Chapter 1
My husband Lucas Reed's close female friend, Selina Linwood, trying to show off her shooting skills, grabbed an air gun and ended up seriously injuring my beloved dog, Donut, who had been with me for ten years.
I couldn't take it anymore and called the cops. She ended up spending three whole days and nights in the police station.
When Lucas found out, he just smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the corner of my mouth.
He said, "Come on, it's just a dog. Why make such a fuss over that tomboy?"
He didn't blame me at all. Instead, he was super considerate, even taking me hiking to see the event during the festival.
When we reached the top, he helped me adjust my scarf and said he'd go get me some water to quench my thirst.
"Honey, just stay right here. This is the best spot to see the event. I'll be right back," he said.
But I waited and waited, the wind was freezing, and he never came back. Everyone else had already left.
Just as I was trying to find my way down, an old mountain patrolman told me, "Miss, the path down has already been blocked. The person who brought you here took you straight to the edge of a cliff. Looks like that person wanted you dead."
The cold wind stabbed through my collar like a blade.
I wrapped my cashmere coat tighter around myself, but the icy chill still seeped right through.
The darkness was thick as ink, with just a tiny flicker of light way down at the base of the mountain.
I wanted to head down the mountain, but the path we came up was completely blocked off by several massive rocks.
The stones had obvious marks from chisels. Someone had gone out of their way to block the path.
I pushed at them a few times, but they didn't budge an inch.
Fear grew in my heart like wild weeds.
With trembling hands, I pulled out my phone, hoping to call Lucas.
But as soon as I lit up the screen, I froze.
This wasn't my phone.
It looked identical, but it was just a lifelike dummy phone.
Lucas had taken my real phone away long before.
Right before we started up the mountain, he offered to carry my bag, saying it'd make the hike easier for me.
Back then, I actually thought he was being incredibly considerate.
But now, thinking about it, that wasn't consideration at all. It was a setup for murder, planned from the very start.
I yelled into the vast, empty canyon, "Lucas, where are you?"
But all that answered me was the biting wind and the harsh, piercing cries of crows echoing through the darkness.
The old patrolman's words kept replaying in my head like a spell. "The person who brought you here took you straight to the edge of a cliff. Looks like that person wanted you dead."
I couldn't believe it. That was the man I'd married for three years.
Lucas was raised by a single parent, and I grew up an orphan.
He promised he'd always take care of me.
Even after all that drama with Donut a few days ago, he wouldn't really want to kill me, would he?
Just then, two piercing beams of light suddenly lit up from the top of the cliff.
It was the headlights of a jeep, blasting right into my face.
Instinctively, I threw up my hand to block the glare.
Once my eyes adjusted to the glare, I saw who was sitting on the hood of the jeep.
Lucas was bundled up in a thick down coat, holding a steaming cup of coffee.
Right next to him sat the woman who made my blood boil, Selina.
Selina wore the same men's down jacket, and her short hair was neat and boyish, looking every bit the tomboy.
She was idly fiddling with a brand-new air gun, and the barrel was aimed at my brow, whether on purpose or not.
Lucas looked down at me, his face stripped of any warmth or affection.
His eyes were cold, like he was watching a helpless lamb ready for slaughter.
He took a sip of coffee with a cruel smirk on his lips.
He said, "Honey, isn't this place nice?
"Selina and I searched all over the city outskirts to find this prime spot for you."
My heart dropped straight into an icy pit.
I was trembling uncontrollably, unsure if it was from the freezing cold or from anger.
"Lucas, have you lost your mind?" I yelled, my voice trembling. "I'm your wife! How could you plan to kill me?"
The wind shredded my words, scattering them so they barely reached his ears.
Lucas didn't say a word, but Selina cracked up first.
She laughed so hard that she almost tossed the air gun right out of her hands.
She said, "Wife? Judy, you really think you're hot stuff, huh?
"Lucas has put up with you for three years, staring at that lifeless mug of yours. He's totally fed up."
Selina hopped off the hood and walked over to the safety railing at the edge of the cliff.
She whistled at me, her tone cocky and playful.
She said, "Remember how you got me locked up at the station a few days ago?
"Come on, it was just a dog. Did you really have to get the cops involved?
"I was stuck in there for three days, barely ate or slept."
As she spoke, Selina pulled something from her pocket and tossed it onto the snow below.
It landed in the snow with a muffled thud.
I peered over, using the headlights to see, and my heart skipped a beat.
It was a dog tag, smeared with blood, and the name "Donut" etched right into the metal.