Chapter 3

Before I could say the words, Ian's phone buzzed in his pocket.

He shot a frantic glance at the screen and answered, "Okay. I'm on my way."

He started rushing around the living room, grabbing a coat and his briefcase.

"Rachel, can you grab those files on the table?"

I walked over and picked them up.

One was a background check on Susan. The other was an old case file.

I didn't have time to read it all, but the title jumped out at me: Sexual Assault Investigation.

And there, listed in the suspect column, was a name that made my stomach turn: Jack Sawyer, Susan's father.

"Rachel?" he urged, sounding impatient.

My rage returned. I stalked over to him and threw the files in his face, the papers scattering across the floor. "You're still lying to me?" I screamed. "Even now?"

I hadn't seen the full file, but it all clicked. The year I met Ian, I had heard whispers about him working on a sensitive assault case.

Then, suddenly, the investigation was shut down.

When I looked at the file now, it wasn't hard to guess why he would falsify a report.

"How could you be so disgusting?" I spat.

"Rachel, it's not what you think..." he started.

But before he could finish, his phone rang again, urgent and shrill, forcing him to drop the explanation.

He just scooped up the papers and rushed out the door, leaving me alone in the chaos.

I suddenly remembered running into Susan a few days ago, right after I had first told Ian I wanted a divorce. It was at an academic conference.

She had cornered me near the restrooms.

I was braced for a confrontation, a smug victory speech. Instead, she leaned in and whispered urgently, "Rachel Shaw, don't change it."

Before I could ask what she meant, a panicked figure came sprinting toward her.

It was Ian.

The moment Susan saw him, she bolted.

Ian started to go after her, but as he moved, a group of guys materialized out of nowhere and drenched me with a huge jug of water.

I stood there, drenched to the bone, looking like a drowned rat.

Honestly, I'm used to threats and intimidation. It comes with the territory when your work puts people behind bars.

But this ambush was so sudden that I didn't even have time to react.

In that single moment of chaos, Susan vanished.

Ian, seeing me shivering and soaked, abandoned the chase and ran back to me.

"Rachel, are you okay?" he asked, panic written all over his face.

I just shook my head coldly, refusing to speak.

Instinctively, Ian grabbed my bag, fished out some tissues, and began drying my hair.

For a split second, amidst the humiliation, I had the illusion that he still loved me.

But that was only true when Susan wasn't around.

So, really, who could blame me for wanting a divorce?

I have a kind of OCD when it comes to my profession. I need the truth to be clean. I realized I have the same standard for my soul.

I moved out of our shared home and rented a tiny apartment.

Life went on. It didn't look much different from before.

Maybe divorce wasn't the end of the world after all.

That day, I got a call from the lab. They needed a second opinion on a case.

As soon as I got the call, I headed straight to the lab.

As expected, I ran right into Ian.

I instantly understood why he was there.

His face lit up when he saw me, with a flicker of genuine hope in his eyes.

But my heart remained a flatline. I felt nothing.

I reached into my bag and pulled out the divorce papers I now carried everywhere.

This was the third time. Surely, he couldn't pretend they didn't exist anymore.

When he saw the documents, his face crumbled.

"Rachel, we've been in love for years. You love me. Why are you doing this?" he yelled. "I know what it looks like, but I told you.

"I only felt sympathy for Susan. And the forensic report... I know you won't believe me, but I swear, I never changed it."

"You didn't change it?" I scoffed. "Ian, do you take me for a fool?"

"Rachel, I promise, it's not what you think. Just give me a little time. Once this is all over, I'll explain everything," he pleaded, reaching for me.

"Ian, I'm out of patience," I said. "Let's just make this a clean break."

"No. Don't."

He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around me in a desperate embrace.

"Rachel, I can't live without you!"

I looked at him, feeling a wave of dark amusement. "Ian, what makes you think I'd wait for you forever?"

He froze, his voice dropping to a whisper. "But... us..."

"There is no 'us' anymore. It's just you," I cut him off. "And honestly, Ian, whether you changed the report or not doesn't matter anymore. I've already reported the irregularity to the board. You'd better get ready to face the consequences."

Even now, he wouldn't admit he doctored the report for Susan.

If the department hadn't called me in today for a re-examination, I might have actually wavered.

But the department called because Susan had turned herself in.

She confessed to killing her father.

So, Ian had done it all for her.