Astrid looked at me.
“According to the paperwork, you did.”
“I never bought life insurance.”
“I know.”
The road suddenly felt too narrow.
“What happened next?”
“Peter told me to meet him near Lakeview. He said he had proof of who filed the policy.”
“And you went?”
“Yes.”
“But you never reached him.”
Astrid shook her head.
“A truck started following me.”
Her voice became quieter.
“At first I thought I was imagining it. Then it hit the rear bumper.”
My chest tightened.
“Again and again.”
She closed her eyes.
“I lost control.”
The sedan went through the barrier.
Down the embankment.
Astrid remembered glass breaking.
Metal folding.
Then nothing.
“When I woke up, someone was dragging me away.”
“The man who saved you?”
She nodded.
“His name was Thomas Vale.”
Thomas had been driving several minutes behind her.
He saw the crash.
He climbed down and pulled Astrid from the vehicle moments before the fire reached the passenger compartment.
