanor had defended me whenever Ryan humiliated me.
Sophie had once told me, “If my brother is too stupid to love you properly, I’ll just love you twice as much.”
They had deserved better than the son who had abandoned them.
At 12:41 a.m., alarms sounded.
Medical staff rushed into Richard’s room.
Then Eleanor’s.
Then Sophie’s.
Something was happening to all three.
The surgeon came out later with the face of a man carrying bad news.
Richard died first.
Eleanor held on for another hour.
She regained consciousness briefly.
I stood beside her.
Her eyes searched behind me.
“Ryan?”
I couldn’t lie.
“He isn’t here.”
She closed her eyes.
A tear ran into her hair.
“He chose her.”
I said nothing.
Eleanor knew.
Maybe she had always known.
Her fingers moved weakly.
I took her hand.
“Lily.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Leave him.”
My throat closed.
“Don’t talk like that.”
“Listen.”
She gathered what little strength remained.
“Protect Mia. Protect yourself.”
“I will.”
“Everything Richard and I built… not Ryan.”
She struggled to breathe.
“You.”
“Mom—”
“You were my daughter when he refused to be your husband.”
She died before dawn.
Sophie was last.
She couldn’t speak.
Her eyes moved toward a small box beside her bed.
I opened it.
Inside was a silver star bracelet, delicate and bright.
A note was folded beneath it.
For Lily. If Ryan won’t give her something beautiful, I will.
I broke.
“Sophie, please.”
Her eyes found mine.
I took the bracelet.
“I love you too.”
Her eyes closed.
She never opened them again.
When I woke later, I was in another hospital bed.
Derek sat beside me.
“You collapsed.”
I tried to sit.
“The funeral home—”
“Lily.”
Something in his tone stopped me.
“The doctor ran tests.”
He looked down.
“You were pregnant.”
I stared at him.
“Were?”
His eyes filled.
“I’m sorry.”
I turned toward the window.
In one night I had lost four people, including a child I had not yet known existed.
And Ryan was still at the beach.
The police took my statement that afternoon.
The crash had killed twenty people and injured scores more.
Investigators confirmed that the Larson Mercedes had suffered deliberate brake sabotage before losing control and helping trigger the pileup.
I called a funeral home.
Then my attorney.
“File the divorce petition today.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“Lily, given the deaths, there will also be estate questions.”
“Handle them.”
When I finally returned home, Mia was curled asleep on the couch.
I lifted her carefully.
Then the master bedroom door opened.
Serena stepped out wearing one of Ryan’s shirts.
Her hair was damp.
A small bandage wrapped her forearm.
Ryan appeared behind her, shirtless.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Ryan recovered first.
“Where have you been?”
I stared at him.
He hadn’t seen the news.
Hadn’t listened to the messages.
Hadn’t wondered why his phone contained dozens of missed calls.
“Are you coming to your family’s funeral?”
Serena sighed.
“Lily, really?”
I looked at her.
She smiled with practiced sympathy.
“Ryan told me you were upset about us, but saying his family died is disturbing.”
Ryan folded his arms.
“How long are you going to keep this up?”
I placed the divorce papers on the kitchen island.
“My attorney filed this morning.”
He laughed.
“You threaten divorce every year.”
“This time I’m not threatening.”
He stepped closer.
“You need my family. You need this house. You’ll calm down.”
“No, Ryan.”
I shifted Mia against my shoulder.
“You needed mine.”
My phone rang.
Captain Vance from highway patrol.
I put it on speaker.
“Mrs. Larson, the coroner has completed formal identification of Richard Larson, Eleanor Larson, and Sophie Larson. Their remains are being released to Eternal Rest Memorial Chapel. We need next of kin documentation.”
Ryan stopped moving.
Captain Vance continued.
“Because their vehicle was deliberately sabotaged, the deaths are part of an active homicide investigation.”
The color vanished from Ryan’s face.
“Who is this?”
“This is Captain Matthew Vance, Major Crimes.”
Ryan grabbed the phone.
“You’re lying.”
“Sir?”
“My wife paid you.”
“Mr. Larson, report to Central Precinct with identification.”
Ryan’s own phone started ringing.
Aunt Helen.
He answered.
Her scream filled the kitchen.
“Ryan! They’re dead!”
He stumbled backward.
“I saw Eleanor. I saw Sophie. Lily called me for blood and I refused because you told me she was lying!”
Ryan dropped the phone.
“No.”
Helen kept screaming through the cracked speaker.
“You told me your mother was sitting at home drinking tea!”
Ryan stared at me.
“No.”
“They were shopping for my birthday,” I said.
His mouth opened.
“Sophie wanted to buy me the bracelet you gave Serena.”
Serena touched the necklace at her throat.
Only then did I notice it.
The necklace I once thought was mine.
Ryan looked from Serena to me.
“You called Derek?”
“Yes.”
“You called Helen?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I told you.”
His knees buckled slightly.
“I thought you were trying to stop me.”
“You always thought everything was about you.”
He reached toward Mia.
I stepped away.
“Don’t.”
“Lily—”
“You already chose.”
I walked upstairs carrying my daughter.
Behind me, I heard Ryan begin to cry.
