Chapter 6

On the fifth day, Winona walked into Samuel's office with a printed document. "Sam, take a look at this."

She placed the paper on the desk and pointed to a line of data. "I pulled up Emily's bank statements. Before she left, she transferred some money from your joint account."

Samuel took the paper and glanced at it. "50 thousand dollars?"

"Yeah. It went to an unknown personal account. I couldn't find out who owns it, but the transfer happened the day before she left," Winona said, her voice low, as if she were confessing something she was ashamed of.

"I didn't want to bring this up, but you've been waiting for her to come back, and I'm afraid..." she said, trailing off.

Samuel set the paper down and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for a moment.

"That's how she is. Last time we fought, she spent 10 thousand dollars on a bag to piss me off," he said.

"So you think it's the same this time?" Winona asked.

"What else could it be?" Samuel rubbed his temples. "She's never been good with money. I've gotten used to it. But this time, she indeed spent more than before. Leave the account info with me. I'll have someone check it out."

"Okay," Winona said, gathering the printout. She walked to the door and then turned back. "Sam, there's something I've been too embarrassed to ask. Did Emily mention divorce before she left?"

Samuel looked at her, saying nothing.

"I'm not prying into your private life. I was going through Emily's things in the office and found a business card from a law firm," Winona said, pulling out a light blue card from her pocket. "It's a local firm that specializes in divorce cases."

Samuel stared at the card, his jaw tightening. "She was really thinking about divorcing me?"

"I'm not sure. But if she was, then the money she transferred makes sense. Hiring a lawyer, finding a place to live, and moving to a new city all cost money," Winona said.

Winona placed the card on the desk. Before walking out, she said softly, "Don't be too upset."

After the door closed, Samuel sat there, staring at the card for a long time.

Then he picked up his phone and opened the chat with me.

The last message was from him, sent three weeks ago. [What do you want? You're not answering my calls or messages. Are you a child? If you want a divorce, come back and talk. Don't make a fool of yourself.]

It was still unread. He typed a new message. [Did you really hire a lawyer?]

He sent it, but it remained unread.

He sent another one. [Emily, you need to stop.] It was still unread.

He locked his phone and set it face down on the desk.

I stood behind him, watching those gray "unread" messages.

I saw every single message he sent.

In the last thirty days, he'd sent me fourteen messages.

The first three were: [Where are you?]

The next seven were: [When are you coming back?]

The last four were all accusations.

Not a single one asked, "Are you okay?"

That lawyer's business card was a fake, made by Winona.

I'd never set foot in a law firm.

But Winona knew that once she put that card in front of Samuel, he wouldn't bother to check.

He'd get more convinced that I wanted to leave him for good, and that I left on my own. Every time I disappeared without a word, it was all part of my plan.

So he didn't need to look for me. He didn't need to call the police. He didn't have to care.

Winona had done stuff like this so many times. Each thing was small, and each thing made sense. Every time, she nudged everyone to the same conclusion: Emily left on her own. She wasn't worth anyone worrying about.

I drifted outside the window, watching the sky from the sixth floor.

Jinsolin was enveloped in fog today. The white mist obscured everything, and I couldn't see a thing.

It was like the last night I was alive.

The fog was so thick that night that I couldn't make out the river past the bridge railing.

Winona texted me, but it wasn't from her usual number. She claimed to be someone with proof that Winona had faked her study abroad history and wanted to meet at Riverbend Bridge.

I went there with a bottle of water and drank half of it on the way. When I got to the bridge, my legs suddenly gave out.

I didn't remember much after that. I only remembered something hitting me in the back of the head. Then I fell, and freezing river water rushed into my mouth and nose.

But before I walked out the door, I did one last thing. I took the ring Sam gave me when he proposed out of my jewelry box, clutched it in my palm, and tore with indecision for ages. In the end, I swallowed it.

I had no other choice. If something really happened to me, my face would be unrecognizable, and my fingerprints would be erased.

Winona was a forensic specialist. She knew better than anyone how to wipe out a dead person's identity. But she couldn't dig into my stomach.

That ring was my final trump card. On it were three words: [Sam to Emily.]

The only person in this world who could recognize those words was him, if he wanted to.