38. Evie

thirty-eight

The figure before me looked familiar. I glanced between her and Ethan when it suddenly clicked.

It was Judy, the lady from marketing that I met in the elevator.

She was clad in a black leather jumpsuit, with a belt strapped around her waist, and stood with an aura of disaster— a stark difference from what I saw that day in the office.

Had she been working in the company, plotting her revenge this whole time?

“I don”t know what makes you think that I killed my wife, but I didn”t.” Ethan gritted.

She narrowed her eyes, the corner of her lips lifting in a vile smile. “You see that clock over there?”

I glanced in the direction of her finger. An analog clock rested against a single piece of iron. It was counting down. 28: 32. My breath hitched. Twenty-eight minutes and thirty-two seconds. Shit, this was bad.

“I have someone operating my computer as we speak. And they have orders—”

“You wouldn”t dare.” Ethan leaned forward harshly, his body seeming even more tense.

She tsked. “I”ve given the order to release the pictures to the net once the time is up. The ball is in your court.”

“I”ll kill you. I”ll fucking ruin you, Laura.”

“Bold statement from someone who’d spend the rest of his life behind bars.” She released a dry chuckle. “Once I take the footage to the right authority, you”re doomed.”

“You wouldn”t. I didn’t kill Olivia. I”m innocent.”

“Let the law be the judge of that.”

I held my breath. If Ethan was found guilty, he’d go to jail.

First, tampering with the evidence could be considered a felony.

From there on, it would seem like he really did push his ex-wife. That was murder… or manslaughter.

“You know what, fuck that. The law doesn”t do shit. When my father was killed, they didn”t do shit. Now, I wouldn”t stand and watch the same happen to my best friend.”

Father?What was she talking about?

“I”m sorry about your father, but…”

“No, you”re not sorry. You”re just like his murderer, a coward…”

“His accident was a hit and run. And just like you, the culprit was wealthy. Little wonder the cops never caught the man. The justice system let him go, and Mother and I were left to wallow in pain and misery.”

She glanced at me before staring at Ethan.

“No official would listen to me. They would scrap the topic and brush it under the rug as if it were a chicken’s death. I felt cheated. The only solace I found was in Olivia. She went to the ends of the earth just to make sure Mom and I had food. Dad was the breadwinner, and with his death, we were miserable. Olivia gave almost all she made from her business until Mom and I were stable to work, something no one did for us.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks, a forlorn expression blanketing her eyes.

She sniffed.

“Imagine what I felt when I heard the news of my best friend’s death. I heard three months later after one of my trips out to sea. When I met Olivia’s parents, they narrated the story. They said it was an argument, and their daughter slipped and fell. I refused to believe it.”

She shook her head.

I could see the forlorn expression in her eyes.

“I refused to take chances, that if it were untrue, another bastard would go scot-free.”

She paused for a moment and then continued, “You never really loved her.”

“I… I did. Whatever contrary thing she told you was a lie.”

Judy clenched her fist, taking a daunting step toward him.

“You had issues. I knew everything.”

“Issues didn”t mean I didn”t love her. Yes, she complained about how I never did enough, but everything I did was to satisfy her.”

Her scowl deepened. “You took anger management therapy. That was the first red flag for me.”

“I can explain that—”

“Fuck you and your explanation! I found the footage. The ones the cops inspected, that vindicated you. I spent nights watching it. Night and day I was fucking behind the computer, watching the footage. I had a hunch, and I wasn’t a fool to let it slip away. After weeks, I found a glitch,” she smiled maliciously.

“It was a small, unnoticeable one, but I found it. Of course, your name and success distracted the cops from really watching the footage like they should. No, you were just so good at editing that it took hypersensitivity to notice. Or did you bribe them?”

I glanced at the clock. Seventeen minutes left.

“I did nothing of such.” Ethan’s jaw tightened.

“Then tell me. Why didn’t you just leave the evidence as it was? You obviously tampered with it. I had experts inspect the footage.”

Ethan gestured frantically.

“It was to protect myself. I was undergoing anger management therapy, Olivia and I had been having issues… I was angry. The odds were against me, Laura. For years, Olivia pressed my buttons. I never suggested a divorce because of Sophie. I wanted my daughter to grow up with both parents. I wanted to give her a good life.”

He paused before shaking his head. “Why would I lose my cool over the same arguments we’d been repeatedly having? It doesn”t make sense, Laura. I”m trying to make you see that I did what I did to protect myself. No one would believe I didn”t push her. Everything I”d worked for would crumble. I wouldn”t be there for Sophie. I had to do what I did…”

His voice reduced to a low whisper.

