The Kiss of Death

The police officers rang my doorbell at 5:00 am that morning. I yawned and stepped out in my nightgown to answer the door."Are you Ivy Lane?"I nodded. "Yes, that's me."The officer leading the group was a woman in her 40s, who presented her badge. I glanced at her name, and it was Eleanor Castillo."We're from the Everwood Police Department. Your husband, Chester Paget, was involved in a serious car accident last night on the Everwood section of the ring highway. He died at the scene."From the moment I saw the officers at my door, an uneasy weight had been pressing on my chest. The phrase "died at the scene" dropped like a final anchor, grounding all my swirling emotions in an instant.This moment was something I had rehearsed in my mind more times than I could count."An accident?" Feigning shock, I froze for a moment, murmuring under my breath as I covered my face with both hands."No… No, that's impossible…"When I lowered my hands, my eyes were bloodshot, and a single,

"From now on, you are the prime suspect in Chester Paget's murder!" Eleanor said as she leaned on the table with both arms, her sharp gaze drilling into me."The lab results are out. We found sleeping pills in his bloodstream! Aren't these Diazepams yours? Tell me, why did you murder your husband?"I froze for a moment before abruptly standing, my emotions spiraling out of control as I shouted, "That's impossible! This bottle contains Carbamazepine!"I have bipolar disorder—why would there be Diazepam in my house?"Anyone with basic knowledge would know that Diazepam was used to treat depression and insomnia, but it was contraindicated for bipolar patients. Using it could worsen symptoms and lead to severe adverse effects!I reached out to grab the bottle, but Eleanor was faster. She snatched it back before I could touch it. My hand grasped at the air, and I slammed the table in frustration."You can't just frame me like this! You can check everything—my phone, my computer—they'r

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't left that unlabeled bottle there, he wouldn't have grabbed the wrong one and accidentally taken the sleeping pills…"If I hadn't delayed him with my makeup… If I hadn't lost control of my emotions and argued with him on the road—if I hadn't let him kick me out of the car—maybe this wouldn't have happened…" I said between sobs.The police must have reviewed the dashcam footage repeatedly after the accident, so what I said was nothing but the truth.I pleaded with Eleanor through my tears, "Ms. Castillo, you must find out who switched my medication and who caused my husband's death!"Eleanor scribbled a few notes in her notebook, sighed, and offered me a few comforting words before asking, "What was your relationship like with your mother-in-law?"I froze for a moment, and I wiped my tears with the back of my hand."My mother-in-law treated me very well. When my parents passed away in an accident six years ago, they left me nothing but a large compen

Florence had rushed over from her hometown as soon as she got the news. She stormed into the room, pulled back the white sheet covering Chester's face, and gasped.His facial injuries were not as severe as expected; the bloodstains had been cleaned, and his features were still recognizable.She took one look at him before collapsing onto the floor, wailing loudly. "My son! My poor son! You died so horribly!"Noticing me nearby, she suddenly scrambled to her feet and lunged at me as her face twisted with rage. "Ivy Lane! You wretched woman! It's all your fault! You killed my son!"Eleanor and the forensic examiner immediately rushed forward to restrain her.Unable to reach me, Florence flailed her arms in the air, pointing a trembling finger at me as she cried out, "My son would never take sleeping pills while driving! She must have drugged Chester!"I lifted my head and showed them my carefully prepared expression—a mix of grief and shock, as well as trembling pairs of lips."Mo

Florence's eyes were swollen and bloodshot, a clear sign that Chester's death had hit her hard.The moment she stepped through the door, she started yelling, "Ivy Lane, I'll have you know right now that even if you killed my son, you'll never get a single cent from the Paget family!"My son's assets and this house will never belong to you, and I'll make sure you end up in prison!"How ridiculous. What assets did she think Chester could possibly have left?I had already discreetly investigated this through a friend at the bank. Since our marriage, Chester's income had been steadily transferred into accounts under Florence's name and her company.Even my premarital savings had been tricked out of me under the guise of "helping with financial turnover". Meanwhile, Florence's wedding gift for me had gone toward renovating the house Chester had bought before our marriage.In short, if I had sought a divorce while he was alive, I wouldn't have been entitled to his income or property—an