Chapter 3

"I... I was just afraid she'd run off!" Miranda stammered.

"Run off? What crime did she commit?" the officer retorted.

Miranda was left speechless, her face turning bright red.

I huddled behind the officer, my shoulders shaking as I discreetly slipped my fingers into my pocket and switched off the recorder.

I looked up, a tear falling right on cue. "Officer, my mother-in-law has never liked me. She always says I'm not good enough for her son.

"After Andrew had an accident, she kept blaming everything on me and wanted to take me out to some remote place and lock me away. I'm really scared..."

One of the officers frowned at Miranda. "Ma'am, we're sorry about your son. But you can't lock someone up. If you have a problem, go through the proper channels. You can't take matters into your own hands."

"I..." Miranda stammered, at a loss for words.

"You guys broke the door, right? The hospital has already called the police. You'll have to pay for the damage," the officer added.

Miranda's face flushed red, her lips trembling as she struggled to speak.

I stood behind the officer, looking past his shoulder at Miranda.

She looked back at me just then.

I gave her a small smile.

Just as the officers were about to take Miranda and the four burly men away, the sharp sound of heels echoed down the hallway.

"Mrs. Hampton? Mrs. Hampton!" a woman called out.

A woman hurried over, her white coat fluttering with each step, her name tag bouncing on her chest. It was Denise Wilkins, an attending physician from neurology.

She rushed up, glanced at Miranda being held by the officers, then looked at me, her face showing a perfectly measured look of surprise. "What's going on? What happened?"

"Denise!" Miranda's voice shot up an octave as if she'd just spotted her savior. "You're just in time! Tell these officers. Wasn't Andrew perfectly fine before? Isn't she the one responsible for all this?"

Denise didn't answer right away. Instead, she nodded politely at the officers, her tone gentle. "Hello, officers. I'm Andrew's college classmate, and also a doctor here at the hospital. I heard something happened to Andrew, so I came to see if I could help."

As she spoke, she shot me a glance, then looked away just as fast.

College classmate. Yeah, right. I almost burst out laughing.

That was exactly how Andrew had introduced her back then. "Just a college classmate, just a friend, don't overthink it." But later in the pigsty, I saw her cozying up to that jerk. Just friends? Please. They were hooking up behind my back, hiding behind the whole "classmate" excuse.

I remembered Denise's family background, too. Her dad owned a building supply shop in a small town, made some good money when real estate was booming a few years back, and moved the whole family up to the city.

Her mom thought Andrew's family was too poor, so she absolutely refused to let them be together. And Denise, being the dutiful daughter, went along and broke things off.

But once Andrew married me, she just couldn't let it go. After all, stolen goods always tasted sweeter

"Officer," Denise turned to the cops, sounding just concerned enough. "Mrs. Hampton just lost her son, so she's probably a bit worked up. If there's any misunderstanding, let's talk it out. No need to get physical."

The officer replied, "It's not us getting physical. Mrs. Hampton brought a bunch of people and tried to drag her daughter-in-law away. They even broke a door. We tried to talk it out, but she wouldn't cooperate."

Denise glanced at me, her eyes flashing with barely hidden annoyance before she quickly put on a gentle face. "Mrs. Hampton, please don't get upset. Let's take our time and talk things over about Andrew."

Miranda took the opportunity to break free from the officer's hold and grabbed Denise's sleeve. "Denise, talk to her. Make it clear to this bitch! Andrew never—"

"Mrs. Hampton," Denise suddenly raised her voice, cutting her off.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment.

It was just a split second, but I saw it clearly.

Miranda clamped her mouth shut, her lips trembling as she forced herself to swallow the rest of her words.

I stood off to the side, quietly watching the drama play out.

This was getting interesting. Clearly, they were not ready to expose their little "fake death" scheme yet. If the truth slipped out, that death certificate Denise signed would be all the evidence anyone needed for a murder charge.

"Cecily," Denise turned to me, her voice gentle, like she was soothing a kid. "Mrs. Hampton just lost her son, so she's really upset right now. Don't let it get to you. I'm hurting over Andrew too, but let's try to stay calm and deal with this sensibly, alright?"

She reached out to pat my shoulder, but I stepped back, her hand left hanging in the air. She withdrew it, looking a little embarrassed.

"Dr. Wilkins." I looked at her, my voice steady but not too loud. "How well do you know my husband?"

Denise paused for a moment, then quickly pulled herself together. "We were college classmates, and we've always been good friends. When I heard about his accident, I—"

I cut her off. "So you two are close, huh? How close, exactly?"