His hands shook as he lifted them to touch my face.
My mother’s sharp voice cut through the room, “Don’t you dare touch my daughter! You’re not worthy of her!”
She shoved him back with all her might.
Now a hollow shell, Keith crumbled beneath her push.
Keith kept muttering to himself, “It’s impossible, impossible… Astrid was pregnant with my child, she can’t be dead.”
Wanda, filled with frustration, couldn’t bear his delusion any longer.
“Yes, we’re all just pretending, right? Meanwhile, your precious Michelle is the only one who’s real and kind.
“She’s so amazing that she fled the country again, didn’t she? This time, to treat her ‘murderous‘ tendencies, I suppose?”
Still in denial, Keith shook his head. “Michelle wouldn’t kill anyone, she…”
“Do you still believe that?” Wanda’s icy gaze pierced right through him.
Keith hesitated, uncertainty creeping into his expression.
Wanda didn’t hold back. “If she’s so innocent, why did she run the moment she heard the details of the investigation?
“Admit it, Keith. You can’t convince yourself of her innocence anymore. That’s why you’re here, at the mortuary. What you’re looking at now, this is the truth. Astrid is dead
1/2
Chapter 8
His face crumpled, and for the first time, Keith broke down Tears flowed uncontrollably as he sobbed.
What use were his tears now?
+25 BONUS
Even if I saw a hint of remorse in him, I could never forgive him. My child and I could have survived if things had been different.
Michelle had insisted on flying the hot air balloon into Zone A, a treacherous area with dangerous terrain.
I initially refused and advised them against it but Michelle, with her sweet words and pretense of curiosity about Keith’s job, acted as though she
She appeared so considerate was simply trying to understand him better.
Keith, blinded by his indulgence of her, didn’t just ignore my concerns–he accused me of jealousy, of being petty.
go along, but Keith said I was being unreasonable, claiming that Michelle had
- ut.
For my child’s sake, I declined to
only invited me so I wouldn’t feel left
The level of gaslighting was astounding.
I thought Michelle was merely being her usual passive–aggressive self, trying to irritate me. I never imagined she would want to see me dead.
Even if I hadn’t anticipated her true intentions, Keith had no excuse.
After jumping from the balloon with Michelle, if he had quickly landed instead of flying leisurely through the sky, admiring the scenery with her, he could have returned in time to help me.
Even tossing me a functioning parachute from the air would have given me a chance at survival.
But all he could see was Michelle.
Her heart condition? There were so many hospitals for that.
Keith should have saved me. From a professional standpoint, it was his duty.
Abandoning, and failing to rescue me in time was a gross dereliction of responsibility.
The police had called him repeatedly, trying to reach him.
The park staff had also tried to contact him, yet he remained calm, taking his time to get back to them.
He thought dismissing the situation with a simple “Astrid knows how to skydive” would resolve everything.
