Chapter 6 - The Burner Phone
I unbuckled my seatbelt and sprinted toward the smoking wreckage of Mark’s car.
Sarah yelled for me to stop, warning me that it might catch fire.
I ignored her, dropping to my knees on the shattered glass covering the highway.
Mark was hanging upside down, held by his seatbelt, unconscious and bleeding heavily from a head wound.
I reached through the broken window, desperate to find the hard drive he had stolen.
The silver casing of the drive was crushed beneath the dashboard, completely destroyed by the impact.
My heart sank as I realized the original footage was gone forever.
But as I pulled my hand back, I noticed a cheap, prepaid cell phone lying on the roof lining.
It wasn't Mark’s usual smartphone.
I grabbed it just as I heard the distant wail of approaching sirens.
I scrambled back to the rental car, and Sarah immediately hit the gas.
We parked blocks away from the hospital where Sophie was recovering.
My hands shook as I turned on the cheap plastic phone.
It wasn't passcode protected.
I opened the text messages and found only one active conversation.
The contact was saved simply as "P."
I scrolled through months of disgusting, calculated conversations between my husband and my brother.
Preston hadn't just wanted to embarrass me at the wedding.
He wanted me arrested, declared an unfit mother, and completely removed from the picture.
The texts detailed a plan to use my "criminal record" to trigger a morality clause in our family trust.
If I was convicted of a felony, my massive share of the inheritance would automatically default to Preston.
Mark was promised ten percent of that fortune in exchange for his testimony.
The assault on Sophie wasn't a sudden loss of temper.
It was a premeditated trap to push me into a violent public confrontation.
I showed the texts to Sarah, who clamped a hand over her mouth in horror.
This phone was the only piece of evidence we had left to destroy Preston.
Suddenly, the burner phone rang loudly in my hand.
The screen flashed with the name "P."
I took a deep breath and pressed the green answer button.
May you like
Preston’s cold, arrogant voice echoed through the tiny speaker.
"Did you really think I wouldn't have my own men following him, Evelyn?"
