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I Spent 10 Years in Prison for Her Crime—Then She Came Looking for Me
Novelix
new
Completed
Ten years ago, engineer Nathan was blamed for a fatal bridge collapse and sent to prison. After his release, he changes his name and builds a quiet life as a barista. Then his ex-wife Victoria arrives with reporters and a generous offer: help her new fiancé, the man Nathan knows caused the disaster. Victoria destroys his job and housing to force his cooperation, while his parents defend the man they have adopted as a son. A new attack nearly costs Nathan his life. When the investigation finally exposes the truth, he has already found the freedom his family refused him.
Chapters (3)
第1章
Ten years ago, a major bridge project I oversaw collapsed over a river, killing dozens of people.
The headlines called me a murderer. Victims' families screamed at me in the street. My own parents disowned me.
I spent the next decade in prison.
When I was finally released, I changed my name and took a job making coffee in a small coastal town. It was quiet. Nobody recognized me. I thought I might finally learn how to live again.
Then my ex-wife walked into the café with an entourage of reporters.
Victoria Shaw had become the CEO of a publicly traded engineering corporation. Her company's stock was soaring; her face appeared on magazine covers. The photographers surrounding her kept shouting questions about our marriage.
"Mr. Hayes! Is it true Ms. Shaw has postponed her wedding for ten years because she's been waiting for you?"
I almost laughed.
The reporters had no idea that the bridge had failed because Victoria let her lover pocket construction money and substitute substandard materials. When people died, she helped him pin everything on me.
"Come take a picture with her," my café manager urged. "Imagine what this could do for business!"
My hands shook around the cup I was washing.
Another reporter recognized me. "You were a brilliant structural engineer. How does it feel to be washing dishes now? Do you think your ex still loves you?"
Victoria stepped between us. "This is a private matter. Leave him alone."
Then she turned to me.
"Nathan. It's been a long time."
A mug slipped from my hand and shattered. A shard nicked my finger. Victoria immediately reached for it.
"You're bleeding. You need to be more careful."
I pulled away. "I'll pay for the cup."
A man's familiar voice floated through the door.
"Victoria! There you are. Everyone's been worried about you."
Brandon Cole strode into the shop, kissed her near the eye, and wrapped his arm around her waist.
The real man responsible for the bridge collapse.
And behind him stood my parents.
"Long time no see, Nathan," Brandon said pleasantly. "Your folks practically adopted me while you were away. I guess that makes us brothers now."
Dad looked at me with naked disgust. "I have only one son. His name is Brandon."
Mom added, "Why would you come looking for someone who killed innocent people, Victoria?"
I turned away before they could see what their words did to me.
Victoria sighed. "Don't blame them. They suffered too."
She handed me a gold-embossed business card.
"I owe you more than I can say. Call if you ever need anything."
第2章
I took the card the way I'd take a receipt from any customer and set it beside the register.
Three days later, my manager called to apologize.
"Nathan, I had no idea who you used to be. I'm sorry, but we can't keep you here. I'll pay you for the entire month. Please don't make this difficult."
He hung up and blocked my number.
Then Victoria called.
"I know the café wasn't right for someone with your talent," she said. "I made sure they let you go. I've bought you a house in the city. Brandon needs somebody to help him with engineering drawings. I'll pay you very well to work for him."
I gripped the phone.
She had sent me to prison to protect him. Now she wanted me to ghostwrite his work, as if my brain were a prize she could hand to her fiancé.
"I have a life," I said. "Please stay out of it."
"Don't be stubborn. Designing is what you love. I'll take care of you whether you like it or not."
Before sunset every café, diner, and hardware store in town had somehow heard they shouldn't hire me. Employers treated me politely, then said the position had just been filled.
My landlady found me that evening, apologetic and close to tears.
"I'm so sorry, honey. Someone said my son's job could be in danger if I keep renting to you. I can't risk it."
I packed the same night. Victoria called it compensation. I called it destroying the little peace I'd managed to rebuild.
第3章
Victoria arrived with movers and drove me to the house herself. She behaved as if we were still married and I had simply been away on a business trip.
The living room smelled of expensive furniture polish. She poured me coffee and smiled with the careful patience of someone waiting to be thanked.
"You'll be comfortable here. Brandon can stop by to discuss projects. I'll make sure you're paid."
"I told you I didn't want any of this."
"And I told you you're too good to throw your life away making lattes."
I looked at the floor-to-ceiling windows and thought of the little café where I had been happy. She'd taken away even the right to choose a modest life.
Her phone rang. Brandon wanted to know why she had missed a meeting. Her voice softened immediately as she reassured him.
After she left, my parents came to visit.
For a heartbeat I let myself believe they wanted to see me.
Mom sat on the couch, folding and unfolding her hands. "Nathan, Brandon is a good boy. Victoria is going to marry him. Don't make things awkward by hanging around."
"You came here to tell me to leave?"
"We aren't trying to be cruel," she said gently. "But you had your chance with Victoria. It's over."
I forced the words past the ache in my throat. "What if Brandon caused the collapse? What if I went to prison for what he did?"
Dad's face hardened. "Don't you dare accuse him."
Mom's voice was still soft. "You should go back to that small town. We can help you move if you won't go yourself."
That was the voice that had sung me to sleep as a child. Now every syllable cut like a knife.