Chapter 88: Please come back
I stared at the footage on the screen, my hands trembling slightly as I pressed play. The grainy video captured the moment in excruciating detail—a blue car speeding down the street, its driver clearly desperate, breaking through a red light. And then, with a sickening inevitability, it slammed into a couple crossing the road. The impact was brutal, sending the two bodies flying. The woman’s body crumpled immediately, the man’s wasn’t far behind. I watched as they hit the ground with a lifeless thud, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles. Blood pooled around them, the scene a grotesque tableau of violence.
I watched it again. And again. The sick feeling in my stomach only grew with each replay. The camera captured the bystanders who rushed to the scene, their horrified faces reflecting the carnage. But my eyes were fixed on the wrecked car, the one that had taken away so much in an instant. As the people swarmed around it, someone finally managed to pry open the door. They pulled an unconscious body from the driver’s seat—Ash. His face was pale, smeared with blood, and completely still. My heart clenched painfully, the reality of it all nearly choking me.
I paused the video, unable to watch anymore. I leaned back in the chair, rubbing my face with both hands. It all made sense now. This was the accident. This was how it all happened. The night that shattered everything. The night that killed my parents.
My thoughts were a storm, crashing and colliding with one another. I knew Ash was responsible for the accident, but seeing it like this, so raw and unfiltered, was different. How could I reconcile the man I loved with the one who had taken everything from me? The grief and anger I’d carried for so long, the hatred that had fueled my every action against him—all of it warred with the reality that Ash had been unconscious, his body pulled from the wreckage like a broken doll. But it didn’t erase the fact that it was his car, his actions, that had ended their lives.
I turned to the man, John, who stood quietly in the corner of the room, watching me with a mix of pity and caution. My voice was rough as I asked, "Why didn’t you take this CD before? Why give it to me now?"
John sighed deeply, his eyes heavy with the weight of what he was about to say. "I used to work with Darren," he began, his voice steady. "Darren helped me take care of my family, always made sure we were alright. Before he died, he told me that someone would come asking about the accident—the child of the couple who died. Darren said when that person comes, I should hand them this CD. It’s the only evidence left."
My mind reeled. So, Darren knew I would investigate this case. He had kept this evidence all these years, knowing that eventually, I would come searching for answers.
"And why didn’t he destroy it?" I
John shook his head. "Darren wanted you to have it. He felt guilty for what happened to your parents, but he was just trying to save his child. He asked me to tell you that he’s sorry, but he couldn’t let Ash suffer for a mistake he wasn’t fully responsible for. He knew you’d want retribution, but he hoped that once you knew the truth, you wouldn’t hurt Ash."