Chapter 13 - HE CAME BACK
Christopher argued against release.
Prosecutors argued Dwight had attempted to contact witnesses.
Detective Morrison presented the parking-garage evidence.
But Dwight’s attorney painted him as a first-time offender caught in a family financial dispute.
The judge set a high bond.
I thought that would keep him in custody.
I was wrong.
Susan used the last clean property the family still controlled as collateral.
Dwight walked out two days later wearing an ankle monitor.
He was ordered to stay away from me.
That night, I changed my locks.
Amy stayed over.
Police increased patrols near my building.
For three days, nothing happened.
On the fourth, someone left roses outside my door.
No note.
No fingerprints.
On the fifth, I received an email from a new account.
You’re making this bigger than it needs to be.
I forwarded it to police.
On the sixth, another message.
You know I never wanted Dad to hit you.
Then:
We could still fix this.
I did not respond.
The ankle monitor showed Dwight at home.
Which meant either someone else was helping him…
Or he had found another way to reach me.
Detective Morrison traced the emails to public Wi-Fi.
Then Ryan disappeared.
His phone went off.
His apartment was empty.
For twelve hours, nobody knew where he was.
Finally, he walked into a police station in Virginia.
He was terrified.
“My dad’s people came looking for me.”
“What people?” Morrison asked.
“Two guys who used to work for Mercer Renovations.”
“Why?”
“They wanted the phone.”
The phone containing family recordings.
Ryan had already turned the original over to police.
The two men didn’t know that.
Investigators picked them up the next day.
One talked.
Jared had ordered them, from jail, to retrieve anything Ryan had copied before it reached prosecutors.
That destroyed Jared’s chance at a favorable deal.
It also connected him to witness intimidation.
But Dwight remained outside.
One rainy evening, I left Christopher’s office later than usual.
The parking garage was almost empty.
I heard footsteps behind me.
My whole body tightened.
I turned.
No one.
I kept walking.
Then a voice came from between two parked cars.
“Liz.”
Dwight stepped into view.
My blood went cold.
“You’re violating the order.”
“Just listen.”
I reached for my phone.
“Don’t.”
He lifted both hands.
“I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Stay back.”
“I love you.”
I laughed.
That made him flinch.
“You don’t love anyone.”
“I made mistakes.”
“You forged my name.”
“My father pushed me.”
“You slept with Ashley.”
He looked away.
“And Melissa.”
His eyes snapped back to mine.
That was confirmation enough.
“Move.”
“Liz, please.”
He stepped closer.
I backed toward my car.
“I said stay back.”
His face changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
The softness vanished.
“You were supposed to make this easy.”
There he was.
The real Dwight.
I hit the emergency call button on my phone.
He lunged forward.
But before he reached me, headlights flooded the garage.
A police cruiser swung around the corner.
Dwight froze.
I had started sharing my location with Detective Morrison after the first email.
Two officers jumped out.
“Hands where we can see them!”
Dwight looked at me one last time.
Hatred replaced every trace of love.
As they cuffed him, he whispered:
“You think this ends with me?”
I didn’t understand what he meant.
Until police searched his car.
Inside the trunk was a folder.
May you like
On the front, in Jared’s handwriting, were two words:
PLAN B.
