Chapter 7
The Friend Who Tried to Replace My Wife
I stared at Elena.
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Claire.
The woman who comforted my daughters.
The woman who sat at my dinner table.
The woman who had slept beside me while I mourned my wife.
She had pushed Elena into the water.
I felt physically sick.
"Claire?"
Elena nodded.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"She did it."
I held her hands.
"Tell me what happened."
She looked toward the ambulance.
Then back at me.
"I remember everything now."
Her voice trembled.
"Almost everything."
Detective Grant approached.
"Elena, we need to get you medically evaluated."
Elena nodded.
"But I need Marcus to know."
Grant looked at me.
Then said, "We can take a statement at the hospital."
I helped Elena into the ambulance.
I rode beside her.
She held my hand the entire way.
Every few minutes, she looked at me as though checking whether I was real.
I understood.
I kept doing the same thing.
At the hospital, doctors examined her.
She was exhausted.
Dehydrated.
And frightened.
But she was alive.
After she was medically stable, Detective Grant arranged an interview.
Elena asked me to stay.
I sat beside her bed.
Then she began.
"Daniel came to me six weeks before the boating trip."
Her voice was quiet.
"He said he'd made a terrible mistake."
I squeezed her hand.
"What mistake?"
"He had borrowed money from someone connected to my father."
I felt cold.
"Victor Brooks?"
She nodded.
"Daniel didn't know who he was."
Elena swallowed.
"He thought Victor was a legitimate investor."
I looked at Grant.
She took notes.
Elena continued.
"When Daniel couldn't repay the money, Victor demanded access to your company accounts."
My stomach tightened.
"Our company?"
She nodded.
"Daniel had already given him some information."
I closed my eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Elena's eyes filled.
"Because Daniel begged me to help him fix it."
I looked down.
She continued.
"I began reviewing the records."
Her voice became stronger.
"Then I discovered transfers involving Claire."
My stomach twisted.
"Claire was working with Victor?"
"Yes."
Elena nodded.
"She'd been moving money through accounts connected to the company."
I felt sick.
"How long?"
"Months."
Elena swallowed.
"When I confronted her, she told me to stay quiet."
I stared.
"And you refused."
She nodded.
"I told her I was going to the police."
My chest tightened.
"Then what happened?"
"Claire asked me to meet her at the marina."
I felt cold.
"Why?"
"She said Daniel wanted to confess everything."
Elena looked down.
"I believed her."
I squeezed her hand.
She continued.
"When I arrived, Daniel was there."
My stomach twisted.
"He looked terrified."
"Did he know what Claire planned?"
Elena shook her head.
"I don't think he knew she meant to hurt me."
Grant leaned forward.
"What happened on the boat?"
Elena closed her eyes.
"We argued."
Her breathing quickened.
I held her hand.
"Take your time."
She nodded.
"Claire demanded the documents."
I swallowed.
"And?"
"I refused."
Tears streamed down her face.
"She grabbed my arm."
I felt sick.
"I tried to pull away."
Her voice broke.
"Then she pushed me."
I closed my eyes.
Elena continued.
"I hit the railing and fell into the water."
My heart hammered.
"Did Daniel help?"
She shook her head.
"I remember him shouting."
A pause.
"Then everything went dark."
Grant asked carefully, "How did you survive?"
Elena swallowed.
"Daniel pulled me out farther down the shoreline."
I stared.
"He saved you?"
She nodded.
"But he didn't take me home."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
Elena began crying.
"Claire told him I was dangerous."
I frowned.
"Dangerous?"
"She said I would destroy him if I remembered the financial crimes."
My chest tightened.
"So he hid you."
Elena nodded.
"He arranged medical care under my old name."
I felt anger rising.
"And told everyone I was dead."
She looked at me.
"Yes."
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Then she whispered something that broke my heart.
"I kept asking for you."
I squeezed her hand.
She began sobbing.
"They told me you'd died in another accident."
I felt tears streaming down my face.
"And the girls?"
"Claire said she was taking care of them."
Elena covered her mouth.
"I begged to see them."
I held her tightly.
"I'm so sorry."
She shook her head.
"You didn't know."
I closed my eyes.
The guilt still hurt.
But Elena was right.
I hadn't known.
I'd been manipulated.
Just like my daughters.
Just like everyone who trusted Claire.
Detective Grant asked one final question.
"Elena, do you know why Claire wanted you gone?"
Elena looked toward me.
Her expression changed.
"Because she wanted Marcus."
I froze.
"What?"
Elena nodded.
"She told me."
My stomach tightened.
"When?"
"On the boat."
Elena swallowed.
"She said I'd always had everything."
I stared.
"She said I had the perfect husband."
Her voice broke.
"The beautiful daughters."
She looked down.
"And the successful business."
I felt sick.
"She wanted my life."
Elena nodded.
"And she thought removing me would give it to her."
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then Detective Grant stepped outside to make calls.
Elena turned toward me.
"Marcus."
I looked at her.
She hesitated.
"Did you love her?"
The question cut deeper than anything else.
I couldn't lie.
"Elena..."
Her eyes filled.
"Please."
I took a breath.
"After fourteen months, I thought you were gone forever."
She looked away.
"I know."
I swallowed.
"Claire was there when I couldn't sleep."
My voice broke.
"When Maya stopped eating."
"When Lily cried for you."
Elena closed her eyes.
I continued.
"I thought she was helping us."
Tears streamed down my face.
"And eventually, I began dating her."
Elena covered her mouth.
I reached for her hand.
She hesitated.
Then let me hold it.
"I never stopped loving you."
My voice broke.
"Not for one day."
She began crying.
I leaned closer.
"I buried an empty coffin because I thought the woman I loved was gone."
Elena looked at me.
Then whispered, "I don't blame you."
I began sobbing.
She touched my cheek.
"We were both lied to."
I nodded.
For a moment, we simply held each other.
Then Detective Grant returned.
Her expression was urgent.
"Marcus."
I turned.
"What?"
"Claire Bennett has been located."
My heart pounded.
"Where?"
"At your house."
I froze.
"Our house?"
Grant nodded.
"She's trying to get inside."
My stomach dropped.
Maya.
Lily.
Evelyn.
They were all there.
I stood so fast my chair fell backward.
"Get someone there!"
Grant raised her phone.
"Officers are already responding."
But I couldn't breathe.
May you like
Because the woman who tried to kill my wife was now standing outside the home where my daughters slept.
And I knew exactly how dangerous she could be.
