Chapter 14
I gripped Jake's hand.
"Someone is following us."
Jake looked in the rearview mirror.
His face hardened.
"I see them. Hold on."
He accelerated.
The car behind us accelerated too.
Jake took a sharp turn.
The car followed.
They weren't even trying to hide it.
"Call the FBI," Jake said.
I pulled out my phone.
I called the FBI agent in charge of our case.
"Someone is following us. They're not being subtle. We're on Highway 101, heading north."
"Stay on the line, Mrs. Halloway. We're sending units to intercept. Don't stop. Keep driving. Try to get to a public place."
Jake kept driving.
The car behind us kept following.
Closer.
Faster.
And then another car appeared.
From the side.
It was trying to box us in.
"They're trying to run us off the road," Jake said, his voice tense.
I held onto my seat.
My heart pounding.
Who was this?
Jonathan was in prison.
Eleanor was in prison.
Bennett was in prison.
The cartel was gone.
Who was left?
And then the car behind us pulled up alongside us.
The window rolled down.
And I saw who it was.
Sarah Jenkins.
My former best friend.
The woman who'd betrayed me.
Who'd spied on me for Bennett.
Who'd given my therapy records to Eleanor.
She was smiling.
Cold.
Crazy.
She had a gun.
She pointed it at us.
And fired.
The bullet hit our back window.
The glass shattered.
I ducked.
Jake swerved.
Sarah's car fell back.
The other car was still trying to box us in.
"Sarah?" I said, shocked. "What is she doing? She was supposed to be on probation!"
"She must have jumped bail," Jake said. "She's got nothing left to lose. Her reputation is destroyed. Her career is over. She's going to try to take us down with her."
Sarah pulled up alongside us again.
She fired another shot.
This time, the bullet hit the tire.
The car started to swerve.
Jake fought to control it.
"We're going to crash!" I shouted.
"Hold on!" Jake yelled.
He guided the car to the side of the road.
We hit the guardrail.
Hard.
The car stopped.
We were both alive.
Shaken.
But alive.
Sarah and the other car pulled up in front of us.
Sarah got out.
She was holding the gun.
The man from the other car got out too.
I didn't recognize him.
But he was holding a gun too.
They walked toward our car.
Jake tried to open his door.
But it was stuck.
The crash had jammed it.
Sarah walked up to my window.
She smiled at me.
"Hello, Tessa. Did you miss me?"
"Sarah, what are you doing? You're going to go to prison for life."
She laughed.
A crazy, bitter sound.
"I'm already ruined, Tessa. You ruined me. You took everything from me. My job. My reputation. My freedom. I have nothing left. So I'm going to take everything from you. Your husband. Your daughter. Your company. Your life."
She raised the gun.
Pointed it at me.
"Goodbye, Tessa. It was fun while it lasted."
And then sirens sounded in the distance.
Getting closer.
Fast.
Sarah's face twisted with rage.
"The police. You called the police."
She looked at the man with her.
"Hurry up! We have to finish this before they get here!"
The man raised his gun.
But before he could fire, a shot rang out.
From the trees.
The man cried out and dropped his gun.
He'd been hit in the shoulder.
More shots.
FBI agents appeared from everywhere.
"FBI! Drop your weapons!"
Sarah froze.
She looked at the agents.
She looked at her wounded partner.
She looked at me.
And she raised the gun again.
This time, she pointed it at her own head.
"Sarah, no!" I shouted.
But it was too late.
She pulled the trigger.
The agents rushed forward.
But it was too late.
Sarah was dead.
She'd chosen death over prison.
Over facing what she'd done.
I sat there, shocked.
I'd hated Sarah.
I'd wanted her to pay for what she'd done.
But I'd never wanted her to die.
Jake squeezed my hand.
"She made her choice, Tessa. It's not your fault."
The paramedics arrived.
They checked us out.
We were okay.
Just shaken.
The man who'd been with Sarah was taken into custody.
He was a hired gun.
Sarah had paid him to help her kill us.
He agreed to testify against anyone else who might be involved.
But he said Sarah had been working alone.
There was nobody else.
It was finally over.
All of it.
Every person who had ever tried to hurt me or my family was gone.
Dead or in prison for life.
There was nobody left.
I could finally rest.
Finally breathe.
Finally be happy.
That night, we went home.
Hope was waiting for us.
She ran to us and hugged us tight.
She didn't know what had happened.
And she never would.
She was safe.
We were all safe.
The next few months were peaceful.
Quiet.
Happy.
I ran the company.
I spent time with my family.
I worked on the foundation.
Jake and I enjoyed our marriage.
We traveled.
We laughed.
We loved.
Hope grew up happy and healthy.
She was smart.
Funny.
Kind.
She was everything I'd ever wanted in a daughter.
And she never knew about the darkness of her early years.
She never knew about her biological father.
About the betrayals.
About the danger.
All she knew was love.
Safety.
Happiness.
And that was all that mattered.
One year after our wedding, Jake and I decided to renew our vows.
It was a small ceremony.
Just family.
Just us.
Uncle Robert walked me down the aisle again.
Hope was the maid of honor.
Jake and I promised each other forever.
Again.
And this time, there were no interruptions.
No villains.
No danger.
Just love.
Pure and simple.
As we stood there, holding hands, looking into each other's eyes, I knew that I had finally found my happy ending.
It hadn't been easy.
It had been a long, hard journey.
Full of pain.
Betrayal.
Loss.
But I had survived.
I had overcome.
And I was stronger because of it.
I was no longer the quiet, shy woman who'd married Bennett Finch.
I was a mother.
A wife.
A CEO.
A philanthropist.
A survivor.
And I was finally, truly happy.
As we kissed, our family and friends cheered.
Hope threw flower petals.
The sun shone down on us.
And everything was perfect.
But as I looked out at the crowd, I saw someone standing in the back.
Watching.
Smiling.
It was my father.
He looked young.
Healthy.
Happy.
He waved at me.
And then he was gone.
I smiled through my tears.
I knew he was proud.
I knew he was watching over us.
May you like
And I knew that everything was going to be okay.
Forever.
