Author's pov
Three years ago, after Aria set the fire and disappeared, the forensic team couldn't figure out how old the burned remains were.
At the time, Alpha Damien believed she was really dead.
The thought of her dying in agony, hating him to the very end, destroyed him. For days, he drowned in grief and despair. He even wanted to join her in death.
That afternoon, after burying what he thought were her remains, he stayed alone at the cemetery. He drank and talked to the ashes like she could hear him.
He drank way too much and said way too much.
Driving back drunk, he was speeding and crashed his car. The accident wasn't bad - just some glass that sliced through his pants near his groin.
He saw an opportunity and spun a lie for Noah to tell Sally. The crash had l
