Page 151 of The Jealous Girl

I dropped to my knees, letting the bank statement fall from my grasp. ‘Ben, can you hear me?’

No response.

I pressed my fingers to Ben’s neck and felt for a pulse.

There was a beat. Then another.

‘Thank God,’ I murmured, the tight pressure in my chest easing slightly.

I pulled my phone from my pocket. ‘He needs an ambulance,’ I said, already dialling.

I gave them the address, my voice shaking as I willed Ben to wake up.

‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Ryan demanded as I hung up.

‘Proving I’m innocent,’ I snapped back.

‘By breaking into my house?’ Ryan stared at me. ‘Are you completely crazy?’

A car door slammed outside, and we both turned towards the door.

‘Ryan!’ Denise called, fear resounding in her voice. ‘We got the alarm alert⁠—’

She raced inside and stopped dead in the living room doorway, with Martin just behind her. She gasped as she saw me. ‘You!’

‘I was set up,’ I told Ryan as I scrambled to my feet. I grabbed the bank statement off the floor and thrust it at him. ‘By her!’

Ryan scoffed, refusing to take the paper from me. ‘That’s ridiculous.’

‘Who do you think you are, breaking into my home and making crazy accusations?’ Denise demanded.

‘Just look!’ I shoved the bank statement at him again.

‘This account’s in your name,’ Ryan said, as he glanced at the paper.

‘It’s addressed here.’

He shrugged. ‘So, you opened the account when you were living here.’

‘Check the date.’

‘Don’t listen to her nonsense, Ryan.’

Ryan glanced back at the page.

‘It’s a recent statement. That means they’ve still been arriving here after I left.’

Deep lines creased his forehead. ‘That doesn’t prove⁠—’

‘I found it in your mum’s bedside cabinet.’

Ryan’s gaze lifted to me. ‘But⁠—’

‘How dare you go through my things,’ Denise snapped, stepping further into the living room.

His attention shifted to her. ‘Mum, what is this?’

‘She must have planted it there.’