Sweet Little Lies

Chapter 40

CHAPTER FORTY

My brain tries to play catch-up. It’s impossible. I struggle against the restraints again. Amanda’s wild eyes are staring at me, and I feel utterly terrified. The smell of gasoline is overwhelming, making my head spin. One side of my brain is in survival mode, looking for any possible way out of here. The other side is trying to process the fact that Zach stayed friends with me because Amanda asked him to.

“Why would you ask him to be friends with me after we broke up?”

Amanda gives a tiny shrug. “Simple. I wanted to keep tabs on you and Tucker. I thought for certain you would say no, as it wasn’t exactly fair to Tucker. But you didn’t. You lied to Tucker about Zach, all because you wanted to grow your little business.” She looks around the room and rolls her eyes. “Really, you and Tucker deserve each other. It’s all about greed and success with you two. But what you don’t deserve? Is to have the life that was intended for my daughter.”

I see it again, the terrifying flash of hatred passing across her eyes. But she left Tucker! I want to scream. But I see she has more to say, so I keep my mouth shut.

“Anyway, Zach has been a doll. He helped me set up a Snaptalk account so I could message you anonymously. He helped me break into your shop, bought me the spray paint to redecorate the front windows… He’s been so helpful. Isn’t that nice of him?”

Tears sting my eyes. I trusted Zach. I thought he was my friend. How could he do this to me?

“There, dear, don’t cry. We haven’t even gotten to the good part yet. It was Zach’s idea to burn down your shop.”

“Why?” I croak.

“Because he hates you. For what you did to him and Charlotte. He wanted her to be happy, even after she broke his heart. And then cheating on him, just when he was starting to fall for you? It was despicable.” She narrows her eyes at me before continuing. “So, he sent a message pretending to be that little nitwit you employ, Bernie. It was easy to get your attention. All we had to do was send a message that your shop was on fire, and voilà, you’re here.”

Tears start to fall down my cheeks, despite my best effort. The zip ties bite into my wrists and ankles as I instinctively struggle against them, the rough plastic edges chafing my skin.

“Of course,” she continues, her voice dripping with malice, “he didn’t know I was planning on you burning up in flames along with this dumpy little bakery. He just wanted you to watch.” Amanda’s eyes are wild, pupils dilated with a manic gleam. “I didn’t want him to get in trouble either, so I sent him off to that ridiculous gala while I get to revel in the last part of our plan.”

She begins flipping the lighter lid open and closed, creating a rhythmic click, click, click. Sweat trickles down my back, my dress sticking uncomfortably to my skin. The room’s heat is stifling, intensifying the acrid smell of fear emanating from my pores. What can I possibly say to stop her?

“You don’t have to do this, Amanda, really. I’m sorry, so sorry. Let me talk to Charlotte, tell her it’s all a mistake.”

She shakes her head and holds up her hand. “That’s impossible.”

My heart pounds so loudly I can hear it echoing in my ears. “Why?” I say.

She stops fidgeting with the lighter. Tears well up in her eyes and start running down her cheeks. The sudden vulnerability in her expression is jarring.

“Because Charlotte killed herself,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

The news settles in, a cold weight in my stomach. Charlotte…dead? No, that can’t be right. She left Tucker at the altar. She ran away. She’s been living her life on a beach somewhere. Hasn’t she? A wave of nausea hits me, and I taste bile in the back of my throat.

My thoughts race, memories flashing through my mind. All this time, I thought… But she’s been… How could I not have known? Did Tucker know? The room starts to spin, and I blink rapidly, trying to focus on something, anything, to keep myself grounded.

“Charlotte’s dead?” I ask, though as soon as I say it, it sounds hollow, dumb. My voice sounds distant, as if someone else is speaking. I can feel my pulse throbbing in my temples, a counterpoint to the burning in my wrists and ankles. The fluorescent lights overhead seem to flicker and dim, casting strange shadows across Amanda’s face, transforming her once-familiar features into something alien and terrifying.

“Yes,” she croaks.

“Why did she…”

Amanda seems to collect herself then, letting out a long sigh. Her eyes widen.

“Because of you,” she spits.

“But Tucker and I didn’t?—”

“Oh, shut up. No one is buying that for a second, Reese. Charlotte knew about the two of you. She saw you together. She called me a couple of days before the wedding and told me. Poor Charlotte has always struggled with…stress. I put her in therapy as a child, which made some improvement, but high school was especially hard for her. I found the best doctors, got her the newest and best medications. She seemed to be managing everything just fine. But a few months before the wedding, she stopped taking her medication. I didn’t realize until afterward, but…the stress of the wedding was just too much for her.”

I try to take in everything she’s saying, wiggling my wrists and ankles against the restraints. The heat from the room and the stress have made my skin wet with sweat. Maybe if I pull hard enough…

Amanda continues, seemingly oblivious to my struggles. “And then when she found out about you and Tucker, well, I think she snapped. The night before the wedding, she and Tucker agreed she was to stay at her condo in the city. He dropped her off there after the rehearsal dinner. A few hours later, she sent me a message uncharacteristic of her. It just said, ‘I love you, Mother.’”

Amanda’s bracelets jingle as she wipes a few tears from her cheeks. “I knew right away something was wrong. I jumped in my car and made the thirty-minute drive to her place in just twenty minutes. But by the time I got there, it was too late.”

Her voice is wavering now, emotional. I think for a moment she might start to sob. I listen quietly, keep my eyes on her as I work my hands and feet against the restraints.

“I found her in her bathroom, wearing her wedding dress.” Her voice falters then, and she starts to cry. She continues, her words punctuated by sobs. “She slit her wrists, and by the time I arrived, she was already gone.”

I stop moving and stare at her. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Amanda pats her cheeks, then takes a shaky breath. Her eyes narrow in on me. “Tell anyone? And let her become the jewel of the town gossip? Taint her legacy…and mine?” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t. So I called Zach. I knew he would understand. He…got rid of her body.”