Part 3The Fake Ambulance Took My Fiancé

Still, my work was going well, and I was going to be home ten days early. I decided not to bother her again.

Holden and Kira had always had a tense relationship. Early in my courtship with Holden, he'd stood me up a few times for lab emergencies. I had complained to Kira, and she, fiery and protective, had tracked Holden down and ripped into him. It caused a huge fight. Since then, Holden would scowl whenever I mentioned her name, so I learned to keep them separate.

Perhaps I shouldn't have asked Kira to go over tonight. What if they had run into each other and fought again?

But the audio recording... Call me Daddy. Who was that? That voice sounded terrifyingly familiar.

Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, my phone buzzed again. A private message request in the owners’ group. It was Carol Perkins. She was persistent.

The second I accepted the request, she aggressively sent me several clips from the elevator security footage.

“It is you! I checked the building security. Don’t try to deny it. You’re messing with my son’s education, and I’m going to ruin you.”

“You said no one was home. Then what is this?”

“You’re the only unit on the eleventh floor right now, right?”

In the grainy footage, a man and a woman hit the eleventh-floor button, then immediately began to embrace, their hands already exploring.

The video quality was poor, but I knew those bodies. I knew that slouch.

It was Holden. And Kira.

I took a deep, shaky breath, then started a video call.

Carol answered immediately. She looked at my face and gasped, eyes wide. “Oh, my. It really isn't you! Who... who are those people? How do you not know who is in your own apartment?”

My voice tasted like metal. “That’s my fiancé and my best friend.”

“Oh, honey. Oh, no. I am so sorry. What are you going to do?”

“Carol,” I said, forcing a calm I didn't feel. “Help me. Keep an eye on them. I’m rushing back home now.”

She immediately dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “You want to bust them? Done. The minute they show their faces, I’ll text you.”