Chapter 4: The Voice Of The Man Who Left Me To Die
Ryan’s name glowed on the phone screen.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
It was strange how a simple name could make my entire body react.
Hours earlier, hearing “Ryan” had meant home.
Love.
Safety.
Now it meant fear.
David looked at me.
“What do you want to do?””
I stared at the screen.
The phone kept ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Part of me wanted to answer.
Part of me wanted to throw the phone across the room.
I wanted to hear him explain.
I wanted to hear him admit what he had done.
But another part of me remembered the feeling of dirt pressing against my chest while he walked away.
That memory was louder than any apology could ever be.
“Answer it,” I whispered.
David’s eyebrows lifted.
“Are you sure?””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“But I need to know what he’s going to say.””
David nodded slowly.
He put the phone on speaker.
The fourth ring stopped.
Then Ryan’s voice filled the room.
“David.””
I felt my stomach twist.
Not “Emily.””
Not “Where is my wife?””
Not “Is my baby okay?””
Just David.
Like I didn’t exist.
David stayed silent.
Ryan continued.
“You picked up the phone.””
David looked at me.
Then answered.
“You sound surprised.””
A short laugh came through the speaker.
“I’m surprised you got involved.””
My fingers tightened around the blanket around my shoulders.
Ryan knew.
He knew David had found me.
“How did you know?”” David asked.
“You always were too curious.””
Ryan sounded calm.
Too calm.
That scared me.
A person who had almost destroyed someone’s life should not sound relaxed.
“You buried my wife,” David said.
Silence.
Then Ryan sighed.
“Is that what she told you?””
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
The denial.
Before anything else.
Before concern.
Before guilt.
He was already preparing a story.
David’s voice hardened.
“I saw the hole.””
“You don’t understand.””
“No, Ryan. I understand exactly what I saw.””
Ryan paused.
Then his voice became colder.
“You have no idea what Emily did.””
My chest tightened.
Even now.
Even after everything.
He was still blaming me.
I leaned closer to the phone.
“Ryan.””
The room went silent.
For the first time, he heard me.
“Emily?””
His voice changed.
Only slightly.
But I noticed.
“You’re alive.””
I stared at the phone.
That was the first thing he said.
Not “I’m sorry.””
Not “Are you hurt?””
Not “Is the baby okay?””
“You sound disappointed,” I said.
“No.””
His answer came too quickly.
“Emily, listen to me.””
I almost laughed.
Listen to him.
That was what everyone wanted.
They wanted me to listen.
To understand.
To forgive.
Nobody wanted to hear me.
“You left me in the ground.””
“Things got out of control.””
My eyes burned.
“Out of control?””
I looked at David.
Then back at the phone.
“Ryan, you stood there.””
Silence.
“You watched.””
His breathing changed.
“I didn’t think they would actually—”
“You didn’t think?””
My voice broke.
“You didn’t think your own wife would be scared? You didn’t think your pregnant wife would need help?””
“Emily—”
“No.””
I stopped him.
Because if I let him continue, I knew I might start believing the person he pretended to be.
“I need answers.””
Ryan stayed quiet.
Good.
For once, he was listening.
“What was in the DNA results?””
A long pause followed.
Too long.
David noticed too.
“Ryan.””
The phone remained silent.
Then finally:
“Where did you get that information?””
My heart sank.
He didn’t answer.
He redirected.
Because the question wasn’t whether there were secrets.
The question was how much I knew.
“Who were you protecting?”” I asked.
Ryan’s voice became lower.
“You don’t understand what’s happening.””
“Then explain it.””
“I can’t.””
The answer made me freeze.
“You can’t?””
“No.””
“Or you won’t?””
Silence.
Then Ryan said something that made my blood run cold.
“Emily, if you want to keep our baby safe, you need to stop asking questions.””
The room became completely still.
My baby.
He used my baby as a threat.
Not a concern.
A threat.
David leaned forward.
“Are you threatening her?””
Ryan ignored him.
“Emily, come home.””
I stared at the phone.
Home.
That word felt disgusting now.
“You tried to kill me.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
“No,” Ryan repeated.
“I made a mistake.””
A mistake.
That word would stay with me forever.
Because people call things mistakes when they don’t want to call them what they are.
I whispered:
“You made a choice.””
Ryan didn’t answer.
Because he knew I was right.
The call ended suddenly.
No goodbye.
No apology.
Nothing.
Just silence.
I stared at the dark phone screen.
My hands were shaking.
David sat across from me.
“You okay?””
I wanted to say yes.
I wanted to pretend I was strong.
But I was tired of pretending.
“No.””
The word came out quietly.
“I’m not.””
David nodded.
“That’s okay.””
I looked at him.
“You keep saying things like that.””
“Like what?””
“Like my feelings make sense.””
He looked confused.
“They do.””
I looked away.
Nobody had said that in months.
Not even before tonight.
Because long before the dirt, there had been small moments.
Small warnings.
Things I ignored.
The way Ryan stopped telling me about his day.
The way his mother’s opinions suddenly mattered more than mine.
The way he started locking his phone.
The way he stopped touching my stomach when the baby moved.
I had noticed.
I just didn’t want to believe.
The next morning, I woke up on David’s couch.
For several seconds, I forgot where I was.
Then everything returned.
The hole.
The shovel.
Ryan.
I sat up quickly.
A sharp pain moved through my body.
“You need to rest.””
David stood in the doorway holding a cup of coffee.
I looked at him.
“How long was I asleep?””
“About four hours.””
“Four?””
“You needed it.””
I rubbed my face.
“I can’t stay here.””
David frowned.
“Why not?””
“Because Ryan knows you found me.””
“He doesn’t know where I live.””
“But he knows you’re involved.””
David placed the coffee down.
“You think he’ll come after me?””
“I think he’ll do whatever protects his secret.””
David was quiet.
Then he walked over to the table.
The papers from the box were still there.
“I found something last night.””
My eyes moved to the documents.
“What?””
He picked up a folder.
“Before Ryan called.””
He opened it.
Inside was a printed email.
The sender’s name made my breath stop.
*Margaret Carter.*
My mother-in-law.
“What is that?””
David handed it to me.
I read the message.
My hands started trembling.
It wasn’t an accusation.
It wasn’t a warning.
It was a conversation.
Between Margaret and Dr. Michael Hayes.
The doctor who handled my prenatal tests.
The email was short.
But one sentence destroyed everything I thought I knew.
*“Once Emily is removed, Ryan can finally take control of the inheritance.””*
I read it again.
And again.
My vision blurred.
“Inheritance?””
David nodded.
“That’s what I found.””
I looked at him.
“My husband tried to bury me…”
My voice cracked.
“Because of money?””
David didn’t answer.
Because we both knew the truth was worse.
Money explained greed.
It didn’t explain everything.
There was still the DNA test.
Still the doctor.
Still the secret.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
I looked at the screen.
One sentence appeared:
*“If you want to know why Ryan really married you, meet me alone.””*
My heart stopped.
Below the message was a name.
A name I had not expected.
May you like
A name that belonged to someone who had been part of Ryan’s life long before I ever met him.
*Daniel.*
