Chapter 2
Marcus grabbed my wrist just as the windshield disappeared beneath the surface.
The phone slipped from my fingers.
I watched it fall between the seats, its small red recording light still glowing inside the waterproof pouch.
“Give it to me!” Marcus shouted.
His voice sounded distant beneath the water.
I shook my head.
The water had reached my shoulders.
Every instinct screamed at me to fight, but the seat belt trapped me against the seat.
Marcus reached down for the phone.
That was when I saw the emergency cutting tool attached to his key ring.
He always carried it.
He had once told me it could save someone's life after a car accident.
He hadn't used it when he first entered the vehicle.
He hadn't even looked at my seat belt.
Instead, he had tried to silence me.
I grabbed his wrist and pulled the tool free.
Marcus jerked toward me.
“Nia, don't!”
I pressed the cutter against the belt.
The first attempt failed.
My fingers were shaking too badly.
I tried again.
The blade sliced through the fabric.
My body surged upward.
Marcus caught my ankle.
I kicked against his shoulder.
He lost his grip.
The roof of the car was nearly underwater now.
I forced myself toward the rear passenger door.
My wedding gown snagged on the center console.
For one horrifying second, I couldn't move.
Then I pulled with everything I had.
The fabric tore.
I pushed through the opening and entered the lake.
Cold water swallowed me.
I couldn't tell which direction was up.
My lungs burned.
I kicked desperately until I saw a pale patch of daylight overhead.
Then I broke the surface.
“Help!”
My scream echoed across the lake.
I expected to see Marcus beside me.
Instead, I saw him climbing onto the bank near Vanessa.
He looked back at me.
For one second, our eyes met.
Then he turned away.
I tried to swim toward the nearest dock.
My gown dragged behind me like an anchor.
My arms felt heavy.
I swallowed water and began coughing.
“Somebody help me!”
A voice answered.
“Hold on!”
I turned.
A man in a dark security uniform was running along the dock.
He threw off his jacket and jumped into the lake.
Seconds later, he reached me.
“I'm Daniel,” he said breathlessly. “Estate security. I've got you.”
I grabbed his arm.
“My husband—”
“Don't talk. Save your strength.”
He pulled me toward the dock.
Another security guard lowered a rescue ring.
Together, they lifted me onto the wooden platform.
I collapsed on my side, coughing violently.
My chest hurt.
My legs trembled uncontrollably.
Someone wrapped a blanket around me.
“Call an ambulance!” Daniel shouted.
Then I heard Marcus.
“Nia!”
I looked up.
He was running toward the dock, his burgundy wedding suit soaked and his face twisted into an expression of horror.
An expression I now knew was fake.
“Oh, baby!”
He dropped to his knees.
“Thank God you're alive!”
I recoiled.
“Don't touch me!”
The security guards exchanged glances.
Marcus reached toward my face.
“Nia, you're in shock.”
I screamed.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!”
Daniel stepped between us.
“Sir, give her some space.”
Marcus stood slowly.
His expression darkened for half a second.
Then he looked toward the other guests who had begun gathering nearby.
“My wife almost drowned,” he announced. “She's confused.”
I stared at him.
He was already creating an explanation.
Already making me sound unstable.
Vanessa approached from behind him.
Her face was pale.
One hand rested against her stomach.
“Oh, Nia,” she whispered. “We were so scared.”
I looked directly at her.
“You watched.”
Her eyes widened.
“What?”
“You stood there and watched me drown.”
She shook her head.
“No. I was trying to get help.”
“Then where was your phone?”
She looked away.
Marcus stepped forward.
“That's enough.”
I began shaking harder.
“Don't tell me what to do!”
The ambulance arrived minutes later.
Paramedics examined me, checked my breathing, and prepared to take me to the hospital.
Daniel stayed beside me while they worked.
Before they lifted me onto the stretcher, I caught his sleeve.
“My phone.”
He leaned closer.
“What about it?”
“It's in the car. Waterproof pouch. Near the front seats.”
He nodded.
“I'll tell the rescue team.”
“Please don't let Marcus take it.”
Daniel glanced toward my husband.
His expression changed.
“Understood.”
As the paramedics wheeled me toward the ambulance, I heard Marcus arguing with a police officer.
“She's my wife! I have every right to ride with her!”
The officer remained calm.
“Sir, she has requested that you stay back.”
I closed my eyes.
For the first time since the car entered the water, I felt a tiny piece of safety return.
At the hospital, doctors treated me for cold-water exposure and evaluated my breathing.
I had bruises on my wrists, a cut on my shoulder, and severe exhaustion.
But I was alive.
A nurse named Olivia sat beside me after the examination.
“Is there someone you trust that we can call?”
I thought of my mother.
For one heartbreaking second, I almost gave Olivia her number.
Then I remembered.
My mother had been gone for three years.
I began crying.
Olivia waited quietly.
Finally, I whispered, “My aunt.”
I gave her Aunt Evelyn's number.
She was my mother's younger sister and the only relative who had ever openly questioned Marcus's intentions.
When she arrived, she rushed into my room.
“Nia!”
I fell into her arms.
She held me while I sobbed.
“What happened, sweetheart?”
I looked toward the closed hospital door.
Then I whispered, “Marcus tried to kill me.”
Evelyn went completely still.
I told her everything.
The sinking car.
Vanessa.
Marcus covering my mouth.
The phone.
When I finished, her face had turned pale.
“Nia, there's something I need to tell you.”
I looked up.
“What?”
She took a trembling breath.
“Three weeks ago, your mother’s attorney called me. He was worried about documents Marcus had requested.”
My stomach tightened.
“What documents?”
Evelyn squeezed my hand.
“Documents that could give your husband control over everything your mother left you.”
I stared at her.
Then my phone, which a nurse had recovered from my wedding bag, began ringing.
The screen displayed Marcus's name.
Evelyn looked at it.
“Don't answer.”
But I was already staring at the message that appeared beneath the missed call.
May you like
Marcus had written:
If you tell anyone what happened in the lake, you'll regret surviving it.
