Chapter 1: Betrayal
793words
"Almost there," Chris said, his voice carrying that smooth confidence that had first drawn me to him. Sunlight glinted off his platinum wedding band as he navigated another sharp turn. "The view from up here is breathtaking."
I forced a smile, my fingers nervously twisting the diamond ring on my left hand. The weight of it felt different today—heavier, colder. My phone burned in my pocket, containing the last message my sister Cindy had sent before her "accident" three months ago.
*I'm so sorry, Lara. I never meant for any of this to happen. Chris... he...*
That was all. The rest remained forever unsaid, her voice silenced by a fall that authorities ruled accidental. But the broken way she'd typed his name haunted me. For weeks, I'd tried to dismiss my suspicions as grief-induced paranoia. Yet the pieces refused to fit together properly.
The car climbed higher, leaving civilization behind. Pine trees lined the road, their shadows dancing across the windshield. I stared at Chris's profile—the strong jaw, the perfect nose, the lips that had whispered promises I now questioned. Who was this man I had married?
"You're quiet today," Chris observed, his eyes briefly leaving the road to study my face. "Something on your mind, darling?"
The endearment felt hollow now. I took a deep breath, gathering courage I wasn't sure I possessed.
"I was thinking about Cindy," I said, watching his reaction carefully.
His expression remained neutral, but I caught the slight tightening of his jaw, the almost imperceptible narrowing of his eyes. "I know you miss her. The anniversary must make it harder."
"It's not just that." My heart hammered against my ribs. "Before she died, she sent me a message. She was trying to tell me something about you."
The car slowed abruptly as Chris pulled over at a scenic overlook. Below us, the valley stretched out in brilliant greens and blues under the midday sun, a deceptively beautiful backdrop for the ugliness I sensed was coming. We were alone up here, not another car in sight, not another soul for miles.
"What exactly are you implying, Lara?" His voice had cooled several degrees.
"I'm not implying anything. I'm asking you directly." The words tumbled out before I could reconsider. "She apologized to me, Chris. And she mentioned your name. Why would she do that?"
Something shifted in his eyes then—a coldness I'd never seen before, as if a mask had slipped, revealing the stranger beneath.
"Let's discuss this outside," he said quietly. "I need some air."
The mountain breeze whipped my hair across my face as I stepped out of the car. The sun was bright, almost mocking in its cheerfulness. Chris walked around to my side, his footsteps crunching on the gravel. We stood at the guardrail, the cliff edge just beyond it dropping hundreds of feet to the jagged rocks below.
I hugged my arms against the sudden chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. "Chris, I need to know the truth. What happened with Cindy?"
His silence stretched between us, taut as a wire. When he finally turned to me, the smile on his face sent ice through my veins.
"You Reed women," he said, his voice eerily calm. "So trusting. So naive."
My stomach dropped. "What are you talking about?"
"Your sister was fun for a while," he said coldly. "I got what I needed from her—information about Reed Corp's vulnerabilities. Then I got bored. When she figured out what I was doing and threatened to tell you, well..." He shrugged. "I had to get rid of her."
Horror washed over me as the implication became clear. "You killed her."
"I simply removed an obstacle." His eyes were empty, devoid of the warmth I thought I knew. "Just like I'm about to do now."
"You married me for my family's company?" My voice trembled with rage and disbelief.
"Smart girl." His smile widened. "Though not smart enough, apparently."
I backed away, my heel sending a small stone tumbling over the edge of the cliff. "I'll tell everyone. My father, the board—"
"No," he said simply. "You won't."
Before I could process his words, his hand shot out, gripping my wrist with bruising force. With one fluid motion, he spun me toward the edge.
"Chris—" His name left my lips as a gasp.
"Nothing personal, darling. Just business."
Then he pushed me.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
