Chapter 3

Reva stumbled backward, her foot crunching down on more crystal shards with a sharp "crack" that hit me like a hammer to the chest.

I bowed my head in disbelief, staring at the ruined crystal ball and the mess of debris on the floor.

Marshall finally snapped and bellowed, "Enough with the crazy act! Look at yourself—you're filthy, you stink, you look like a total lunatic!"

"It's gone... everything's gone..." I mumbled. The crystal ball was destroyed, and Miranda was gone too.

Marshall seized my collar and roared, "Tell me—where'd you hide Miranda?"

I gazed at him blankly and spat out the words, "Let's divorce."

"Keep faking it!" Marshall backed up a step or two. As I bent down to gather the shards, he beat me to it, scooping up a handful and flinging them at me while screaming like a madman.

"You just want to piss me off, huh? Fine, I'll play your little game! Dragging Miranda into this—you're just desperate for my attention, aren't you? Well, you've got it now!"

It stung at first, but soon I went numb.

Regret flooded through me—regret for not getting home sooner to stop him from taking Miranda out, regret for marrying him in the first place. Tears streamed down my face, and I couldn't hold them back.

Marshall eventually wore himself out and stopped, still dead set that the death prove was a forgery. Grinding his teeth, he snarled, "How long are you gonna drag this out?"

I lunged forward, grabbing his shoulders and screaming with everything I had, "Marshall! Do you even have a shred of humanity left? You took Miranda out—why the hell didn't you bring her back?"

I crumpled to the floor, burying my face in my hands as sobs wracked my body.

Reva freaked out and tried to restrain Marshall, but he flung her off. Pulling out his phone, he shot me a venomous glare. "Just you wait—I'll expose your lies!"

Marshall barked those threats but didn't have the guts to actually dial the number.

I cried until I had nothing left, then hauled myself up off the floor.

It didn't matter if he believed me or not.

Even if he did, it wouldn't bring my daughter back.

"Kellie, come back here! We're not done talking!"

Marshall gripped my hand like a vise, refusing to let go.

My face was drained of color.

"Marshall, you're off the hook now. Go ahead and sleep with Reva whenever you damn well please."

This wasn't Reva's first time posting stuff on social media just to bait me.

Every few days, she'd share explicit photos of them together, purely to get under my skin.

But every time I brought it up with Marshall, he'd swear they were AI fakes and tell me to stop overthinking it.

"Kellie, what's wrong with you? Fine—I won't hang out with Reva anymore. I'll stay with you and Miranda. Is that what you want?"

Marshall looked at me, his eyes holding an unexpected hint of desperation.

From behind us, Reva's voice rang out in disbelief.

"Marshall?"

I methodically peeled his fingers away from my hand, one at a time.

"No need. Knock yourselves out."

Marshall's eyes welled up, but he pressed on. "Alright, I get it—I broke my promises to you. I'm sorry. I apologize. Now can you just tell me where Miranda is?"

Right then, my phone started ringing.

As I answered it, Marshall exhaled deeply, smirking like he'd cracked the code.

"Bet that's your mom, huh? I knew it—you stashed Miranda at her place, and now she's complaining about the bother and wants you to pick her up."

From the sidelines, Reva chimed in quickly.

"Kellie, seriously? How could you lie to Marshall and make him freak out like that?"

I stayed silent and pressed the answer key.

The moment the voice on the other end spoke, the smug look drained from Marshall's face.

"Is this the family of Miranda? This is the funeral home calling. We wanted to know when you'd like to set a time for Miranda's cremation."

I forced down my feelings and said evenly, "I'll head over today."

Marshall froze for a beat, then let out a cold laugh.

"You hired an actor for this charade too? Like I'd fall for that!

"I'm going straight to your mom's to get the truth—then we'll see how long you can keep pretending!"

With that, he slammed the door on his way out.

Reva called his name, shot me a dark, lingering glare, and followed him out.

On the day we buried Miranda, Marshall turned up.

He'd searched high and low for her in every spot she might've gone, making her death the talk of the town.

I carefully placed a Barbie doll and a shiny new crystal ball into her grave.

Marshall stumbled forward, desperate for one last goodbye with Miranda, but I stood in his way.

"Kellie, I'll own up to my screw-ups, but all I want right now is to send her off properly. Please—just let me see her one more time."

The others all chimed in on his behalf, saying Miranda might've wanted to see Marshall for the last time too.