Chapter 7
<
The reporters showed up for the funeral.
My parents and Pete donated half their
money to charity.
“You’re not touched by this?”
I took the water from Jeremiah and rolled my
eyes.
I saw my parents holding each other.
They looked decades older.
I could hear my mom crying.
Jeremiah looked at me and Pete.
Then he called his assistant.
L
“It’s time, you can send it out.”
The people got the message.
The reporters shouted.
“Jeremiah’s wife looks like Ashley.”
“Are they twins?”
“Ashley was an only child.”
“Was she faking her death? Is this all a
show?”
“The Sullivans took in a foster daughter and
liked her more.”
Pete glared at the reporters.
Г
He signaled to his secretary.
The guards pushed them out.
Then he got the message on his phone.
It was Ashley and Jeremiah’s wedding photo.
“Where did you get this!”
Pete grabbed the secretary.
He was excited.
He believed I wasn’t dead.
“Ashley isn’t dead! She’s not dead!”
The Sullivans were shocked. They couldn’t
“If Ashley’s not dead, why isn’t she here?”
“Is she mad at us? Won’t she forgive us?”
My mom started crying. Sean froze.
“It’s okay, my sister will forgive us.”
“Let’s go find her, I’ll beg her to come home.”
Pete looked at the live stream of me and
Jeremiah.
“You always were so brave to face your
future without me.”
They went to the wedding.
The place was empty.
Г
There was only a screen.
“Susie May! We want Susie May! Sorry,
Ashley, we failed you…”
Then, the place exploded.
Pete stared at the wedding picture of me and
Jeremiah.
“Is that how you felt?”
Susie May was locked in Jeremiah’s
basement.
She had lost a lot of weight.
She was excited to see me.
<
If I was alive, she could still get help from the
system.
But it didn’t work out.
She couldn’t hear anything.
She already chose to stay in this world.
Jeremiah put his fingers on her wounds.
Then he put a pill in her mouth.
“This is new. It’ll keep you awake while you’re
in pain. Just tell me what I want to know.”
“Or else, I’ll torture you.”
Jeremiah’s face was cold.
L
I reached for him.
“This has nothing to do with you. I won’t hurt
you.”
Then Susie May started crying.
“Jeremiah, it’s me, it’s Smith, I’m back, do you
not want me anymore?”
