Dozens of eyes stared at me in disbelief. My mother-in-law’s lips trembled.
“How… how is this possible? Evelaine, this has to be a joke.”
Her face drained of color, as if the ground beneath her had given way.
I met their eyes and said evenly,
“Do you think I’m joking?”
The weight in my voice froze the air.
My mother-in-law staggered back as if struck by lightning, nearly collapsing. My sister-in-law caught her, shaking her head.
“No… I don’t believe it. Sister-in-law, my brother was so good to you—there’s no reason for you to kill him!”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I reached into my bag and drew out a bloodstained knife.
“This,” I said flatly, “is the weapon I used to kill him.”
Gasps and shouts erupted. Guests stepped back in fear, faces draining of color. Only my daughter stood still, staring at me as though I were a stranger.
Snap!
The sound of a slap echoed through the hall. My mother-in-law’s palm burned on my cheek as she screamed,
“Evelaine, you beast! No wonder you insisted on sending Tilly to the dog meat restaurant—you were guilty and afraid!”
“My son… even in his last moments, he was still clutching your birthday gift. He never wronged you in all these years. Why did you kill him? Why did you make him die like that?!”
My sister-in-law’s grip dug into my shoulders.
“Do you know, the day he donated his kidney to you, he was in such pain he bent the hospital bed rails—but he still got up to take care of you because he didn’t want you to worry? He couldn’t even take care of himself, but he learned to cook, to massage, to care for your child—anything to make your life easier for twenty years!”
“My brother was the best man in the world to you! Why did you kill him?!”
The cries of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law rippled through the crowd, igniting outrage.
Someone pulled out a phone and began livestreaming.
“Breaking news! Remember that murder-and-dismemberment case that shook the city? The killer is the victim’s wife!”
“Her husband was known for being a saint to her. He transferred all his assets to her before marriage, worked to provide for her, never let her lift a finger… and she killed him!”
“Even the dog they raised together—she sent it to a dog meat shop!”
The comment feed exploded with condemnation. Rage filled the room.
Police arrived within minutes. They collected the knife, then snapped cold metal cuffs around my wrists.