Chapter 3

I saw Lylah's eyebrows twitch in pain. I immediately switched back to my grieving husband persona.

"Lylah! I'm so sorry! Even in death, I can't stop hurting you!"

I threw myself onto her, wrapping my arms tightly around her neck. I could feel her body trembling as I squeezed, her heart racing like a trapped bird.

Sasha and the parents scrambled to pull me off.

"Caleb! Are you trying to strangle her?"

"But... she's already dead, isn't she?" I asked, tilting my head innocently.

They all froze, exchanging panicked glances. They realized they'd almost blown their cover.

"I'm sorry. I just love her so much. I can't let go."

I slowly loosened my grip. Killing her now would be too easy. She needed to suffer first.

For the first two days of the wake, I didn't sleep. I stayed right next to that casket, watching.

Her parents kept trying to send me home to rest.

I knew they wanted a window of time for Lylah to make her escape.

But they had no idea that while I was acting the part of the grieving widow, I was busy behind the scenes.

While they were focused on me, I had my best friend Leo go to my house.

He grabbed every legal document, every insurance policy, the company seal, and the keys to the safe deposit box.

"Did you get everything?" I texted Leo.

"Locked and loaded," he replied. "The guys you hired for the ritual are on their way."

Soon, a professional mourning service I'd hired arrived at the funeral home.

I paid them extra to perform a continuous, five-day vigil around the casket. I told them not to let anyone near the body for religious reasons.

I turned to Lylah's parents. "Mom, Dad, in my hometown, we believe a sudden death leaves a restless soul. This ritual will help her move on peacefully."

"I'm sure you don't want her to become a wandering ghost, right?"

Before they could object, I added, "I'm exhausted. I'll leave the vigil to the pros and you two for a bit."

The moment I left, I went straight to the police station with the death certificate Sasha had forged to finalize the record.

Then I went to the mobile carriers and shut down every single phone line in Lylah's name.

Next was the bank. As expected, she had already drained our joint accounts, leaving a balance of exactly twenty cents.

I didn't waste time crying over my failed marriage. I simply closed the accounts entirely.

Then came the big move. I went to several private lenders and used my remaining assets as collateral to take out massive cash loans.

I funneled half into a fake real estate deal with Leo's company and moved the other half into an offshore account.

By the time Lylah rose from the dead, she wouldn't be able to touch a single penny.

Even if God came down to help her, she was screwed.

In my last life, she took advantage of my grief to ruin me. Now, she was going to learn what it felt like to have the rug pulled out from under her.

I walked back into the funeral home and looked at the casket with a cold smile.