Chapter 3
Charles pulled the zipper all the way down. Sunlight fell on a face so decomposed it was barely recognizable. The only things that could identify her were her blood-matted long hair and the ruined white dress.
I hovered above, watching Charles' face.
His expression shifted from mockery to blank shock and then to raw fear.
His pupils shrank, his mouth fell open, but no sound came out. He looked like he couldn't even breathe.
Victoria was the first to react. She took one look and turned away, vomiting.
Trent's face went pale, and he staggered back, nearly collapsing.
Charles stood frozen, as if rooted to the spot. His eyes were fixed on the necklace around the corpse's neck.
It was the only gift he had ever given me, for my eighteenth birthday. He had his assistant pick it out at random, but I loved it and never took it off.
The diamonds caught the light, flashing cold and sharp. The glare stung his eyes.
"No... this can't be..." Charles reached out, his hand trembling, trying to touch the necklace, but pulled back as if burned. "This is fake... it has to be some kind of prop..."
He suddenly looked up, eyes bloodshot, staring at the cop. "You people are just actors Madeline hired, right? How much did she pay you? I'll double it. Just tell her to stop this. This isn't funny!"
The cop met his gaze, expression cold. "Actors? Can't you smell the body right here? Or are you saying we're all part of her act? Even the corpse?" he said.
"The preliminary report shows every bone in her body was shattered. She's been dead for more than four days. That means she died the night you were streaming."
The cop's words landed on Charles like heavy blows, each one hammering straight into his chest.
"That night..." he muttered.
That night, he was the one who pushed me off the cliff. He could still remember the feel of his hand against my back. It had been warm, alive. Now all that remained was a cold, decaying body.
"No... Victoria said there were cushions..." He turned sharply and grabbed Victoria by the shoulders, his grip so tight it made her wince. "You said there were cushions! You said it! You said it!"
Victoria was trembling, crying uncontrollably. "Charles... I... I forgot... I told someone to put them there. Maybe they forgot... I don't know... I really don't know..."
"You don't know?" Charles shouted.
He completely lost control, his voice rising hysterically. "You didn't know, and you still told her to jump? You thought it was just ten feet? It's a hundred! There are rocks down there! And you didn't know?"
Trent rushed forward and pulled him back. "Charles! Are you out of your mind? Victoria's terrified too! This was an accident!"
"An accident?" Charles repeated, his voice shaking. He stumbled backward and hit the side of the police car. He stared at the body bag. Inside was me, the girl who used to follow him everywhere.
Suddenly, his legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees. The ground was rough with scattered rocks, scraping his skin, but he didn't feel it.
"Maddie..." he whispered.
No one answered. No one ever would.
Madeline, the girl who used to smile, no matter how he treated her, was gone. And he was the one who killed her.
*****
My body was loaded into a police vehicle and taken away. I followed. Charles trailed behind, pale and unfocused, barely holding himself together.
At the police station, they pulled up high-definition surveillance footage on the screen. It was filmed from another angle on the cliff, clearly capturing the entire incident.
In the video, I pointed at the railing in fear and said, "It's unstable." Charles pushed me, his face full of impatience. Victoria laughed lightly beside me. Then came the push.
The railing snapped, and I fell.
Right after, Charles' voice came through the recording. "Get back up here and apologize."
In the interrogation room, the officer pointed at the screen and spoke sternly. "Charles Lane, you knew the railing was broken, yet you still pushed her, causing her death. This is manslaughter, possibly even murder."
Charles kept his head down, his hands cuffed. He stared at the screen, watching that reckless version of himself, his whole body trembling. "I... I thought there was a mat... I thought she was just messing around..."
"You thought?" The officer let out a cold laugh.
He tossed a report onto the table. "Our investigation shows the terrain below the cliff is far too rough for any kind of safety setup. And the railing shows clean cut marks. It was tampered with deliberately."
Charles' head snapped up. "Tampered with?"
"Yes. We found saw marks on the screws." The officer looked straight at him. "This wasn't a prank. This was premeditated."
Charles' mind went blank.
Saw marks?
He remembered that afternoon. Victoria had said she wanted to check the view from the cliff and made sure all the staff were out of the way. She had been holding a toolbox, saying she was going to trim the plants.
"I need to see Victoria! Bring her here!" Charles shouted, his voice cracking. He struggled against the restraints, the handcuffs hitting the table and chair with sharp metallic clanks.
*****
Meanwhile, at the Lane estate, the police arrived to arrest Victoria.
My parents tried to stop them.
"What are you doing? Why are you taking my daughter? She hasn't done anything!" my mother shouted, almost hysterical. She wrapped her arms around Victoria, shielding her like she was ready to fight anyone who came near.
The officer showed the warrant. "Victoria Summers, you are under suspicion of murder."
"Murder? Who, Madeline?" my father demanded, disbelief written all over his face. "You're arresting Victoria because of that disgraceful girl? She died, so what? That's her own fault. What does it have to do with Victoria?"
I floated above them, hearing him say, "She died, so what?" My heart felt completely numb.
As Victoria was taken away, she struggled and shouted, "Dad! Mom! Help me! I don't want to go to jail! It was Charles who pushed her! He did it! This has nothing to do with me!"
At that moment, whatever family affection there had been was shattered completely. All that was left was naked self-interest.