For the first time, I understood why Daniel had been afraid.
Noah had lied.
About meeting Daniel once.
About knowing nothing.
About everything.
Elena and I went to the police.
But by the time we arrived, Noah had already disappeared.
So had the evidence.
For two days, we heard nothing.
Then I received a text.
RIVERSIDE BRIDGE. MIDNIGHT. COME ALONE.
Elena begged me not to go.
The police told me not to go.
But Daniel's death had followed me for three years.
I was tired of running from it.
At midnight, I stood beneath the bridge.
Rain began to fall.
The same kind of rain that had fallen the night Daniel died.
Noah appeared from the darkness.
He looked different.
Not like the man who had sat beside me while I listened to Daniel's voice.
Not like the man who had promised to help me find the truth.
“I didn't want this,” he said.
I laughed.
“You kidnapped evidence and disappeared.”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
He stepped closer.
“Daniel was going to expose everyone.”
“Good.”
“You think that would have changed anything?”
“Yes.”
“You're naïve.”
“Daniel wasn't.”
Noah's face hardened.
“Daniel was dead.”
The words hit me.
But this time, they didn't destroy me.
“Did you kill him?”
He looked away.
“I followed him that night.”
My heart stopped.
“He knew.”
“Daniel knew you were following him?”
“Yes.”
“He called Elena.”
“Yes.”
“He gave her the evidence.”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
Noah looked toward the river.
“He tried to leave.”
My voice shook.
“And?”
“The car went off the road.”
“Because of the rain?”
Noah closed his eyes.
“No.”
I stared at him.
“You forced him off the road.”
“I didn't mean to kill him.”
My world became silent.
All I could hear was the rain.
“You killed him.”
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of what the truth would do.”
“To you?”
“To everyone.”
I stepped backward.
“You sent the voice notes.”
Noah didn't answer.
“You wanted me to trust you.”
“I wanted to know where the original evidence was.”
“You used Daniel's voice.”
His silence was enough.
Rage moved through me.
“You made me believe he was alive.”
“I needed you.”
“No.”
I wiped my tears.
“You needed Daniel to stay dead.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Noah turned.
His face changed.
I smiled.
“You weren't the only one who could set a trap.”
He ran.
But there was nowhere to go.
Within minutes, police surrounded the bridge.
Noah was arrested before sunrise.
Later, investigators recovered the stolen documents from his car.
The case reopened.
Daniel's death was officially ruled a homicide.
Three years.
Three years of believing he had died because of an accident.
Three years of believing our final argument had been the last thing between us.
But Daniel hadn't left me.
He had been trying to come back.