Chapter 155

"Tessa… Tessa…" Zachary scrubbed his body with great force, rubbing his skin until it turned red. He kept calling her name, tears mixing with the water streaming down from the shower. "I'm not dirty…. I can wash it all away… If I wash myself clean enough, you won't hate me anymore…" … Back in her bedroom, Tessa lay awake, her mind restless and heavy. The recording Zachary had played earlier was unmistakably Susan's voice. Had she really been taken away right under the police's noses? But why hadn't Stephen told her about it? What was the emergency he mentioned tonight? Could it really be related to Susan? Tessa tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. After much hesitation, she finally picked up her phone and dialed Stephen's number. The call rang for a long time. No one answered. Eventually, it disconnected automatically. It was the first time Stephen had not answered her call. Her thoughts tangled into knots of doubt. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, her min