Chapter 4 - THE LAST RECITAL
That evening, Elena sat in the second row of the school auditorium.
Silas’s seat remained empty.
Lily played a short piano piece with both feet barely touching the floor.
Sophie sang with her kindergarten class while wearing a silver paper moon around her neck.
Elena recorded everything.
Afterward, the girls ran toward her.
Lily carried a stuffed rabbit named Pepper beneath one arm.
Sophie had frosting on her sleeve from the refreshment table.
“Did Dad see the video?” Lily asked.
“I’ll send it to him.”
“He won’t watch it,” she said quietly.
Elena crouched in front of her.
“That is his mistake. Not yours.”
Outside, rain struck the pavement in silver sheets.
Elena’s phone showed three missed calls from Silas.
She called him back.
“Where are you?” he demanded.
“At the school.”
“I told you my driver was picking them up.”
“And I told you I would bring them home.”
There was a pause.
Then Silas’s voice changed.
It became softer.
More controlled.
“The storm is getting worse. Wait there.”
“I’m ten minutes from home.”
“Elena, do not drive.”
She almost laughed.
“You were worried I was too tired this morning. Now you’re worried about rain?”
“I’m trying to protect the girls.”
“They’re with their mother.”
Silas ended the call.
Elena helped both children into the back seat.
Lily buckled Sophie’s seat belt and placed Pepper between them.
The family SUV’s dashboard clock read 8:17 p.m.
The route home followed River Road before turning onto the South Ridge Bridge.
Elena drove slowly.
Water pooled along the shoulder.
The girls talked about the recital until Sophie fell asleep.
Several minutes later, Lily leaned forward.
“Mom, that black car is following us.”
Elena checked the mirror.
A black SUV remained two car lengths behind.
She changed lanes.
It changed lanes too.
Her phone rang.
Silas.
She answered through the car speakers.
“Pull over,” he said.
“Why?”
“There’s something wrong with your rear tire.”
Elena looked at the dashboard.
No warning light.
“How would you know that?”
The black SUV accelerated.
Elena recognized the front plate.
It belonged to a Mercer Global security vehicle.
“Silas, are you behind me?”
He did not answer.
The black SUV moved alongside her.
Through the rain, Elena saw Margot in the passenger seat.
Silas was driving.
Elena’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“What are you doing?”
Lily began to cry.
“Mom?”
Silas’s vehicle moved closer.
Metal scraped against metal.
Elena’s SUV swerved toward the guardrail.
She fought the wheel.
“Stop!”
Silas struck them again.
The guardrail split.
For one suspended second, Elena saw the black SUV in her side mirror.
Silas was staring directly at her.
Then Elena’s vehicle dropped into darkness.
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👉 As the car fell toward the river, Elena heard Lily’s smartwatch announce that an emergency recording had begun.
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