Chapter 2

I had just taken out my phone when Jeremiah snatched it from my hand and smashed it against the wall. A sharp crack echoed through the air as the phone shattered into pieces.

"Is this mess not big enough already? If money can solve it, why call the police? Your family's the one that died. I'll pay for a proper funeral, and I'll cover the neighbors' compensation, too. Think of it as cleaning up after you."

I stared at him.

When his dog died, he had mourned for days. Now, he was talking about three human lives as if they were nothing.

"Jeremiah, three people lost their lives today. Do you think money can make that go away?"

Faced with my interrogation, he looked uneasy for a moment.

"N-No, that's not what I meant."

Kylie tugged at him. "He's already offering to cover the compensation for you. What else do you expect him to do?"

When I didn't answer, her eyes instantly reddened. "Do you really want me to go to prison?"

The moment those words left her mouth, the guilt on Jeremiah's face vanished, his expression hardening.

"Olivia, how can you be so vicious? Even if Kylie goes to jail, your family won't come back. The yard's security cameras were broken anyway. Just say you forgot to turn off the gas before leaving. Even if you're sentenced, I'll pay to get you out early. We can still get married afterward."

It was always like this.

No matter what happened, one word from Kylie and he was ready to throw me under the bus.

Last year, we had planned a camping trip. She sent him a message saying her coworkers were isolating her, and he left me stranded in the wilderness so he could take her shopping to cheer her up.

And one time, he promised to pick me up at the airport, but Kylie sprained her ankle, so he stayed overnight at the hospital with her while I walked three hours into the city because I couldn't get a ride.

The only reason I kept forgiving him was that during our senior year field trip, he had saved my life.

A falling tree trunk would've crushed me if he hadn't pushed me out of the way, breaking his leg in the process. That injury still hadn't fully healed.

Everything I had endured in these two lifetimes, I would consider repayment for that debt. From now on, we were even.

"Since you're not getting engaged tomorrow, I'll head home with Jeremiah," Kylie said sweetly, clinging to him and acting as if the charred bodies nearby had nothing to do with her.

Overwhelmed with grief and fury, I rushed forward and grabbed her arm, dragging her to the bodies.

"When gas levels spike, alarms go off. How could they not have heard it? Did you tamper with something so they'd die in there?"

I forced her down in front of the bodies and pressed her head toward the ground.

Someone had lost their life because of her actions. How could she walk away unscathed?

Kylie struggled and burst into tears.

"If you hadn't insisted on marrying Jeremiah, none of this would've happened! Why are you blaming me? They're dead, and they'd probably resent having a daughter like you!"

Seeing her in this state, Jeremiah finally lost his patience. He shoved me away and pulled her into his arms.

"Olivia, are you done? I actually felt sorry for you losing your family, but now I think you brought this on yourself. They're already dead. What's the point of making a scene? Do you have to see Kylie in pain before you're satisfied?"

That shove sent me crashing onto the concrete. My wrist twisted painfully, and the pain rendered me speechless.

Jeremiah stood there, panting, as he continued to berate me, "Your parents never wanted you to marry me. Now that they're gone, no one's making things difficult for me anymore. You keep saying you love me. Do you really want to see me kept under your dad's thumb for the rest of my life?

"And your sister spent money as it grew on trees. Now that she's gone, that's one less financial burden for you."

I sat there clutching my injured wrist, while my heart felt as though it were splintering.

This was the man I once loved, the one who promised to protect me for the rest of my life, yet he had secretly wished for my family to die.

I forced myself to stand.

"So that was your plan all along."

Seeing the resolve on my face, Jeremiah turned away and avoided my gaze.

"Jeremiah, I was wrong about you. I accept all the suffering I endured, but I won't marry you. It was a serious accident. Even if you try to stop me from investigating, do you think no one else will look into it?"

He panicked and opened his mouth to speak, but a voice cut him off, "Arland Police Department. Where are the bodies?"