Chapter 5 Chapter: 5
LAYLA
I sighed when I realized it was just Jane, my sister-in-law and a close friend of mine. I slowly rolled down the window, and Jane leaned in, her eyes raking over my face with concern. I didn’t need a mirror to know I looked wrecked.
Unlike the perfect image she presented in her black pants, beige trench coat, and long, wavy brown hair, all glossy like she’d just stepped straight out of a hair product commercial.
It was strange how our minds sometimes got stuck on the most inconsequential details.
“Layla? Why did you come back?” she asked. “Spence told me he’d sent you home.”
From the tone of her voice and the seriousness in her expression, it was obvious Jane already knew everything.
I nodded. “He did, but I couldn’t…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I couldn’t just leave. I’ll never be at ease back home.”
Her eyes softened. “Are you okay?” she asked, then scoffed at her own question. “Of course you’re not okay. I don’t think anyone in your position would be okay. But you’re handling it better than you think.”
“I’m not handling it at all, Jane. I’m… I don’t…” I stuttered, the lump in my throat becoming even bigger.
“Trust me. As a lawyer, if I say you’re doing great, take my word for it, love.” She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “This is a terrible tragedy, but you’re going to get through it. Just give yourself time.”
“Alright, come on. Let’s go in.”
Her tone suddenly became brisk and urgent, her lawyer voice, as I liked to tease her.
“You can’t just sit out here in the car. You’re too exposed.”
My eyes swept over the quiet surroundings. It was mostly dark, and there was no one besides Jane and me, but with everything going to shit in my life right now, I couldn’t be sure someone wasn’t out there, hiding in the shadows.
Jane unlocked the door from the inside and stepped back as I stumbled out of the car. Just then, her phone buzzed. She lifted it to her ear.
“I’m right outside, and so is Layla,” she said, glancing around as she listened to the person on the other end.
From her tone, it was obvious Spencer was calling.
“I don’t know, but we’re coming in now,” she replied before quickly ending the call and shoving the phone back into her coat.
“Let’s go in.”
She started toward the gate, her hand clamping around mine as she dragged me along. Her high heels barely made a sound against the gravel path.
And that was when I noticed the huge black, bulging bag she was dragging behind her.
Something I hadn’t noticed earlier.
My steps faltered. Spencer told me he was waiting for someone. Was that Jane?
Had he called her to help?
My heart began to pound. Was it really already too late for me to call the police? Too late to change the course of tonight?
When Spencer opened the door and we walked into Stella’s living room, he looked completely disheveled, his hair tousled. He had shed his suit jacket and rolled his sleeves even higher. Sweat dotted his upper lip and forehead.
He didn’t say a word as he stormed back into the living room, and we followed. My feet faltered as I stared around the room. It was almost unrecognizable from the one I’d left an hour ago.
The entire place had been wiped clean.
The air now smelled of cleaning detergent and bleach instead of the metallic scent of blood. The floors had been scrubbed clean, with no trace of what had happened.
The dishes and leftovers from earlier had been cleared away. The dishes were washed and neatly placed back on the rack, and the counters were sparkling clean.
But that wasn’t what had my heart pounding against my chest.
Stella’s body had been cleaned. Her bloody clothes had been changed into a beautiful sequin dress, and she’d been laid horizontally on the floor.
I tried not to look at her face; I really tried.
But then my eyes betrayed me, and I did.
Stella looked so pale but still beautiful, like you could call her name and she’d answer. If you didn’t know she was already dead, you’d think she was only sleeping.
My stomach twisted. Then I noticed the trickle of blood at her neck, and it took everything in me not to throw up all over the floor.
“So, here’s the plan,” Jane said, her voice cutting through the silence.
She folded her arms, her face hard as she looked between Spencer and me. “What I’m about to say is important. If we do this, everything has to line up. The story, the timeline, the evidence. Everything.”
Spencer’s jaw tightened. “What are you suggesting?”
“We need someone to take the fall,” Jane replied.
I wasn’t surprised to hear Jane say that, considering Spencer had already said something similar. I was just disappointed.
The idea of having someone take the blame for a murder they never committed sat wrong in my gut.
I swallowed and glanced at Spencer.
“You mean find a scapegoat?”
I shook my head. “No. This is wrong. We need to call the police and let them handle this. If they investigate, they’ll eventually see I’m innocent. That’s better than destroying an innocent person’s life.”
I pulled out my phone and started dialing 911. But before I could press the call button, Spencer yanked it out of my hand.
“Layla, don’t be fucking stupid,” he snapped angrily. “It’s already too late to get the cops involved. You think you’re the only one involved now? We’re all in this now.”
His voice was sharp, almost desperate. “So use your fucking brain and—”
My eyes widened as I glanced at Jane. Part of me expected her to support me, but Jane said nothing.
“You think this is wrong? So do we. But I have to clean up this mess you created because you couldn’t stop thinking and had to come here, and for what?”
My jaw dropped as the dam broke all over again, tears trailing down my cheeks.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I shouted. “Don’t forget, this is partly your fault, Spencer. If you hadn’t cheated on me and kept a mistress, we wouldn’t be in this mess, as you so eloquently called it.”
“Enough, both of you!” Jane shouted. “This isn’t the time for arguing, for God’s sake.”
We both fell silent.
“It’s pointless to play the blame game now. This is the time we need to stick together more than ever.”
She inhaled and looked at me. “Listen to me, Layla. I’m not saying this whole situation is right, because it damn isn’t, but Spencer is right. We need to figure out the best way to keep everyone safe. If we don’t, it’s your life and Spencer’s on the line.”
She stared at me. “Are you really going to let Chloe live without her parents? Or grow up knowing her parents are in prison for murder?”
