Chapter 4
That night, Claire posted a photo of the pink diamond necklace on Instagram, clearly showing it off.
The caption read: [Feeling grateful. Thanks for the beautiful gift. I really love it.]
Edward was still working late when he scrolled through his feed and saw the post.
There was no warmth in his eyes this time. He slammed his phone down and called his secretary in.
The secretary rarely saw Edward lose his temper like this. He immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
"Mr. Foster, what's wrong?" the secretary asked.
Edward's anger only grew. "What do you think is wrong?"
"I... I don't know, Mr. Foster. Please tell me," the secretary stammered.
Edward pressed his lips together, loosened his tie, and let out a long breath.
He opened his mouth to say something, but he caught himself and changed the subject.
"Did Grace come to the office today?" he asked instead.
"No," the secretary replied.
"Did she call while I was in the meeting to confront me about something?" Edward pressed.
"Confront you?" the secretary repeated, puzzled.
What did Edward mean by "confront"? What would I even confront him about? Oh, was it about that pink diamond necklace he gave Claire?
Last night, I actually thought maybe it was for me.
But this morning, that hope was totally crushed.
Not that it mattered. Even if it had been mine, I would never get the chance to wear it anyway.
Claire's post made everything clear. The necklace was from Edward.
Her friends were already filling the comments with congratulations.
They all believed Claire was the one Edward cared for most.
If I were still alive, I would have been furious. I would have called him and asked why he gave that necklace to Claire.
The secretary shook his head. "No, Mr. Foster. Mrs. Foster didn't call at all."
"How long is she going to keep being so stubborn?" Edward muttered
Suddenly, he slammed his fist down on the desk in anger.
The secretary froze and then realized he'd missed something he was supposed to handle.
He quickly pulled out his phone and glanced at it, his face going pale.
He said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Foster. I forgot to get the necklace back from Ms. Lowell this morning..."
At that moment, Edward's phone rang. Some of the anger in his face faded as he grabbed it right away.
But the second he saw the caller ID, the spark in his eyes faded away once more.
Meanwhile, I felt a rush of excitement bubbling up inside me.
"Grandma, what's up?" Edward said softly.
"Edward, why hasn't Grace come today? I can't get through to her. Is she not coming over?" his grandma asked.
When I was still alive, I went to his grandma's place every Friday to have dinner with her.
"She didn't go see you today?" Edward asked, clearly surprised.
"Not just today," the old lady said. "She didn't come last week either. Did you two have a fight again? Is she so upset that she doesn't even want to see me?"
"Wait, Grandma. You mean Grace skipped last week, too?" Edward said, his voice tightening.
"That's right," his grandma replied.
It finally hit Edward that something was wrong.
He knew me better than anyone. No matter how bad our fights were, I never let them affect his grandma.
Since the day we got married, I had never missed a single Friday dinner at her place.
"I'll hang up now and go home to check on her," Edward said, concern clear in his voice.
He ended the call and rushed out of the office.
He quickly called on his phone. I drifted closer and realized he was finally dialing my number.
But as soon as he dialed, an automated message came on. "The number you have dialed is currently unavailable."
Edward stepped on the gas and sped back home.
He turned on every light in the house. The rooms were bright, but the silence was unsettling. Edward stood there, frozen.
Then he rushed upstairs, opening doors one after another.
He searched everywhere, looking for any sign of me.
There was nothing.
Even the vanity was covered in a thin layer of dust when he brushed his hand across it.
Edward was getting more and more anxious. He rushed downstairs and checked the security cameras.
When the footage showed that I had driven out two weeks ago and never returned home, Edward's whole body trembled.
His phone rang suddenly.
"Edward, did you find Grace at home?" His grandma's worried voice came through.
"Grandma, please rest," Edward said quickly. "I need to deal with something important."
He hung up in a hurry.
Then he started calling my friends one by one, his movements frantic.
These were people he usually avoided, but now he called every single one of them.
He clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.
No one had seen me.
When Claire called, he declined the call without hesitation.
Instead, he called someone else, his voice shaking.
"I'm reporting my wife missing," Edward said.