Chapter 3

I was sprawled over the toilet, listening to their voices, and the irony was almost unbearable.

After I finished throwing up, I lifted my head and stared at my pale, haggard face in the mirror.

There was no sign of the warmth or trust that once filled my eyes. All that remained was a chilling, lifeless calm.

From this day forward, the Anya who once loved Benjamin and trusted Nikita was gone. What survived was a vengeful spirit, hell-bent on revenge.

I began collecting evidence secretly. My supernatural power had become my deadliest weapon.

I claimed I wasn't feeling well, so I spent most of my days on the balcony, basking in the sunlight.

The balcony faced the community garden, which was basically the gossip hub for all the birds in the area.

Every day, I'd leave out birdseed and fresh water, and soon enough, my balcony became the favorite hangout for feathered visitors.

Sparrows, magpies, doves, and even the myna bird that sometimes escaped from the neighbors' place all became my free informants.

"This morning, I saw Benjamin making out with a young woman in his car!" a sparrow chirped, pecking at the seeds.

"Oh, I know! That woman is Nikita. She lives upstairs! They always mess around whenever Anya's out," a magpie added.

"That's not even the worst part! Yesterday, I overheard them scheming to snatch all of Anya's money," a dove piped up.

"They said Anya's got a family history of heart problems. If they just set up a little 'accident' to scare her into a heart attack, nobody would ever know," another bird chimed in.

All those scraps of gossip came together in my head, painting a twisted, evil scheme.

There was no heart disease in my family. My parents died in a plane crash.

Benjamin and Nikita were just spinning that lie to make their murder look like a natural accident.

As I listened, I recorded their conversations on my phone.

These bird talks couldn't be used as direct evidence in court, but they pointed me in the right direction for my investigation.

Tracy, my parrot, became my main spy at home. She could mimic human voices, something none of the other birds could pull off.

I started deliberately training her.

I dug up a bunch of voice messages Nikita had sent me and played them for Tracy on repeat, so she'd get familiar with how Nikita sounded.

Then, whenever Benjamin and Nikita were on a call, I'd set Tracy's cage by my bedroom door and let her listen in on their conversations.

At first, they were really wary and avoided me whenever they could.

But I pretended my illness got worse, acting all sluggish and uninterested in anything, barely responding to Benjamin.

They thought my poor health had made me depressed, so they gradually let their guard down.

One time, Nikita came to visit me while Benjamin was at a meeting at work.

She sat by my bed, putting on a fake show of concern, then slipped out to the balcony to call Benjamin. She probably thought I was too out of it to hear anything.

But what she didn't know was that Tracy's cage was hanging right at the other end of the balcony.

Nikita spoke to Benjamin on the phone. "Benjamin, she's looking really bad today. I think she's pretty much finished."

"So, when are we doing this? I'm dying to get it over with."

"Your wedding anniversary? Yeah, that's perfect. It's almost poetic, dying on the day she loved most."

"Did you get the pills ready? Increase the dose. Make sure she never wakes up!"

Tracy caught every word of their conversation.

As soon as Nikita left, I shut the door and pulled out the recorder I'd been keeping ready.

I turned to Tracy and said, "Tracy, mimic that woman's voice for me."

Tracy tilted her head, cleared her throat, and then, using a voice identical to Nikita's, she said, "Did you get the pills ready? Increase the dose! Make sure she never wakes up!"

I hit record.

We did it over and over again, until Tracy could perfectly mimic Nikita's venomous voice, down to every inflection.

I gripped that tiny recorder like a blade ready to strike.

That still wasn't enough. I needed something more direct, an undeniable proof.

One evening after dinner, I leaned into Benjamin's arms, putting on my best weak and fragile act. "Benjamin, I keep having these nightmares about my parents lately.

"I was thinking maybe we could install some security cameras in the backyard. Maybe watching the flowers and those cute little birds every day would help me feel better."

I made sure to put extra emphasis on the words "cute little birds."

Benjamin had always gone along with whatever I wanted, and ever since I started "getting sick," he was practically at my beck and call.

He didn't suspect a thing. He stroked my hair and said softly, "Alright, it's all up to you. Install as many as you want. Whatever makes you happy."

The very next day, he got someone to set up four HD cameras for me.

All the locations were handpicked by me.