Chapter 3: Shadows Over Oakhaven Bridge
"He's going to the bridge," Robert said, his face turning pale. "The Oakhaven Springs bridge. That’s where Beatrice..." He didn't need to finish the sentence.
"We have to go. Now!" Grace cried, her maternal instincts overriding her shock. She grabbed her car keys from the kitchen counter. To her surprise, Katherine came running down the hallway, having pulled a dark trench coat over her ruined wedding dress.
"I'm coming with you," Katherine said firmly, her voice no longer trembling. "This is my past. I won't let him destroy his life because of a ghost. I won't let another person die because of what happened twelve years ago."
The drive through the winding roads of Oakhaven Springs was silent and suffocating. The headlights pierced through a thick fog that had rolled in from the river. Grace pushed the gas pedal down, her heart hammering against her ribs. She looked in the rearview mirror at Katherine, who was staring blankly out the window, looking like a tragic specter herself. How had a day of joy turned into a midnight hunt for survival?
When they arrived at the old iron bridge, they saw Caleb’s truck parked haphazardly on the shoulder, its headlights still on, cutting through the mist.
Caleb was standing on the pedestrian walkway, leaning heavily against the rusted railing, staring down into the black, churning waters of the river below. The wind tore at his unbuttoned shirt. He looked completely unhinged, caught between the reality of the present and the agony of the past.
Grace scrambled out of the car, followed by Robert and Katherine. "Caleb! Step away from the edge! Please, son, talk to me!"
Caleb turned his head slowly. In the moonlight, his face looked hollowed out by grief. "Why are you here, Mom? You should be celebrating. The truth is out. The girl who killed my future is finally going to suffer."
"Caleb, look at her!" Grace pleaded, pointing to Katherine, who stood a few feet behind her. "Look at what this revenge has done to you, to her, to our family! This isn't what Beatrice would have wanted. You are destroying yourself!"
"She lied to me every single day!" Caleb roared, his voice echoing over the rushing water. "She pretended to be an angel! She let me hold her, let me love her, while she carried the blood of the girl I loved on her hands! I wanted her to feel the terror Beatrice felt before she jumped. I wanted her to know what it’s like to lose everything in a single night!"
Katherine stepped forward, pushing past Grace. The wind whipped her hair across her face, but her eyes were steady. "You’re right, Caleb," she shouted over the wind. "I was a horrible, selfish teenager. I ruined Beatrice’s dream because I was afraid of failing. And I have hated myself every single day since. But I didn't come to Richmond to find you. I didn't plan this. My love for you was real. Every single second of it was real."
May you like
"Don't lie to me anymore!" Caleb screamed, taking a step backward, his heel catching on the edge of the walkway.
"I’m not lying!" Katherine cried, tears spilling over. "If you want me to pay, I will. I will leave. I will sign the annulment. I will carry this guilt to my grave. But don't do this to your mother. Don't do this to yourself. If you jump, Beatrice doesn't win. The grief just wins again."
