False Beginning - S01 E05

Story 3 days ago

False Beginning - S01 E05

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 5

Episode 5: False Beginning

The open door hit the wall with a loud bang, making Sarah jump. The sound was so big that it felt like a giant had stepped into the room. Sarah felt her whole body shake. She was still sitting on the floor with the papers all around her. The blue folder was in her hands, and she held it very tight. She clutched the blue folder to her chest and waited. She did not move a single muscle. She did not even breathe. Her eyes were fixed on the dark hallway outside the office. She was waiting for someone to walk through that door. She was waiting for the mean man in the dark suit. She was waiting for a shadow to move. She felt like a little mouse hiding from a cat. Her heart was beating so fast that it hurt her ribs.

But no one was there. The hallway was empty and very dark. The lights in the hall were not on. It was just a black space that looked like it went on forever. Sarah waited for one minute, then two minutes. The only thing she heard was the sound of her own heart. The air felt very cold. It was not just the cold from the rain or the wind. It was a strange cold that felt like it was coming from inside the room. It felt like the air was turning into ice. Sarah felt a shiver run down her back. She looked at the door. It was wide open. The wind was not blowing as hard now, but the door stayed open like a mouth. It was like the room was waiting for something bad to happen.

Sarah looked back at the old newspaper story. She had to look away from the dark door for a moment. She needed to focus on the papers in her lap. The paper was yellow and old. It felt dry and thin like an old leaf. The pictures showed a red car that had been crushed on a dark mountain road. Sarah looked at the red car. It was her parents' car. She remembered that car. It used to be shiny and bright. Now, in the picture, it looked like a crushed soda can. The front of the car was gone. The windows were all broken into tiny pieces of glass. It was a very sad picture. Sarah felt a big lump in her throat. She felt like she wanted to cry again, but she was too scared to cry.

Sarah remembered that night very well. She was a little girl, but the memory was still very clear in her head. She remembered the fire and the loud noise. She remembered the smell of smoke and the sound of the rain hitting the metal. She remembered how the world felt like it was upside down. The fire was very bright and very hot. It was orange and yellow against the black night sky. The loud noise was like a thunderbolt that never stopped. She had always been told it was a sad mistake caused by the rain. Everyone said the road was slippery. Everyone said the car just slid off the mountain because it was a bad night. Her aunt told her it was an accident. The police told her it was an accident. For twenty years, Sarah believed it was an accident.

But as she turned the pages in Tom’s secret file, she found something that changed everything. She found a map. It was not a normal map that you use to find a city. It was a map of that very same mountain road where her parents died. The map was drawn on a white piece of paper. It showed all the curves of the road. It showed where the trees were and where the big rocks were. There were notes written in Tom’s neat handwriting. Sarah knew that writing. It was the same writing on the birthday cards he gave her. It was the same writing on the grocery lists they made together. It was very neat and very easy to read. But the words were not nice words.

He had written down the time her parents would be driving. The map had a little clock drawn on it. Beside the clock, it said 10:15 PM. That was the time they left the party that night. Tom knew exactly when they would be on that road. Sarah felt a cold hand touch her heart. How did Tom know that? He was not there. He was not a friend of her parents. Or was he? She read more notes. He had written down where the oil should be spilled on the road. There was a big X on the map. Beside the X, Tom had written the word Oil. He also wrote the word Slippery. He wrote about how the oil would make the car slide right off the edge of the mountain.

Sarah’s breath came in short gasps. She felt like she could not get enough air into her lungs. Her chest felt very tight, like someone was squeezing it. She had to put the map down because her hands were shaking too much. This was not a map of an accident. This was a plan for a crime. An accident is something that just happens. A crime is something that someone plans to do. Tom had planned this. He had planned for her parents to slide off the road. He had planned for the car to crash. He had planned for the fire and the loud noise. The man she lived with for ten years was a monster.

Sarah felt like the room was spinning. She looked at the walls, but they did not look real. She looked at the desk, but it felt like it was moving. Everything she knew was a lie. Her parents did not die because of the rain. They died because Tom wanted them to die. But why? Why would Tom want to hurt two people he did not even know? Or did he know them? She turned another page in the blue folder. She found more notes. These notes were about her father’s job. Her father was a man who knew a lot of secrets. Maybe he knew something about the bad men Tom worked for. Maybe Tom was the fixer back then too.

Tom had known her parents before they died. This was the most scary part of all. Sarah thought they met by chance at a coffee shop ten years ago. She thought it was a happy thing. She thought they were meant to be together. But now she saw that it was all planned. Tom had been watching her. He had been there on the mountain that night. He was not just a lawyer who helped bad people. He was a bad person himself. He was the one who made the road slippery. He was the one who watched the red car fall. Sarah felt a wave of heat go through her body. She felt so much anger that she wanted to scream.

She reached into the folder one more time. There was something at the very bottom. It was a small, square piece of paper. She pulled it out and looked at it. It was a photo. The photo was a bit blurry because it was taken a long time ago. It was a photo of a much younger Tom. He did not have his gray hair yet. He did not have his glasses. But it was him. Sarah could tell by his eyes. His eyes were cold and dark, just like the man in the hospital hallway. He was standing near the red car. The car was crushed and broken. There was smoke coming from the car. The younger Tom was just standing there, looking at it. He did not look sad. He did not look scared. He looked like he was proud of what he had done.

Sarah looked at the photo and then she looked at the doorway. She felt like the younger Tom in the photo was right there in the room with her. She felt like the secrets were coming to life. Her husband was not a hero. He was a killer. He had killed her parents, and then he had married her. He had lived with her for ten years, smiling and acting like a good man, while he knew the truth the whole time. He had watched her cry for her mom and dad. He had held her when she was sad. And all that time, he was the one who had taken them away from her.

The silence in the office was very heavy now. The cold air was still there. Sarah felt like she was trapped in a box. She had the folder, she had the map, and she had the photo. She had the truth. But the truth was a very scary thing. What was she going to do now? She could not go back to the hospital and sit by his bed. She could not look at his pale face and hope he would wake up. If he woke up, she would be looking at a killer. She would be looking at the man who ruined her life twenty years ago.

She heard a noise again. This time it was not a floorboard or the wind. It was the sound of a car. She looked out the window. Down on the street, the strange black car was there again. It was sitting under the streetlight. The engine was running, and smoke was coming out of the back. The car was waiting. Sarah felt a cold fear take over her body. The man in the suit, the black car, and the secret folder were all coming together. She was in the middle of a very dangerous game. She had found the secret, and now she had to find a way to stay safe.

Sarah stood up slowly. Her legs were still shaking, but she had to move. She put the papers back into the blue folder. She put the golden key in her pocket. She had to get out of the office. She had to go somewhere safe. But where was safe? If Tom was a bad man, maybe his friends were everywhere. Maybe the police were his friends too. Sarah felt like she could not trust anyone.

Why do you think Tom planned the accident that killed Sarah's parents twenty years ago? What was he trying to hide?

How do you think Sarah feels now that she knows her husband is a killer and not a hero?

If you were Sarah, would you try to run away or would you go to the hospital to confront Tom?

The secret is finally out! Sarah knows the truth about Tom and her parents' death. But now she is in big danger! What will happen next in the elevator? Don't miss the next episode of "False Beginning!"