That familiar dread surged again, and I had to blink several times to stop the tears. I swallowed and nodded at her.
Chloe can’t lose either of her parents. I can’t let her live a life where she’ll be at the mercy of others who I can’t even trust to care for her.
“What do you suggest?” Spencer asked.
“A kidnapping gone wrong,” Jane replied.
“Stella was taken because someone wanted money from Spencer. He’s wealthy. She was leveraged.”
My stomach churned. It was like I was having an out-of-body experience. I couldn’t believe I was standing here in the middle of the most frightening situation of my life.
“She tried to escape.” Jane’s voice sounded so professional, I could imagine her in a courtroom. This was the first time I was seeing this side of her.
“There was a struggle. She lost her footing, or one of the kidnappers shoved her while trying to stop her. She fell, hit her head, and died.”
The image of Stella falling down the stairs as she screamed flashed in my mind’s eye. I shivered, rubbing my hands over my arms.
“Usually, the first suspect is the one closer to the victim, so the first person they’ll suspect is you, Spencer,” Jane said, so matter-of-factly.
“They’re going to suspect Spencer?” I blurted.
“Yes, but suspicion isn’t enough. If the evidence doesn’t connect Spencer to the kidnapping or Stella’s death, they have nowhere to go.”
She rubbed a hand over her forehead.
“That’s why the details matter. That’s why you need alibis, and you need to be on the same page. As long as your answers are consistent with each other’s, there should be no problems.”
She glanced toward Stella’s body. “We need to move the crime scene. I see you’ve already done as I advised and cleaned up the house.”
“I just need a final sweep of everywhere, just in case I missed a spot,” he replied.
“That’s a good idea.”
Spencer glanced at me. “What happens when they find out Layla knew about Stella?”
Spencer’s question made my stomach drop, and sweat gathered on my upper lip.
“Knowing someone isn’t evidence that you killed them,” she replied. “Besides, didn’t you already inform me that the surveillance isn’t working?”
“As my wife, they’ll naturally suspect her.”
“Maybe, which is why you need to work on your alibi. We also need to keep Layla far away from the accident.”
She stared at me. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Layla? You were never here. That’s the first thing you need to convince the cops of. Lie to yourself if you have to until you’re convinced, because that’s the only way you can fool others. Although, I don’t think we’ll even get that far into the plan. I’m just making sure to cover all our bases.”
She glanced between us. “I think that’s all for now. We’ll talk more about it when we get to your place. I just need to be honest with you. While we can plan, this isn’t a hundred percent risk-free plan,” she said.
Silence filled the room as I stared at Stella’s body, unable to tear my eyes away this time.
It was horrifying.
Not just because she was dead. But because we were standing around her, talking about how to make sure someone else got blamed for her death.
“But listen to me carefully. This isn’t some perfect plan where we can just tell one story, and everything magically falls into place,” she said.
“The timeline has to make sense. The location has to make sense. The physical evidence has to make sense. Witnesses, cameras, phone records, anything that can put you somewhere matters. And if one thing doesn’t fit, someone will notice. And then they’ll start asking questions.”
She paused.
“And once they realize the story doesn’t add up, they’re not going to see an accident.”
Her expression hardened. “They’re going to see a cover-up. So let’s give them the kidnapper-turned-killer, a convincing motive and evidence they can’t deny.”
Spencer nodded, rubbed his face, and put his hands on his hips as he stared at Stella’s body for the longest three seconds before finally whispering, “We need to wrap things up here and set the plan in motion.”
“On it. I brought the bag,” Jane replied, crossing over to the big bag she brought.
She unzipped it and took out an ugly brown sack.
“Help me, will you?” Spencer said, moving toward Stella’s body.
Jane quietly followed him. I stood there frozen in place as Spencer lifted her, my eyes catching on a rose tattooed at the back of her left heel before it disappeared.
With Jane’s help, and after carefully maneuvering her, they slid her down into the big bag.
“Now where’s the fall guy?”
“I’ve already got the perfect candidate. He’ll be here any minute.”
I swallowed down the bile trying to force its way out and grabbed Jane’s hand.
“Jane, is there really no other way? You’re a lawyer. Surely there’s something we can do to prove my innocence without doing something so extreme.”
Jane stared at me with pity. “Layla, I know how this looks, and trust me, I feel just as terrible, but I’m trying to help you so my niece doesn’t end up motherless or worse, an orphan,” she said calmly.
“Forget about Chloe for a second. What about your life? Aren’t you scared of going to jail? Of never living a normal life?”
“Of course I am,” I replied, my voice shaking. “I’m fucking terrified that I’m going to lose everything that means anything to me…”
I blinked back tears, trying to control my emotions. “But this isn’t right. This is so wrong. Stella’s death was an accident, but this… this man… if we do this, it’s like we’ve destroyed his entire life.”
“Fucking pull yourself together, Layla,” Spencer whispered furiously, grabbing my shoulders hard. “I’m fucking tired of reminding you what’s at stake.”
He sighed, his grip softening, his voice lowering, his exhaustion clear in every line of his face.
“Trevor knew what he was doing. He’s doing it for the money, for his family. No one is forcing him to do anything. It’s his choice.”
Jane nodded. “Besides, at this point, there’s nothing we can...”
A loud knocking on the front door cut her short.
My heart dropped to my feet as we suddenly all stopped moving until whoever was knocking finally stopped.
I released a shaky breath, only for it to hitch again when the knocking resumed at the same time Spencer’s phone buzzed with a new text.
He glanced at me, then Jane.
“That’s our guy. Quick, Layla, you need to hide,” he growled.
Shoving me toward the pantry door, I stumbled inside but steadied myself and shut the door behind me.
