Chapter 3

3

The day of the incident flooded back into my mind.

Soren was supposed to be working through the night at the office. I had gone out late to bring him coffee and a midnight snack.

I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard something in the living room.

I've always been sensitive to noise. I knew immediately that those footsteps didn't belong to Soren.

I locked the bedroom door, my fingers trembling as I tried to dial 911.

Then, I heard Soren's voice coming from the hallway.

It sounded like it was coming from a phone, a recording of him crying out for help.

"Tessa, don't you want to save your husband?"

Lacey's voice was like a demon whispering in my ear.

"If you don't come out, he's dead. Call the cops, and I'll kill him right now."

Soren's voice played on a loop, begging for me. Even though I suspected a trap, I couldn't risk a single hair on his head being harmed.

I grabbed a heavy metal hanger from the closet and unlocked the door. Lacey charged in instantly, knocking me to the floor.

She grabbed me by the collar and landed a punch that sent blood spraying from my nose.

She looked satisfied with my pathetic state and began tossing the room, looking for something.

She was looking for a specific case file.

Dizzy and bleeding, I forced myself to move. While her back was turned, I grabbed a small marble statue from the nightstand and smashed it against her arm.

Lacey let out a howl of rage, her eyes turning blood-red. She lunged and wrapped her hands around my throat.

"If you want to die that badly, I'll help you!"

"Before you go, here's a secret. You think Soren is at the office? He spends every night in my bed!"

"You're dying for a man who doesn't even want you. Tell him that in the next life!"

She squeezed with terrifying strength. The world went black as the air left my lungs for the last time.

A piercing scream from my mother snapped me back to the present.

My mother rushed past me, stumbling up the stairs to slap Soren across the face.

Soren, the man I had put on a pedestal, had never been so humiliated.

"You dare hit me? Fine, don't expect any more mercy!"

Before I could react, security guards swarmed my mother, dragging her across the pavement. Her sleeves were torn in the struggle.

I screamed and tried to pull them off her, but my hands passed through their bodies like smoke.

I watched in despair, hating my own weakness and the monsters standing before me.

My mother's shoes scraped against the ground, leaving raw marks on her skin.

"My daughter's funeral is tomorrow! Her soul is watching you!"

"I'll find another lawyer! I'll appeal! You'll rot in hell for this!"

I wanted to hold her, but I was tethered to Soren. I watched her frail figure disappear into the distance.

The crowd dispersed. Lacey reached out and gently touched the red mark on Soren's cheek.

"I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't come back, you wouldn't be suffering like this."