The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda (speld decodable readers txt) 📕

the stairs. Tish’s body twisted and partially hidden by the trunk. I can’t process what just happened. All I can think of is protecting Ashlyn. She shouldn’t be here. She can’t be found here.

“Do you think she’s dead?” Ashlyn asks, her voice a whisper. “I want her to die.”

“I understand. She is a bad person,” I say. I can’t believe this is happening. Did Ashlyn kill Tish? Was this purposeful? And why? I had no idea my daughter felt this type of rage against Tish. I should have realized how much pain she was in, too.

She’s looking at me, her eyes shining and wide. “I’m on your side, Mom.”

My heart feels the love, but my brain knows we must get in front of this situation. There’s no more time to talk. “Ashlyn, go. Now! Leave the way you came. Make sure no one sees you!” I scream.

Adrenaline zips through me as I rush down the stairs to where Tish has landed. Her body is under the trunk, her head at an awkward angle.

Ashlyn disappears down the hall, back the way she came. I run to the living room to get away from the horror and to give Ashlyn time to escape. I’m shaking all over, but I try to breathe. I pace back and forth in the living room, gathering Tish’s copy of the contract from the coffee table. I catch a glimpse of myself in the living room mirror: I’m pale, and dark circles shroud my eyes. I turn away and sit down on the couch. The bowl of red cherries glisten in the light of the crystal chandelier overhead.

I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here on Tish’s couch in shock, but suddenly a man walks through the front door.

We stare at each other.

“Who are you?” he asks.

“Who are you?” I ask.

He ignores the question and yells, “Tish? Oh my god!”

He’s kneeling on the ground next to the trunk. I rush to his side. “There’s been an accident. She just fell down the stairs. I don’t know what to do.” Tears stream down my face.

“Call 911!” the man yells.

I find my phone in my purse and dial 911.

“What’s your emergency?” the operator asks.

“It looks like a woman has fallen down the stairs. It’s a terrible accident. Send help, please,” I manage in a choking voice. What if she’s dead? What if she’s not?

“Is she breathing?” the operator asks.

“I don’t know.”

“The squad is on the way. Stay on the phone. I need you to check for a pulse,” the operator demands.

I run to where Tish landed. Sparkling shards of glass decorate the floor. The man who came in the door is kneeling next to her. In my imagination, I watch as she lifts the trunk and stands up, yelling for Ashlyn, trying to blame my daughter and me for her accident. Because, it was, it must be, an accident. But as I reach her side, she’s still pinned underneath the trunk.

“Can you feel a pulse?” the operator asks.

“Is there a pulse?” I ask the stranger, but he’s shaking his head.

I don’t want to touch her. Her neck is at such a terrible angle. I find her right hand and see the excessively large wedding ring from my husband, twice the size of mine. I touch her wrist, but I can’t feel a pulse as my own blood rushes through my body at warp speed.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. Her head, it’s twisted,” I say, walking away from Tish’s body. “She’s not moving. I don’t know.”

“The squad is there, ma’am,” the operator says.

And that’s when the professionals arrive with calm determination on their faces and I step out of the way. When they lift the trunk off Tish’s body, my knees collapse, and I drop to the floor.

I close my eyes, and everything is black.

CHAPTER 64

KATE

When I open my eyes, I’m on a bed, white curtains drawn around me. A nurse leans over me.

“Do you know where you are, Mrs. Nelson?” she asks.

A hospital would be my guess.

“You’re at Riverside Hospital. In the emergency room. How are you feeling?”

It’s all so shockingly clear in my mind. Tish’s fall, the angle of her neck. “I need to see my daughter.”

“We’ve called your daughter. Her flight turned around midair somehow. Looks like she’s here now.”

“Mom.” Ashlyn sobs as she runs to my side.

“Honey.” I pull her toward me.

She whispers, “I shouldn’t have left you there.”

“It was a great idea to take your flight as scheduled. I’m so proud of you.” I sit up in the bed, almost like nothing was wrong with me. “Has anyone told you anything about Tish’s condition?”

Ashlyn shakes her head. “No.”

All the time Tish has been in our lives, I’ve been waiting for the next terrible thing to happen. That’s all she has wrought. Horrible things. Sure, John and I had let our marriage take second place to the business. That made it easy for someone like her to sneak into the gap. But at first, I thought that was all she’d take. John. The love of my life. That was enough.

But once she had John, she moved on to taking EventCo. She tried to take my whole life.

The nurse pops her head in. “Do you need anything in here? The doctor should be by shortly.”

“We’re all set.” I smile.

“Maybe she’s dead,” Ashlyn says, and starts crying. I hug her tight. “I was so mad, Mom. I wasn’t thinking straight. I thought she was going to hurt you. I just reacted. It was an accident.”

“I know, I was just as angry.”

Ashlyn’s face is tear-streaked. She’s speaking too fast.

“Take a deep breath. Whatever happened to Tish is her own doing. All of it is.” I wrap my arm around Ashlyn. She’s trembling. “You have done nothing. Do you understand me clearly? The last time you saw her, she admitted to tampering with your car. You could have died. You were not at her house tonight. Got it?”

She starts to cry again, sputtering.

“Calm down. Listen