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On the third day of locking himself in the room, Caleb finally had a visitor.
Emily hesitated at the doorway, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of him. His face was
shadowed by days–old stubble, his clothes were wrinkled and stained, and a sour,
unwashed stench clung to him. For a moment, fear flickered in her eyes.
“Caleb, I know you’re a man of loyalty and honor. I understand you’re grieving Grace’s death, but you have to take care of yourself,” she said, reaching for his arm, her tone dripping with fake concern.
Caleb looked down at her hand on his arm, his eyes turning icy. “She’s dead… Do you even feel a hint of grief?”
“What?” Emily’s smile faltered, her fingers twitching nervously.
“You were the one who threw yourself down those stairs, weren’t you?” Caleb’s gaze didn’t waver. His low voice was filled with a dangerous calm. “Why did you frame her?”
Emily’s face went pale. She stammered, searching for the right words. “W–What are you talking about? Did Grace tell you something? How could you believe her over me?”
Caleb said nothing more. He simply shook off her hand and stood up, walking away without
a second glance.
The next day, he returned to work, his demeanor back to the controlled, confident Caleb
Horton the world knew. Yet, I noticed a shift. He no longer seemed interested in Emily,
often avoiding her outright.
I thought their relationship might be on the rocks, but a few nights later, he brought her
back to our home.
The moment they crossed the threshold, he dragged her to the living room, where my urn sat on the mantle. With a sharp kick to the back of her knees, he forced her to kneel in front
of it.
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Then, without a word, he tossed a stack of papers onto her lap. It was a medical report.
Emily’s hands shook as she lifted the sheets, her face draining of color as she read the
contents.
It was her physical exam results.
The report clearly stated that her kidneys were perfectly healthy with no history of disease or transplants, not even a minor surgery.
Caleb’s eyes were bloodshot, his voice a low growl. “You lied to me. You never had kidney disease. You never needed a transplant.”
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Emily’s mouth opened and closed, her breaths coming in shallow, panicked gasps. “C- Caleb, don’t look at me like that. You’re scaring me.”
“Scared?” he sneered, leaning in closer. “Swear on Grace’s ashes that you’re innocent. Go
on.”
Emily’s eyes darted to the urn, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
At that moment, her phone rang, breaking the tense silence. She glanced at the screen. It
was a number with no name or saved contact. Without hesitation, she declined the call.
However, the phone rang again. And again.
Caleb’s cold voice cut through the air. “Answer it. Maybe it’s something important.”
With trembling fingers, Emily accepted the call, and a man’s gruff voice filled the room. “When the hell are you paying me the rest of my money? That woman’s been dead for
months.”
As Emily’s face turned ashen, her hand that clutched the phone shook uncontrollably. “Y- You’ve got the wrong number,” she stammered, moving to hang up, but Caleb’s grip on her wrist stopped her.
“Wrong number? You think I’m an idiot?” The man’s voice grew more furious. “It was you,
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Emily. You paid me to forge those fake medical records and switch out the injection vials at the hospital. Now you’re trying to ghost me? Not a chance.”
Emily’s body went rigid.
“Don’t forget, you’re the one who killed Grace. We’re in this together, and if you try to cut me off, I’ll make sure you go down with me.”
The line went dead, and Emily dropped the phone, her eyes wild with fear and confusion.
I felt my spirit tremble, a cold, suffocating rage flooding my chest. So my death hadn’t been an accident. My child’s death hadn’t been a cruel twist of fate. It had been murder- planned and executed by the woman kneeling in front of my ashes.
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Emily snapped, her voice shrill and desperate, “Caleb, it’s not what it sounds like! He’s lying! It’s Grace. She’s trying to frame me, even from the grave!” She crawled toward him, her hands reaching for his leg.
“Get off me!” Caleb roared, yanking his leg free and stepping back. His eyes burned with a fury I had never seen before. “After everything you’ve done, you still refuse to tell the truth?”
“I did it for you!” she screamed, her hair a tangled mess as tears streaked her face. “I did it all because I loved you! If it weren’t for Grace taking you away, I never would have gone this far!”
Caleb’s face twisted in disgust. “So that’s why you pushed her, why you lied about your illness, why you killed our child and destroyed my family?”
Emily collapsed onto the floor, sobbing, still trying to cling to his feet. “Please, Caleb, forgive me! I love you. I did it all for love!”
Nevertheless, Caleb’s expression remained cold, and his eyes were empty as he looked down at her.
The wail of police sirens grew louder, closing in from the distance.
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I realized then that this had all been Caleb’s doing–a carefully crafted trap to expose Emily’s lies and bring my murderer to justice.
The front door burst open, and officers flooded the room. They hauled a screaming, thrashing Emily to her feet, dragging her out as she shrieked Caleb’s name, begging for his
help.
Caleb didn’t move. He didn’t even glance at her as the door slammed shut behind them.
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