Chapter 6

Yvie sobbed, "Martin, I think Bea really doesn't want you to marry me."

Martin snorted. "Don't worry about her. We'll just get married as we should, and she'll show up when she sees that there's nothing she can do."

After all, he couldn't wait to tell the world that he was marrying Yvie, believing that I would stop bothering them when everything was set in stone.

He simply wasn't aware that I had gotten over him—that if I were still alive, I would've boarded a flight to leave Ocean City.

Meanwhile, Yvie was still sobbing. "Why does she hate me so much, Martin? She almost killed me when she pushed me off the stairs, and now, she's trying to stop us from getting married… Your mother would definitely stop us if she knew…"

Martin scowled further. "She can't do anything aside from sweet-talking that hag!"

I laughed sardonically, not bothered to defend myself.

He couldn't hear me, though he never listened to me even when I was alive anyway.

-

Soon, they were in the bedroom, their laughter like knives cutting into my ears and soul as I sat miserably on the couch.

I glanced downward, my very spirit shuddering.

My child had barely taken form… but they were gone, just like me.

If Martin knew I died with his child, he'd be smiling in his dreams, wouldn't he?

That someone finally got rid of me for him…

Bzzt!

Martin's phone rang at three in the morning, and he was at once annoyed when he picked it up. "Yeah?"

"Mr. Fitzgerald?" the voice on the other end asked. "We've found a decapitated body by the river, and we've confirmed that the bracelet she's wearing belongs to your sister. Can you please come over to verify?"

Martin sprang to his feet, his breathing turning rushed while his head hurt as thunder clapped outside the window.

When the lightning flashed, he seemed to see a figure in the living room that resembled someone he knew. "Bea?"

I stared at him in surprise—could he see me?

Still, he was soon cursing, picking up his jacket as he left.

Later, Yvie stepped out of the bedroom barefooted, grinning. "Oh, my dear Beatrice Cox… You can't blame me for this. If there's anyone to blame, it's Martin for his success. Just ask yourself—is there a woman who doesn't want him? I'm actually surprised that you're stupid enough to buy my bullshit. Hah! You deserve to be dead!"

I was at once wailing as I rushed up at her, trying repeatedly to wring her neck. "You! You killed me! I'll kill you!"

Naturally, I couldn't touch her or do any damage, even if I wanted to kill her with every fiber of my being.

I couldn't do a thing, let alone get my revenge…

-

Jason Liston, the officer in charge, told Martin as they entered the morgue, "She was sexually assaulted before her death—her clothes weren't hers."

Martin's whole body was stiff even as he stood beside the slab. "The bracelet… Beatrice lost it two months ago."

"Are you sure it's the same one?" Jason asked.

"Yeah. It's my grandmother's…"

Martin trailed off, leaving out the part about it being an heirloom passed down to the daughters-in-law of each generation in his family.

Then, after a long silence, he said, "She has a mole on her right breast and a birthmark to the left of her front crotch."

Jason appeared taken aback—Martin had previously mentioned that I was his sister.

But why would a brother know such details?

Jason traded looks with a colleague but nodded at the forensic doctor to search the body. "If your description is fine, then the body isn't Beatrice Cox."

Martin slowly closed his eyes, clearly relieved.

Still, while the forensic doctor worked, Jason took Martin outside. "It seems that there are things you've been hiding from us, Mr. Fitzgerald… Who are you to Beatrice Cox again?"