Chapters (95)
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Video #1
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Video #2
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Video #3
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- The Final Video
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Cover
Chloe and I talked about everything over hundreds and hundreds of conversations. And, yes, leading up to our first—and only—time, we did talk about pregnancy. Chloe was pretty clear. She told me she was not going to get pregnant. And if she did, she wasn’t going to let it derail her life. She told me about her cousin in Virginia who was at the top of her class, but then got pregnant senior year. She finished high school and had the baby but never went to college. Chloe swore she would never let that happen to her.
“She has two kids now,” Chloe said about her cousin. “And no degree. That won’t be me.”
I relay all this to Haley and Dad. Haley nods, still showing nothing.
“So it sounds like Chloe felt pretty strongly,” Haley says. “If she found out she was pregnant, she intended to do something about it.”
“Are you saying that’s what she ran off to do after the accident?” I ask. “In her dress? And with no money? Or phone? Does that make sense?”
Haley looks thoughtful. He taps his chin with his index finger and studies me through his intense brown eyes. “If Chloe was pregnant, then it would be in both your best interests to keep that from everyone. Parents. Teachers. If Chloe thought a pregnancy would ruin her life, then she might be willing to do anything. Run away for a while. Stage an accident.” He leans forward. “Hunter, maybe the two of you got in over your heads. You wanted to make this problem go away, but you got in too deep. And you’re looking for a way out.”
“That’s not what happened,” I say.
“Maybe Chloe pressured you,” he says. “I bet she was a persuasive girl. Maybe she turned up the heat on you to help her. Maybe you got scared someone would find out. Maybe the two of you disagreed about what to do. Hunter, did you want to have the baby? Is that the problem?”
“I can prove that didn’t happen,” I say. “I can prove how nuts all of that is.”
I pull out my phone, load the video—Daniel’s video—and slide it across the table toward Haley, who pushes his manila folder aside.
“What’s this?” he asks. “Oh. Yes, I’ve seen it.”
“You have?” I hit play anyway.
He frowns. “Daniel’s mother gave us access to his cloud storage. The rough cut of the movie was there.”
“You watched the whole thing?” I ask. “You actually saw the other car following us?”
Haley nods but without much enthusiasm. “Of course. The video is at the state crime lab being analyzed. Unfortunately, the initial results have been inconclusive. They can’t identify the make or model of the car yet. And they haven’t come close to the plate number. These things take time, but we’re doing our best.”