Chapter 5 - The Burning Car
Smoke filled the vehicle.
Rachel unfastened her seat belt and reached for Elaine.
“Wake up!”
Elaine did not move.
Flames flickered beneath the hood.
Rachel kicked the cracked windshield, but her weakened body barely moved it.
Daniel descended the slope slowly.
He did not run.
He watched.
That was when Rachel understood the crash was meant to look accidental.
A sick woman.
A corrupt doctor.
A tragic drive at night.
No witnesses.
Rachel grabbed Elaine’s medical bag and smashed it against the windshield. The damaged glass gave way.
Cold air rushed inside.
Rachel crawled through the opening, cutting her arms across the jagged edges. She turned back, seized Elaine beneath the shoulders, and pulled.
Daniel was halfway down the slope.
“Rachel, let me help you.”
She ignored him.
Elaine’s legs cleared the windshield seconds before flames swallowed the front seats.
Rachel dragged her behind the tree.
Daniel stopped several feet away.
He looked disappointed rather than shocked.
“You could have made this easy.”
Rachel held up the sealed envelope.
“I have everything.”
“No. You have copies.”
He stepped closer.
“The original records are on Elaine’s office server. By sunrise, they’ll be gone.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
Someone had seen the crash.
Daniel glanced toward the road.
Then he crouched near Rachel.
“You’re going to tell the police Elaine lost control. You’ll say I followed because I was worried.”
Rachel laughed despite the pain in her ribs.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because if you accuse me, I’ll release your psychiatric records.”
“Fake records.”
“Convincing records.”
He leaned closer.
“And I’ll tell them you attacked me after suffering a paranoid episode. Vanessa will confirm it.”
Elaine groaned.
Daniel’s expression changed.
He thought she was dead.
Rachel saw fear enter his eyes.
Elaine opened them and whispered, “I recorded him.”
Daniel reached for her.
Rachel grabbed a broken branch and struck his injured shoulder.
He stumbled.
Police lights appeared above the hill.
Daniel straightened his jacket before officers arrived.
In seconds, he transformed himself into the concerned husband.
“My wife is very ill,” he told them. “She forced Dr. Porter to drive while she was having an episode.”
Rachel stared at the officers.
Then Elaine lifted her phone from beneath her coat.
“He cut my brakes,” she said.
Daniel’s face remained calm.
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But Vanessa, watching from a car across the road, immediately drove away.
👉 Elaine’s recording could expose Daniel, but Vanessa’s sudden escape proved she was carrying something he feared even more.
