Olivia’s eyes burned with hatred. “You could’ve avoided this pain. It’s your fault for not dying in that kidnapping.”
“Aren’t you afraid of the law?” I shot back.
“Law? Come on. Michael and I were promised to each other as kids, so we’ve been inseparable since childhood and never betray each other.”
“Just arrange a little ‘accident’ for you. Who would ever suspect a ‘loving husband’ such as Michael Cordero is a murderer?”
Olivia’s eyes were full of disdain. When her phone rang, she gave me a disgusted look and answered the speaker.
“Honey, are you finished yet? I’m craving those dumplings on East Street. Pick me up later, okay?”
Michael’s deep voice replied, “Of course, whatever my dear wife wants.”
After the call, Olivia smirked. “Hmph. Only women who aren’t loved end up as mistresses.”
With that, she turned and walked away in her high heels.
I froze when Michael said “wife.” In our two years of marriage, he’d never called me that.
I held my breath. The phone’s ring sounded like a death knell in the silent room.
When I answered that call, an angry voice said, “What’s going on with your Barkworth Family? Mr. Barkworth has been dead in our hospital for almost six months and no one has come to claim him?”
“What do you mean?”
I froze and was shocked. My ears buzzed and my mind went blank.
Snapping back to reality, I hurriedly grabbed the phone to ask for the address. I got up unsteadily, left the hospital in a daze and took a cab to the place.
When I arrived, all I saw was a corpse covered in a white sheet. Grief and anger overwhelmed me and I could barely cry.
My heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand, heavy and suffocating pain. I realized my bank card didn’t have enough money when the medical staff member told me to pay at the front desk.
I stopped for a while, checked in disbelief and saw my balance was zero. I called Michael over ten times, but he didn’t answer. He finally picked up on the thirteenth call.
“Michael…”
I barely said a word before the line was filled with a woman’s moans and a man’s muffled groans.
I stood frozen for three minutes, my mind spinning. When I came back to reality, the call had ended.
Pale and shaken, I called Uncle Peter. After paying, I took my father’s body to the crematorium.
I stepped out and smiled at him. “Uncle Peter, thank you.”