Chapter 4

The police took me to the station, and my phone was brought along as evidence.

The entire way there, I kept protesting that I was innocent and telling them about all the bizarre things that had happened to me.

The officers only frowned.

Once we arrived, I was taken into an interview room.

One of the officers kept tapping the table.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound made my nerves worse with every second.

I could barely sit still.

"The owner of the convenience store reported you for allegedly..."

Before he could finish, I shot to my feet and glared at him.

"I didn't do anything!"

The two officers reacted immediately, forcing me back into the chair and trying to calm me down.

"I didn't do it, Officer!"

"I don't even know what's happening!"

"Everyone keeps misunderstanding me. Everyone keeps accusing me of things I never did."

"If I've done one thing wrong, it was buying this phone two days before New Year's."

"That's it!"

"Because of this phone, my sister called me a monster. My parents disowned me. Even my wife, the woman I've loved and built a life with, is determined to divorce me."

"I don't understand!"

"All I did was buy a phone. What the hell did I do wrong?"

After hearing everything I said, even the officers seemed somewhat moved.

But they were police officers.

They still had to remain objective and examine the phone.

A preliminary inspection found nothing unusual.

A more thorough forensic analysis would take time, so for now, the officers decided to simply turn it on and look through it themselves.

At that point, the police were my last hope.

I prayed that whatever had affected everyone else wouldn't affect them too.

I just wanted someone to prove I was innocent.

The pale glow from the phone screen illuminated one officer's face.

Officer Brooks.

The instant he looked at it, his expression changed.

A vicious light flashed in his eyes.

Then, without warning, he lunged at me like he wanted to tear me apart.

"You sick bastard!"

"I'll arrest you myself and drag you into court!"

"I'll make sure everyone knows exactly what kind of monster you are!"

"You disgusting piece of trash!"

The other two officers quickly held him back.

Then they looked at whatever was on the phone.

The sympathy in their eyes vanished too.

All that remained was cold disgust.

My heart sank.

I couldn't understand it.

Why?

Why was everyone reacting this way?

Even the police?

After a brief discussion, one of the officers looked at me coldly.

"Based on what we've found, you're suspected of committing a sexual offense against a young woman."

"You'll need to remain here while we investigate."

I stopped struggling.

At that point, I almost felt numb.

I was waiting for them to take me away when another officer suddenly entered the room.

He leaned over and whispered something into Officer Brooks's ear.

Officer Brooks immediately frowned.

He shot me an angry, unwilling look before letting out a heavy breath.

"Mr. Henderson, someone has posted bail for you and provided evidence supporting your innocence."

"You're free to go for now."

His gaze remained cold.

"But if I find out you really committed a crime, I'll arrest you myself."

I stared at him in disbelief.

Then relief and joy flooded through me.

Someone had proved I was innocent.

Someone had come for me.

The moment I walked outside, I saw Yvonne.

Behind her stood my parents and my younger sister.

Yvonne's face remained expressionless.

But I was already overwhelmed with emotion.

For one stupid second, I wanted to rush over and pull her into my arms.

Then she tossed a document at me and took half a step back.

The disgust in her eyes was impossible to miss.

Behind her, Mom and Dad turned their faces away as though they were ashamed even to look at me.

My sister, who had only just turned eighteen, kept her head lowered without saying a word.

"Don't misunderstand."

Yvonne's voice was ice-cold.

"Just because I paid to get you out doesn't mean I want to make up with you."

"Seeing a disgusting animal like you makes me sick."

She pointed at the document in my hands.

"Those are divorce papers."

"Sign them."

"I don't want to spend one more day, one more second, having anything to do with you."

Then her expression became even colder.

"And there's something else."

"I just found out I'm three months pregnant."

My breath caught.

Yvonne stared straight at me.

"Don't worry. I'm not giving birth to the child of a monster."

"I'm terminating the pregnancy."

"You chose to do something this disgusting."

"So you'd better be prepared to lose everyone."

With that, she turned and walked away without looking back.

I was left standing alone outside the police station, clutching the divorce papers.

Yvonne had already signed them.

Her signature was decisive.

Impatient.

As if she couldn't get away from me fast enough.

She was even going to end the pregnancy.

The child we'd created together.

She wasn't leaving me a single thing to hold on to.

I slowly crouched down, the divorce papers clenched in my hand.

There was so much pain trapped inside me that I didn't even know how to let it out.

Just one week ago, Yvonne and I had still been the perfect couple everyone envied.

She'd loved me deeply and had been hoping more than anything that we'd have a child.

Mom and Dad had been healthy.

My sister had just turned eighteen and won an international award.

The whole family had been looking forward to spending New Year's together.

And I'd thought I had everything I could ever want.

Then I bought one phone.

Now my parents hated me enough to disown me.

My sister called me a monster and wanted nothing to do with me.

And my wife wanted to terminate our child and divorce me.

My head was filled with questions.

Had I really done something unforgivable to my family?

If I had, why couldn't I remember any of it?

And why did everyone seem to know the truth the instant they saw that phone?

Everyone except me.

I was the only one who couldn't see what was wrong with it.

---

With those questions still spinning through my head, I walked into a psychiatric hospital.

By then, I was convinced of one thing.

I must have done something terrible.

I just couldn't remember it.

I needed a therapist to hypnotize me and help me uncover whatever I'd forgotten.

If I really had committed some unforgivable crime, I would turn myself in.

Then maybe, somehow, I could earn my family's forgiveness.

With that thought in mind, I spent nearly all my savings on the treatment.

But after the hypnosis session ended, the therapist still couldn't find anything.

He could only shake his head.

"There is no memory of you committing a crime."

"Unless someone somehow altered your memories, there are really only two possibilities."

"Either the memory is completely inaccessible..."

"Or the crime you're describing never happened at all."

I tightened my grip around the phone.

For a moment, I considered showing it to him.

But after everything that had happened, I stopped myself.

I walked out of the hospital alone.

Outside, I leaned against the railing and gave a bitter laugh.

Maybe there really was no way out.

Maybe I should just die.

What was the point of staying alive anymore?

Cars streamed past the entrance.

I stared at the traffic.

For one terrible moment, I thought about running straight into it and ending everything.

Then a voice suddenly shouted from behind me.

"Mr. Henderson!"

I froze.

"That phone!"

The voice was getting closer.

"I don't think that phone came from our store!"

My entire body went still.

And in that instant, every strange thing that had happened suddenly clicked into place.

I finally understood.

I knew exactly why all of this was happening.