“…She slipped. I tried to catch her. The angle of the camera wasn”t right, and when I rewatched the videos, it looked like I pushed her. I couldn’t lose twice. I lost Olivia. I couldn”t lose anything else.”

“Liar,” Laura growled before pouncing on Ethan.

With a loud shriek, I jumped far back, watching as they both rolled to the ground.

Judy was now straddling him, with both hands fisting the collar of his shirt.

“All I want is justice for my best friend. I couldn”t avenge my father, but I”ll avenge my best friend.”

Ethan grunted. “They can”t post that image. Tell your people to abort mission.”

A single tear streamed down my face when I glanced at the clock.

Twelve minutes.

“Judy… Please...” I begged.

A wave of déjà vu hit me. It”s the same words I said during the fight with Dad and Ethan. I was a weak bastard who could do nothing but defend herself with meaningless apologies.

“You stay out of this,” she growled.

She moved to throw a punch, but Ethan blocked it with his palm.

Instantly, he bucked his hips and moved her to the side.

She screamed. “Justice must be served!”

She threw another punch, and Ethan dodged it.

“Laura, this is not what you want. I swear on my life I didn’t—”

“Enough of your manipulation,” she snarled, finally landing a kick on his chest.

Ethan groaned and evaded another kick.

“I don”t want to fight,” Ethan growled.

“You were a coward. You still are. You couldn”t own up to your actions and had to manipulate things.”

“Tell your men to stand down.”

“No. Not until the world knows the truth and sees you for the monster you are.”

In a second, Ethan lunged at her, pushing her to the ground. He was now on top of her, fisting her collar.

“I didn”t kill my wife.”

“Then explain Dawson,” she gritted.

“Explain why your intelligence officer disappeared a few weeks after Olivia’s death to never be seen again?”

I watched Ethan freeze.

“I made my findings. I made sure every single detail to buttress my hunch was right. You”re guilty… so fucking guilty.”

Venom laced her words.

“Everything I did, I did to protect myself…I did for my daughter.”

“Bullshit! Stop bringing Sophie into this.” She raised her head to hit hard against his.

When Ethan loosened his grip, she quickly shuffled off.

“Olivia used to tell me how uncaring you were. How lonely she felt. You turned my best friend into a shadow of her former self. Then you went ahead to kill her.”

“For a year I worked on myself, took taekwondo classes. Took classes on marketing. I fucking did everything for this day. I prepared because I knew one day I”d have my chance,” she continued.

“I infiltrated your office without help. Fake documents and all, but your HR team were so carried away by my exceptional skills during the interview that they didn”t really verify sources. Or maybe I”m that good at faking things,” she sneered.

“I did all that to get here. I”ll leave this place with that video no matter the cost.”

My heart thrummed. The taunting decrease of the minutes was all that filled my mind. Seven minutes.

Laura glanced at me before mouthing, “I’m sorry.”

Her hand dove under a huge ruin before it came back with a gun. She pointed it at my head. I froze.

“Hand over the video, Ethan. I”m not afraid to pull the trigger.”

“Fuck! Laura, you can’t—”

“The video now!” She screamed, aiming the gun between my eyes.

“Dawson helped with the edit,” Ethan groveled.

Fear clouded his orbs. Mine were no different.

“I wanted everything to go well so I struck a deal with him. Help me, and leave the country. He knew what tight situation I was in, so he agreed.”

His voice turned low, “Sophie had selective mutism from witnessing Olivia’s death. You may not understand the struggles of a father, but I blamed myself for ever letting the argument get that far. I blamed myself for Sophie’s condition. Since then, it was from one therapist to another. Sophie didn”t change. But amidst all that, my only solace was that I was there for her. I”m not justifying my actions Laura. In whatever ways, I was selfish and I did tamper with the evidence. But you know what?”

He glanced at nothing in particular. Then, he glanced at her, his voice growing shaky.

“I”d repeat the same thing again just to be there for my daughter. I”d tamper with the evidence, knowing fully well the consequences. I’d be a coward over and over again if it meant being there for Sophie.”

Slowly, he walked until he stood before me, obstructing her aim. I glanced at the time. Two minutes.

His breathing grew harsh as he threw a flash drive at Laura’s feet.

“That is the truth video. I take the blame for everything I did, and I accept the consequences. I don”t mind going to jail, but please make sure my daughter is in the right hands.”

The distant rustling of papers filled the air.

I felt the cold wind on my skin even more. Laura’s hand faltered.

“You want justice, Laura. Just please don”t let innocent people fall with me. Leave Evie out of this.”

Slowly, Laura let her hand fall. Fifty seconds left.

She stared at Ethan for the longest time.

“Please…” Ethan trailed.

She found her phone in her pocket before dialing a number.

Thirty-two seconds.

“Stop,” she breathed.