Chapter 53
Ace
“It disappeared.”
The words hang there.
Tessa goes still beside me.
Then I see it.
The shift.
She’s not listening to him anymore.
She’s digging.
Inside her own head.
“Tessa,” I say quietly.
Her eyes snap to mine.
Focused.
Sharp.
“Tell me what you remember.”
Because this?
This isn’t with him anymore.
It’s with her.
“I remember the crash,” she says slowly.
“I remember the impact. The glass. Cathy is screaming.”
Her breathing tightens.
“I remember her grabbing my hand.”
I watch her fingers curl slightly.
“She told me not to say anything.”
“About what?” I ask.
“I thought she meant the accident,” she says. “I thought she didn’t want to get in trouble…because her mother was already angry with her for drinking.”
Then she freezes.
“Oh my God.”
“What?” I push.
“She wasn’t talking about the accident,” she says.
Everything locks in.
“She was talking about the drive.”
Yeah.
That tracks.
“So where is it?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” she says—but she’s already shaking her head.
No.
She’s remembering.
“I got out of the passenger side,” she says.
I still.
“We knew you weren’t driving.”
“Yes, I never was. But I asked Cathy to let me drive.”
That truth lands differently now.
Stronger.
“Cathy was still inside,” she continues. “She kept saying the same thing. Don’t tell them.”
She falters.
Then—
Something clicks.
“And then—”
“What?” I push.
“I reached across her,” she says.
Her hands move slightly.
“I felt something. Hard. Small. Not part of the car.”
I lean in slightly.
“What kind of something?”
She shakes her head.
Then—
“It was on her.”
Everything shifts.
“That changes everything,” I say.
“Did you take it?”
She hesitates.
But I can see it.
It’s coming back.
“I grabbed her,” she says slowly. “Trying to pull her out.”
Her voice tightens.
“And she pushed something into my hand.”
There it is.
“You took it,” I say.
Not accusing.
Just truth.
“I didn’t know what it was,” she whispers. “I just held onto it.”
“Did you keep it?”
She hesitates.
Then—
“I hid it.”
Everything in the room goes still.
Because now—
This isn’t a mystery anymore.
It’s a hunt.