My sister d:ied on my wedding day — a week later, her coworker called and said, “She left you a phone and a note. COME TO THE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!”
“Megan?” I answered, surprised.
Megan was Claire’s closest friend at work, a woman I’d only met twice but liked immediately because she spoke to Claire without flinching.
Her voice sounded strained. “Alice, I need you to come to the office right now.”
“Why?”
“She left a phone for you. And a note. They were on my desk. I just got back from visiting my sick grandfather this morning and found them. Come immediately.”
I didn’t call Ryan. I grabbed my keys and drove forty-five miles into the city with my heart pounding so hard my fingers shook against the steering wheel.
Megan waited near reception, pale and wringing her hands. She led me silently to her desk.
An envelope with my name written in Claire’s handwriting sat there. Beside it was Claire’s phone. I thought it had been lost with the car. I had imagined it resting at the bottom of the river with every word she never got the chance to say.
Megan whispered, “The security guard said she was rushing that day and must’ve left them behind.”
My fingers barely worked as I opened the envelope.
“Alice, if you’re reading this, then it’s time for the truth to come out. Don’t trust Ryan. Turn on the last video in the gallery on that phone.”
I stopped breathing.
I picked up the phone. My thumb shook so badly I missed the screen the first time. Then I opened the gallery and pressed play.
The screen showed Ryan.
Not my Ryan standing at the altar. A younger Ryan, but the same face, same voice, same smile.
Claire stood in front of him while he slid a ring onto her finger. Then he kissed her.
A broken sound escaped my throat.
The next clip started before I could recover. Ryan sitting in a restaurant booth leaning far too close to another woman. Then another clip. Another woman. Another.
Claire’s filming was shaky, rushed, furious.
Megan covered her mouth. “Oh my God.”
For several seconds, I could only stare at the screen while Claire’s final warning echoed through my head. Then I grabbed the phone, folded the note, and walked out before I completely fell apart in front of Megan.
I cried the entire drive home and had to pull over once because I couldn’t see the road through my tears.
That evening, Ryan walked through the front door carrying yellow roses and a box of cupcakes from my favorite bakery.
“Hey,” he said softly. “I thought maybe we could…”
Then he stopped.
Both of our families were sitting in the living room. My parents sat stiff and pale on the couch. His mother stood near the fireplace. And I stood beside the coffee table holding Claire’s phone in my hand.
“Sit down,” I said.
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