From a Wrong Turn to Mr. Right novel Chapter 47

Everyone on Jasper Lane was floored.

He never imagined his own phone would betray him like this.

Out of all the times for his phone to die, why now? It had stuck with him through taking photos, but as soon as he needed to prove himself—bam. Dead.

Adelina Lane already didn’t believe a word he said. Now, with this fiasco, his credibility was toast.

He scratched his head, sheepish. “Look, I… I totally forgot to charge this morning. It just shut off, I swear. But I really did take the pictures, I’m not messing with you, Aunt Addie. You gotta believe me.”

He was practically ready to swear on a stack of Bibles.

Adelina Lane just gave a noncommittal “mm-hmm” and handed him a charger she fished out from a drawer.

Truth was, ever since Jasper started telling her about what happened in the parking lot, she’d begun to believe him—a little, anyway. But it still sounded so…

Well, not just far-fetched. Downright unbelievable.

It reminded her of when Lily George was in the hospital. She remembered the day Ethan Carter came back from a business trip—he showed up at the hospital once, then vanished. Evan Dale had told her Ethan went off to get a marriage license, but at the time, she’d figured it was just a flimsy excuse.

Now, hearing Jasper’s story, Adelina’s heart was pounding, her mind racing with wild, ridiculous ideas she couldn’t shake.

As soon as his phone had enough juice, Jasper turned it back on, fumbling with the buttons. When the photos finally loaded, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Look, Addie, here,” he said, thrusting the phone into her hands.

The screen froze on a picture: Ethan Carter shielding Olivia Bennett as she climbed into the passenger seat. You could only see a sliver of her face, but even from that angle, she was stunning—fair skin, sharp nose, the kind of features that made you look twice.

Ethan’s hand was hovering protectively over her head, his eyes downcast. You couldn’t see his expression, but you could imagine the tenderness there.

Adelina’s eyes went wide with shock. Her fingers tightened around the phone, staring as if she could burn a hole through the screen.

Jasper kicked back, propping his feet on the coffee table, grinning like a kid who’d just aced his SATs.

Ethan always did things his own way. If he was seeing someone and hadn’t told the family, there had to be a reason.

Jasper had been so caught up in his own excitement, he hadn’t stopped to think what Ethan might want.

But now? Too late to stop Addie.

He was doomed.

Jasper followed after her, practically begging, “Aunt Addie, please, you can’t tell Ethan it was me who spilled the beans. I’d like to live a little longer, you know?”

She shot him a look, shrugged, and gave a noncommittal grunt, which he decided to take as a promise.

Jasper nearly wept with relief. “Thanks, Auntie. Well, it’s getting late. I’ll, uh, leave you to your call. Don’t let me disturb you!”

And he made his escape, hoping Ethan would never find out who the snitch was.