Then I went out alone to the balcony.
Watching Rachel being driven away, I dialed Jessica Carter.
“Jessica, did you find it?”
“David, we’ve been searching at the foot of the Rocky Mountains for half a month. Still no body.”
“Are you sure she’s really dead?”
“I’m sure.”
“Then who is this woman now?”
“I’ve sent someone to investigate. David, I’ll find more people. Even if we have to scour the entire Rocky Mountains, we’ll find the body.”
“Please. Do your best.”
The next day, when Rachel’s relatives learned I had abandoned her, they dropped everything and stormed into my house.
They beat me savagely, leaving me curled on the ground, clutching my head.
One of my ribs even broke.
If they hadn’t worried about killing me, they wouldn’t have stopped.
And yet, miraculously, after just one day in the hospital, I was already able to walk.
By the next morning, I was discharged.
The doctor marveled at my recovery, calling it superhuman.
Leaving the hospital, I immediately drove to meet a friend.
He discovered that Mark owed massive gambling debts and had beaten his wife until she fled.
When I asked him about Rachel, he told me earnestly:
“She really seems to have lost her memory.”
Just yesterday, Mark had taken Rachel to a local church to pray for peace.
My friend arranged for an acquaintance to walk past them, but Rachel acted like she didn’t know the person at all.
“Could she be pretending not to know?”
“No. Her reaction wasn’t staged. It was genuine.”
“Then… maybe she truly doesn’t recognize that person.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind. Just keep investigating. Let me know the moment you have anything.”
“Got it.”
Leaving my friend’s house, I rushed to the Rocky Mountains.
By the time I arrived, night had already fallen.
I met Jessica at our agreed location.
She reported the past two weeks of searching: aside from a few animal carcasses, no body had been found at the base of the mountains.
I refused to believe it.
I stayed with them, searching for several more days.
Then my mother called, her voice urgent, not even asking where I was.
“David, you must come back tonight, no matter what.”
“What happened?”
“If you don’t come, Rachel is going to marry Mark tonight!”
I froze.
“Your father-in-law decided to marry your wife off to Mark. The wedding will be held tonight at the Green family mansion. This is your last chance to redeem yourself. If you miss it, you’ll lose her forever.”