Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

ASHLEY

" We're interrupting our regular morning breakfast show to bring you breaking news. Zain Ryder has been exonerated after serving fourteen years inside the Cedar Pines Maximum Security prison.

"After being found at the scene of the brutal murder of his best friend, Jason Trumont, and girlfriend, Louisa Conway, Ryder was arrested. The jury took less than fifteen minutes to return with their verdict, and he was given two life sentences.

"Ryder has always maintained his innocence, and that he was set up to take the blame for the murders. Two months ago he finally got the chance to bring a case of wrongful prosecution before a judge.

"Peter Longeaton, of Longeaton, Cassidy, and Fraser, made a claim that some of the evidence had been tampered with, as well as there being unorthodox interview methods used by the investigating detectives with their star witness, Ashley Trumont.

"Unusually, the retrial took place behind closed doors, with no jury, and only the judge, prosecution and defense attorneys present. And we're told that after only two days of hearing from both sides, the judge moved to overturn the original verdict.

"We have tried to locate Ashley Trumont, the girl whose testimony played a huge part in swaying the jury to reach the original verdict of guilty for Mr. Ryder, but she left her hometown eight years ago, and we have no known location for her."

"Reports suggest that Mr. Ryder will be walking out of court today a free man. We hope to get an exclusive interview with him when he comes out."

The delicate teacup I'm holding slips from my fingers and breaks into pieces when it hits the floor. The room spins, or maybe it's me, and I grab for the tabletop to stop myself from falling.

"Ashley? Are you okay?"

I barely hear Karla's words over the rushing noise in my ears. I can't breathe. My throat is tight, my heart is pounding in my chest, and my vision swims in and out. Hands land on my shoulders and steer me toward one of the chairs. I drop heavily onto the padded seat.

"What's wrong?" Jessa-Mae, my other housemate, takes the seat beside me while Karla stoops to clean up the broken china. Her hands cover mine. "Take a deep breath."

I do as she says, and slowly my vision steadies. I'm not sure that's much better, as my gaze immediately searches out the small television in the corner of the room. The presenter, blonde and chirpy, is still talking about the case from all those years ago. When the original mugshot of the man she's talking about fills the screen, I press a hand to my lips, memories resurfacing with a speed I can't stop.

"This can't be happening." I force the words out. "Why didn't anyone warn me? "

Jessa-Mae squeezes my fingers. "Warn you about what? What's wrong?"

I drag my attention from the television and meet worried blue eyes. I've lived with Jessa-Mae and Karla for seven years. I've known them for nine. We met on our first day of college, and bonded almost immediately. But they know me as Ashley Truman, not Ashley Trumont .

For all that time, I've kept secret that my brother was murdered, and I was instrumental in his killer being brought to justice. I didn't want what happened when I was younger to define the way people viewed me. I've lived my adult life, safe and secure, knowing that he can't hurt anyone else, that no one can link me to the Trumont family.

And now … this .

I start to rise, only for Jessa-Mae to push me back down.

"Stay right where you are. You're white as a sheet." She leans closer. "Oh my god, you're not pregnant, are you?"

"No. Why would you say that?" My eyes stray back to the television, where the presenter is still talking about Zain.

My heart does some kind of weird flip when I hear his name. I haven't thought about him in so long. I didn't think I'd have to. It's taken a long time, and moving out of my hometown, but I've reached a good place, mentally speaking. I no longer wake up screaming after reliving that night in my nightmares. And part of achieving that is by keeping thoughts of him out of my head.

It takes a second for my brain to process that the reporter is standing outside the court entrance, along with other news crews, and a crowd of people.

This can't be real. They can't have released him.

"Ashley, what's going on?" Karla blocks my view of the television, but I can still hear it.

" We're outside the courthouse now, waiting for Zain Ryder and his lawyer to come out and give a statement. Hopefully, we can hear a few words from the man himself."

I grab the remote control from the table and stab at the power button, then lurch to my feet. "I need to ... I have to call my mom."

"Ashley, slow down. What's going on? Why do— Oh! " Jessa-Mae's voice changes mid-sentence. "Oh my god. Ashley! You know him. You fucking know that guy, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Karla says.

"Are you Ashley Trumont?" Jessa-Mae's voice is gentle.

"Wait! What?" Karla looks from me to Jessa-Mae and back again, then takes the controller from me and whirls to face the television. She turns it back on.

