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Chapter 3 A Door to Betrayal

Penulis: Absolute Orange
I stared at the lock and felt my heart sink a little further.

"Jayden, why are you doing this? Julian is your brother. I'm your sister-in-law."

I tried to stall, my mind racing to find a way out.

"Brother?" Jayden laughed until he doubled over. "When did he ever treat me like one? Growing up, all the good things were his—our parents' love, the name-brand schools, everything. And now even a beautiful wife like you belongs to him."

His voice snapped, his face twisting.

"What gives him the right? What am I missing that he has it all?"

"So, you decided to kill me?" I shouted. "You think murdering me will get you those things?"

"You're right. Killing you won't give me those things," Jayden explained, a cruel edge in his smile. "But he'll lose everything. He'll be smeared as a wife-killer, ruined, left with nothing. And I'll take his life and enjoy what's left of it."

Sudden clarity hit me.

This wasn't mere revenge. He wanted to replace Julian. Destroy him, then live as him.

"You're a lunatic," I spat.

"You think I'm crazy? You'll be crazy with me soon enough," he said, then lunged.

I screamed and dodged, circling the living room couch to keep some distance, but at nine months pregnant, I had no stamina.

He was stronger. He cornered me against the sliding glass doors until there was nowhere left to back up.

He closed in, and the familiar knife appeared in his hand.

The same knife.

"Elena, stop fighting it. Just be good and take the final road."

I stared at him, and, strangely, my mind sharpened at that moment. I could not die—not like this, not shrouded in this confusion.

"Wait!" I yelled. "Do you really think killing me will make it easy for you to take his place? Julian's company is in deep trouble. Their cash flow's collapsed and they're about to go bankrupt. If you replace him now, you'll be inheriting a mess and tens of millions in debt!"

I was gambling on the fact that he didn't know about Julian's problems.

He hesitated, looking at me with sudden doubt. "Are you lying to me?" he asked.

"You can check for yourself," I replied, keeping my voice steady. "He's been a wreck—pacing, taking calls in the study at all hours. Do you think he was calling to chat?"

I laid out my case calmly, trying to plant a seed of doubt.

Jayden's expression wavered. I knew my gamble was paying off.

Just when I thought I could buy a little more time, his phone suddenly rang.

He pulled it out, glanced at it, answered, and put it on speaker.

A voice I knew all too well came through.

"Jayden, how's it going? Is she dead yet?"

My head buzzed as if something had exploded.

Time froze.

I stared at the name on Jayden's phone screen: Julian.

Julian's voice was impatient over the speaker.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Have you done it? Don't forget what we agreed to. Once she's dead, that ten-million insurance payout is ours. Half for you, half for me. That'll cover the company's shortfall."

Jayden hung up and forced a mocking smile. "Elena, you hear that? Your perfect husband sent you to the grave for money.

"Not only did he know I was going to kill you, but this whole plan was his idea from the start."

Something inside me shattered.

It wasn't brothers at odds or a twisted desire to take over.

It was the man I loved and trusted most—my husband—conspiring with his own brother for money, plotting to kill me and the child I carried.

The news alert had been true.

The killer was Julian, but he had used someone else's hand.

No wonder Jayden always managed to show up right on time in every rebirth.

No wonder he had a key and could slip into the house without the slightest effort.

It was Julian who had paved the way for him all along.
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  • The Wife's Murder Loop   Chapter 9 A Fragile Calm

    It felt like a reprieve after surviving a storm.I was staring blankly out the window when Julian walked over, carrying a glass of water and a few capsules from the coffee table."Elena, you're doing better now, but you still need to take your medication on schedule."Sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, warm and bright.I nodded obediently and took the glass, swallowing the pills with the water. For a moment, it seemed like everything was back on track.I was well again. My husband hadn't betrayed me. He still loved me.The sudden happiness felt almost unreal, like a fragile dream.Yet, I couldn't shake the faint sense that something was off, like a puzzle finally complete, but one piece was slightly out of place.Julian must have noticed my distraction. He wrapped his arms around me. "What are you thinking about?"I shook my head and forced a smile. "Nothing… It just feels like a dream.""This isn't a dream. We'll never be apart again." He held me closer an

