Page 273 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

She sniffed. “How did I know what?”

“How did you know he was dead?”

Anna stared at the floor, her heart hollow. “It’s my fault,” she whispered. “He killed him because of me. I was selfish, and he killed him.”

“Who killed who?” Wilhelm paused. “Ben?”

Anna nodded and looked up. “Devin. He killed him.” She hung her head again. “It’s my fault,” she said in a broken voice, squeezing her eyes shut, wishing it weren’t true. “It’s all my fault.”

“Anna, this is not your fault. Devin is—Devin does terrible things, but those things are not your fault.”

She shook her head. “If I hadn’t wanted to be with Ben instead of Devin, he would have let him go. He asked me and I told him. He called Ben a distraction. But I couldn’t lie. I told him the truth. And he killed him.”

Wilhelm’s brows furrowed. “The police found his body in his car early this morning. In the Bay. Are you sure you did not just imagine it?”

“He said he’d put him off the Golden Gate Bridge. The same bridge my parents died under.” Her jaw trembled and she swallowed hard. Just like my dream...

Wilhelm muttered something in German. “Oh, Anna.” He pulled her into his arms and rocked her gently. “Shh, it will be alright, Liebling. It is not your fault.”

As her tears slowed, she shifted and something dug into her hip. She dug the ring box out of her pocket. “He was going to ask me to marry him,” she whispered.

Wilhelm took the box from her and opened it. “Very pretty,” he said with a gentle smile, hugging her close.

“Where’d you get that?”

Both Wilhelm and Anna looked up to see Matt standing in the doorway, his eyes narrowed.

Anna stared at Matt. “He had it with him when he died.”

Matt frowned. “I know. He showed it to me at the theater. The question is, how did you get it?”

Anna’s mouth moved, but there were no words. The accusation in his eyes was exactly what she deserved.

“Matt, it is not what you think,” Wilhelm said, standing and pulling Anna to her feet. He motioned to the living room. “And apparently, what happened to Ben is not what we were told, either.” He guided Anna to the couch and Matt followed, but didn’t sit.

He crossed his arms and frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Wilhelm stared at the young man for a long moment. “Matt, if I tell you, you cannot tell anyone. Especially not his family. They would be in danger.”

Matt sat on the arm of the nearby chair. “Tell me.”

Wilhelm gave him a brief history of Anna’s relationship with Devin and then what Anna had told Wilhelm.

“Devin threw it on the floor next to him after he was—‍” Anna’s jaw trembled. “He said it had been in Ben’s pocket when they took him.”

“Oh, God,” Matt said, slipping into the chair and leaning forward. He ran his hands through his hair, his elbows on his knees. “We should call the police.”

Anna laughed bitterly. “Devin controls the police. There’s nothing we can do.” She shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Matt, would you please take Anna back to your apartment? I need to make a phone call.”

“Wilhelm, I can’t—I can’t go back there.” Anna clung to him.

“I need to call Alex and tell him what happened.”

“He’s home?”

Wilhelm nodded. “He got home yesterday.”

---