Chapter Three: Blame That Burns

I stood in the driveway long after Alex disappeared inside, the gravel biting into my bare feet, blood drying sticky on my palms. The wrecked car smoked like a dying animal, and the sirens had faded into the distance, taking Lucas with them. The paramedics had said he was stable, but stable felt like a lie when his blood was still on me.

I wiped my hands on my shirt uselessly and forced my legs to move. Each step toward the house felt heavier, like walking into a storm I couldn’t see coming. The front door was ajar, the way Alex had left it in his fury. I slipped inside, the cool air hitting my skin like a slap.

The foyer was empty. No footsteps, no voices. Just the grandfather clock ticking in the corner, indifferent. I climbed the stairs slowly, following the faint trail of his cologne, something sharp and expensive that always made my stomach twist.

His study door was closed, but light leaked underneath. I raised my hand to knock, then froze. What was I going to say? That I hadn’t touched the car? That I hadn’t wished any of this on his brother? That I was bleeding inside too?

Before I could decide, the door flew open.

Alex stood there, tie loosened, sleeves rolled to his elbows, looking like a man who’d been holding himself together with wire and rage. His eyes, those cold, accusing eyes, locked on mine.

“Get in,” he said. Not an invitation. An order.

I stepped past him. The room smelled of leather and old paper, shelves lined with books no one read anymore. A massive desk dominated the center, papers scattered like they’d been shoved aside in anger. He shut the door behind me with a quiet click that sounded final.

He didn’t sit. Neither did I.

“Tell me exactly what happened,” he said, voice low and controlled. Too controlled. The kind of calm that comes right before something breaks.

I swallowed. “I was walking in the garden. I heard the engine. The car came in too fast, swerved, hit the tree. I ran to him. He was conscious at first. He said the brakes didn’t work.”

Alex’s jaw tightened. “And you just happened to be there.”

“I live here now,” I said, sharper than I meant to. “I’m allowed to walk outside.”

He stepped closer. Close enough that I could see the faint tremor in his hands. “You think this is a coincidence? First my sister. Now my brother. And you show up, and suddenly everything starts falling apart again.”

The words hit like a fist. I flinched. “I had nothing to do with your sister. I didn’t even know her. And I didn’t touch Lucas’s car.”

He laughed, short, bitter, without humor. “You don’t have to touch it. You just have to be here. Bad luck follows you like a shadow.”

I stared at him, chest tight. “You really believe that? That I’m some kind of curse?”

His gaze didn’t waver. “I believe the timing is perfect. You marry into this family, and within twenty-four hours, my brother almost dies. The same way my sister did. Car accident. Brakes failing. No witnesses. No explanation.”

My mouth went dry. “Your sister died in a car accident?”

He didn’t answer right away. He turned, walked to the window, stared out at the darkening lawn. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter, almost hollow. “Three years ago. She was driving home from the city. Police said mechanical failure. They never found the cause. Just like today.”

The room felt smaller. The air thicker. I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t.” He turned back to me. “No one told you. Why would they? You were just the convenient solution to a problem. My father needed the alliance with your family. Your family needed the money. Everyone got what they wanted. Except me.”

“And me,” I whispered.

He looked at me then, really looked. For a second, something flickered in his expression. Not warmth. Not pity. Something darker. Recognition, maybe. Like he saw me for the first time and hated what he saw.

“You think you’re the victim here?” he asked. “You walked into this house knowing exactly what it was. A transaction. You signed the papers. You said the vows. Don’t pretend you’re innocent.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” I said, voice cracking. “My father was drowning in debt. Your father offered to pay it all if I married you. They didn’t ask me. They told me.”

He studied me for a long moment. Then he shook his head. “Doesn’t change anything. You’re here. And people are getting hurt.”

I took a step forward, desperate. “Then let me help. Let me prove I had nothing to do with this. I’ll talk to the mechanics, the police, anyone. I want to know what happened to Lucas too.”

He laughed again, colder this time. “You think I’d trust you near any of this? Stay out of it, Elena. Stay out of my way. That’s the only thing I’m asking.”

He moved past me toward the door.

I reached out, instinct, not thought, and caught his sleeve.

“Don’t touch me,” he said, low and dangerous.

I let go like I’d been burned. “I’m not your enemy,” I said. “I never was.”

His eyes darkened. “You became my enemy the moment you said ‘I do.’”

He left me standing there, the door closing softly behind him.

I sank into the nearest chair, legs shaking. My mind raced. Brakes failing. Twice. In the same family. The same way. It couldn’t be coincidence. Someone had done this.

And Alex thought it was me.

But worse, he thought it because he needed someone to blame. Because blaming me was easier than facing whatever ghosts haunted this house.

I looked around the study, at the locked drawers, the hidden corners. Secrets lived here. Secrets that killed.

I wasn’t going to stay out of it.

Because if I didn’t find the truth, I’d be the next one blamed.