  • The Wife's Murder Loop   Chapter 8 Waking Up

    When I came to, the faint smell of disinfectant hovered at the tip of my nose, subtle but unmistakable.I blinked. I had been asleep in the office chair, hadn't I?The ceiling above me was a flat, clinical white. A blue-and-white striped blanket covered me. At the foot of the bed sat a man in a white coat.I knew that face all too well.I sat bolt upright and felt blood rush to my head.It was Julian."Elena, you're awake," he said, reaching out as if to take my hand. "How do you feel?"My mind was a tangle. What was happening? Wasn't I in the office? Hadn't Julian been dead?I recoiled in panic, my back slamming against the headboard."You're a ghost!" I cried."Don't be afraid," he replied, stopping and speaking softly, a sadness I couldn't read in his eyes. "It was only a dream. You had a very long, very bad nightmare."A dream?No. Julian had been killed—stabbed by Jayden. Blood everywhere. I had seen it with my own eyes."You're lying," I said, clutching the blanket a

  • The Wife's Murder Loop   Chapter 7 The Perfect Crime

    Julian's body collapsed like a lifeless heap, crumpling onto the floor.Blood spread quickly beneath him, soaking into the wood until half the room was red.It was over.Jayden stared at the corpse, then at his own hands dripping with blood. He stood frozen, as if his soul had been ripped out.I, on the other hand, once certain that Julian was truly gone, didn't hesitate. I pressed the call button on my phone.The line connected.I drew on every ounce of strength I had left in this life and let out a piercing scream into the receiver."Help! Somebody help! My brother-in-law's gone insane! He just killed my husband!"The police arrived in minutes.The scene was flawless.I curled up in the bathroom corner, blood splattered across my clothes, half-dried and sticky. Only when I heard the knock of authority did I unlock the door.Two officers dragged Jayden out. His body sagged like it had been stripped of bones.When he saw me, his lips trembled, desperate to speak.I beat hi

  • The Wife's Murder Loop   Chapter 6 The Trap

    "And then what?""Then, you wait right here for him. The moment he walks in, when his guard is down…"I didn't need to finish. He understood.Jayden's eyes locked on mine, wary and conflicted. "Why should I trust you? What if this is just your setup, your way of stalling for time?""Because we're stuck on the same sinking ship." I held his gaze, steady and sharp. "I don't want to die, and you don't want to rot in prison. And besides…"I paused, reached into my pocket, and pulled out my phone. On the screen was the photo of the insurance policy I had just taken."I've got the evidence and the recording. If I send this out, you and Julian are both finished. So, Jayden, you don't have a choice but to believe me."He went silent.A few seconds later, he picked up his phone and, just as I told him, dialed Julian's number. He put it on speaker."Julian! It's bad. She got away! She… She took the insurance policy and said she's going to the cops!"Jayden's voice trembled perfectly, e

  • The Wife's Murder Loop   Chapter 5 Two Paths

    At that moment, Jayden's phone buzzed in his pocket.When he saw the caller ID, he sucked in a breath. I didn't have to look to know who it was.He shot me a conflicted glance, then snatched up his phone and hurried out of the bedroom. Worried I might try to run, he locked the door from the outside with the key.I sprang up and rifled through every corner of the room. In the topmost compartment of the closet, I found a small safe. I tried Julian's parents' birthdays, and it opened.Inside lay a personal accident insurance policy. I was the insured; he was the beneficiary.I took the policy out and photographed it with my phone.When I was done, I sat on the bed and waited for Jayden.He came back in rigid, all coiled anger. He barely said a word before lunging at me.I didn't dodge. I let him pin me to the mattress.The knife rose. At that instant, I asked, "Is your brother starting to suspect you?"He froze."Has he been calling you useless, telling you not to get any ideas

  • The Wife's Murder Loop   Chapter 4 The Fifth Time

    The sting of such a huge betrayal swallowed me whole.Tears fell without my control, and I trembled so badly I could barely stand. "Why?" I whispered."Why?" Jayden's face went soft with pity and hard with cruelty. "Because he loves you, Elena. He loved you so much he couldn't bring himself to do it. That's why he let me do it for him so you could be freed."He stepped closer, the blade in his hand flashing cold light."Now you can leave in peace. Your death will save the husband you love. You should be happy about that, shouldn't you?"I looked at him. The tears in my eyes dried up, and my heart turned to ice.To hell with love.Even if I had to claw my way back from hell itself, I would. I would personally drag those two demons down.It was the fifth time I'd been reborn.I didn't cry or make a scene. I lay in bed and waited quietly for that familiar blade.My enemy was no longer just Jayden. It was both of them, Jayden and Julian.I was outnumbered. Trying to fight them h

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