Chapter 3

The crowd erupted:

"There's no denying it now! The car's got such a huge dent!"

"She was so stubborn before—let's see what she says now!"

John's wife rushed forward with the child, pointing at the bloodstain. "That's my dad's blood... What do you have to say for yourself now?"

My head was spinning.

Impossible. I never drove the car.

The officer crouched down, shining his flashlight on the mark, his brow furrowed. "Miss, how do you explain this?"

I opened my mouth, my voice dry. "I don't know... I really never drove the car."

John sneered. "Don't know? It's your car, the blood's right here, and you don't know?"

The officer stood up and looked at me. "Miss, we need to collect samples for testing. Please cooperate with the investigation and come with us."

My instincts told me that if I went with them now, things would only get worse.

Could someone else have driven my car and caused an accident?

"Okay." I nodded. "But I have one request—let me make a phone call first to verify something."

The officer nodded.

I pulled out my phone and called the dealership's service manager, putting it on speaker.

"Manager, this is Russell. Quick question—has anyone touched my car recently?"

There was a two-second pause on the other end. "Your car? No."

"The last service was two weeks ago. After we finished, we parked it back in its spot. The keys have been with you the whole time. No one here has touched it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Our dealership has a policy—every time a customer's vehicle goes in or out, we log it."

The call ended.

The officer looked at me.

I held my phone, my mind racing.

So where did this scrape come from? Where did the blood come from?

The murmuring in the crowd grew louder.

John was energized. "Given up yet? It couldn't have been anyone but you!"

He grabbed my arm. "Let's go! You're paying me that $30,000 today!"

I stumbled from the force, hitting the car door.

My head struck the window frame, the pain making my vision go dark.

In that instant, my eyes caught sight of the small black box attached to the windshield inside the car.

The dashcam!

"Wait!" I grabbed the car door and wouldn't let go. "I want to see the dashcam footage right now!"