The bat struck him, but he didn’t cry out in pain. Instead, he collapsed to the ground, weeping uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Copperfield,” Keith stammered, “but I swear I didn’t kill Astrid. I checked the parachute myself-
11
My mother, consumed with rage, immediately cut him off.
“Michelle was the one who checked the parachute that day. She’s an amateur, and you trusted her to do that?”
Keith froze, his explanation dying in his throat.
My mother let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t act surprised. One of your colleagues told me everything. He couldn’t stand watching you coddle Michelle while treating my daughter like she was invisible.
“Astrid was pregnant, and yet you left her alone and in danger so you could go sightseeing with Michelle.”
Her voice rose and she trembled with fury.
“You even had the audacity to record videos and post them online! Why did my daughter have to bear the risk for
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Chapter 9
your Michelle?
+25 BONUS
“You knew Astrid cared about you more than anything, and you used that against her, manipulating her with your so–called love.
“When it came time to give your statement, you didn’t say word, afraid it would ruin your career.”
My mother’s tears flowed freely as she listed his wrongdoings.
“Astrid cared for you day and night while you were recovering. Even if you did not feel the same about her, how could you repay her kindness with cruelty?”
She jabbed a finger at his chest. “Have you no heart?”
Keith fell to his knees, clutching his head in despair, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Go,” my mother said coldly.
“Take Michelle and play the doting boyfriend from behind bars. Don’t come here pretending to be heartbroken.”
With those words, she chased him out of the funeral hall.
“Murderer! You’re a murderer!
“Get out! Get out!”
Luckily, I still had my mother standing up for me.
There was a time when even a frown from Keith would weigh on me.
Yet now, even as he knelt and bowed before me, I only felt disdain.
Not even my mother’s furious outbursts could awaken him to the truth.
Deep down, he still clung to a thread of hope for Michelle.
Desperate, he ran to the police officer and asked, “How did my fiancée really die?”
The officer who had taken his statement could see through his turmoil.
“Mr. Odell, I understand it’s hard for you to believe, but Miss Copperfield’s death was a homicide. And the suspect
is someone you know.”
…
Exhausted from sleepless nights, Keith was a wreck.
He longed to uncover the truth, but part of him dreaded what he might find.