"—wouldn't have been possible without the tireless work of my team. I'm just glad we were able to get the verdict overturned, and Zain can now try to put all of this behind him. It doesn't make up for the fourteen years he's lost, but it shows how one false testimony combined with incompetent police officers can ? —"

"Turn it off!"

"Ashley?" Karla's voice is cautious as she turns down the volume.

"It was my testimony that put him away, Karla. "

"Your testimony?" Karla speaks at the same time as Jessa-Mae.

"You lied to the court?" Jessa's eyes widen.

"No, I didn't lie! I saw him. I saw him!" My voice breaks, and I shudder, unwanted images of that night filling my mind. "I need to go home. I need to speak to my mom. I need to warn her, if she hasn't seen the news already."

And then I need to run and hide from the attention that's going to be heading my way.

"Warn her about what? I don't remember much about it, but I think I heard that he was your half-brother. Different moms, right, but the same dad?"

"His family is one of the founders of the town where my mom still lives. Now he's free, he's not going to just hide in the shadows. His family always said he was innocent. But he isn't. I saw him. And he threatened to come after me, to make me pay. I didn't think he'd ever get out."

"It's been fourteen years, Ash. I bet the only thing he wants to do is celebrate being out of prison. And anyway, he won't know who you are. We didn't." Karla's voice is calm.

I laugh, the sound high pitched. " Really ? You really believe he's going to be content to just leave everything in the past? You think he won't already know where I am?"

"I doubt he's spent all that time in prison plotting your downfall. You were just a kid."

I shake my head. A mistake when nausea rises. "I'm going to throw up."

Evading Jessa-Mae and Karla when they reach for me, I dash out of the kitchen, along the hallway and into the bathroom. I make it just in time to lose my breakfast.

I've had nightmares about this day. After he was sentenced. I spent weeks planning my escape route if he tried to appeal and won. When time passed, and there was no report of an appeal, I allowed myself to believe that I'd never have to face the idea of him being free. I convinced myself that he'd die before he would ever be released.

On my knees in front of the toilet, I bury my face into my hands.

He's out. They found something that brought his conviction into question and got him released. He's free .

How? What did they find?

The last words I heard when he was being removed from court after the jury announced his verdict rattles around my head .

"You're going to pay for this, little girl. I don't care how long it takes. The day I get out, you're going to pay for what you've done to me."

My dad hustled me out of the courthouse, and told me to ignore his threat as the weak lie it was. There was nothing to worry about. He would never get the opportunity to come looking for me.

Except … he's only been in prison for fourteen years … and now he's out .

I suck in a deep, steadying breath, flatten my hands against the tiled floor and push to my feet. Turning to the sink, I splash water on my face, then stare at my reflection.

Jessa-Mae isn't wrong. I'm so white, I look like I've just crawled out of a grave.

"You're a strong, intelligent woman. You've moved on from what happened. You share a nice house with your two best friends. You have a life , a steady job, and a boyfriend. You're not a child anymore." I say the words, but I don't believe them. Not for a second.

I haven't moved on. I just pretend I have to make it easier to get up day after day. I'm not sure I ever will.

I need to know what caused the judge to overturn his verdict.

What did his lawyer find? Wait, the reporter said something about the evidence being tampered with. What does that mean?

Oh god, did someone do something to the evidence in order to convict him? How is that even possible?

It doesn't matter. The how isn't important. Just focus on the fact that he's out. I have to make plans to protect myself. Because, no matter what Karla claims, he will come for me.

My lips compress into a thin line.

The worst thing I can do is panic. I have to make a plan. But first I need to speak to my mom.

Spinning, I leave the bathroom and go in search of my housemates. They're still in the kitchen, and both jump to their feet when I enter.

"I need to go home. Can you tell work something personal came up and I had to go home?" We all work in the same hospital. Karla and Jessa-Mae are nurses. I work in administration.

"Ashley, take a breath and think things through before you go rushing off." Jessa-Mae's voice is soft.

"I can't wait, Jessa. I have to go home and see my mom. Before he goes there."

"Do you really think he'll go back?"

This time my laugh has a brittle edge to it. "I told you, his family own half the town. So, if there's one thing I can guarantee, it's that Zain Ryder will have no problem with going back to the scene of his crime."