CHAPTER ONE The Fall
CHAPTER ONE
The Fall
Three days after our grandmother left me everything, my brother tried to kill me.
The last thing I saw before I fell was Tyler's hands planted firmly against my shoulders.
Not reaching.
Not slipping.
Pushing.
The rotten wooden railing exploded behind me.
For one terrifying second, the world disappeared beneath my feet.
Then I hit the river rocks.
The impact stole every breath from my lungs.
Pain ripped through my back like lightning before vanishing beneath my waist altogether.
I stared at my legs.
One shoe had fallen off.
My dress was stained with dirt and blood.
"Move," I whispered.
Nothing.
My toes didn't twitch.
My knees didn't bend.
It felt as if someone had erased the lower half of my body.
Above me, sixty party guests crowded the deck.
No one rushed forward.
No one screamed my brother's name.
They only stared.
Tyler leaned over the broken railing.
For the briefest moment, panic flashed across his face.
Then it disappeared.
His shoulders relaxed.
His expression softened into perfect concern.
"Bridget!" he shouted. "Are you okay?"
The performance had already begun.
Heavy footsteps approached.
My father stopped beside me, glanced at the crowd, then frowned.
"What happened?" he asked.
I forced the words through clenched teeth.
"Tyler..."
Before I could finish, my mother arrived.
She didn't look at my legs.
She looked at the guests.
People were already whispering.
Phones were quietly appearing.
Her lips tightened.
"For God's sake, Bridget," she hissed. "Get up."
"I can't."
"Stop making a scene."
The words hit harder than the fall.
"I can't feel my legs."
"You've always loved attention."
Around us, nobody said a word.
Not one.
Lauren stood near the patio doors with both hands wrapped around Mason's shoulders.
She looked horrified.
Tyler slowly walked downstairs.
He knelt beside me with tears already filling his eyes.
"I tried to grab her," he told everyone. "She slipped."
Liar.
His fingers brushed my arm.
I jerked away with the only part of my body that still obeyed me.
"Don't touch me."
His voice broke perfectly.
"Bridget..."
"I said don't touch me."
The distant wail of sirens cut through the silence.
Several guests sighed with relief.
A catering assistant lowered her phone.
She had ignored my parents and called 911 herself.
The ambulance arrived less than five minutes later.
A female paramedic stepped through the crowd without hesitation.
"I'm Sarah Chen."
She knelt beside me immediately.
"What hurts?"
"My back."
She nodded.
"Can you move your legs?"
I swallowed.
"No."
She touched my left foot.
"Can you feel this?"
"No."
She pressed harder.
"Now?"
Still nothing.
Sarah's expression changed.
She looked toward her partner.
"Spinal precautions. Now."
My father stepped forward.
"I sit on the hospital board."
Sarah didn't even look at him.
"Then you know to stay out of my scene."
A few guests exchanged nervous glances.
Nobody had ever spoken to Harold Walker like that.
Sarah leaned closer.
"Bridget."
Her voice was calm.
"I need you to tell me exactly what happened."
Behind her, Tyler froze.
Lauren closed her eyes.
My mother shook her head almost imperceptibly.
As if warning me.
As if I still owed this family my silence.
For thirty-four years...
I had protected them.
Protected Tyler.
Protected my parents' reputation.
Protected every ugly secret behind our expensive front door.
No more.
I looked straight into Sarah's eyes.
"My brother pushed me."
Silence.
The backyard seemed to stop breathing.
Tyler took one step backward.
"She's confused," my mother said immediately.
"She hit her head."
"I didn't."
Sarah turned toward her partner.
"Call law enforcement."
Tyler's face lost its color.
Just then, a police cruiser rolled into the driveway.
Detective James Morrison stepped out.
He studied the broken railing.
Then Tyler.
Then the open patio door.
Finally, he asked one simple question.
"Where's Marcus?"
May you like
Tyler didn't answer.
Because they both knew exactly why Marcus had disappeared.
