My parents actually went to Asher’s workplace, the crematorium, the place where I vanished from the world.
When the crematorium’s manager called Asher, I heard my mom’s cries through the phone.
Feeling their pain, I was anxious and sorrowful, urging Asher to hurry. I wanted to see my parents, but knowing the truth was out, Asher hesitated.
It wasn’t until my mom’s angry shout came through the phone that Asher reluctantly got up.
“Asher, you scoundrel! I entrusted my daughter to you, is this how you care for her? You lied to me, saying she went missing, not letting me call the police, while keeping another woman at home.”
“Asher, I bet you and that woman are behind my daughter’s death. I’m calling the police. I want justice for Adeline.”
D
3:14 PM
<
My parents unknowingly guessed the cause of my death. Asher panicked and rushed to the crematorium, where I finally saw my parents.
My mom was crying, her hair disheveled, barely able to stand. My dad held her, wiping his tears. They looked extremely distraught.
As soon as Asher arrived, my mom lunged at him, tearing at him.
“Asher, you scoundrel, did you kill my daughter?”
ם
She cried and hit Asher, “I said, with Adeline gone, how could there be another woman in your house? If I hadn’t come here to find out, how long
were you planning to hide this? You said Adeline went missing!”
“Asher, you’re not human! Give me back my daughter’s life!”
My mom cried her heart out, and Gideon came over to pull her away, saying, “Auntie, Asher isn’t like that. Things must not be as you think. Please calm down and listen to what he has to say.”
My mom pushed him away, eyes wide with anger. “With a mistress living at home, it’s not what we think? Do we have to catch them in bed for it
to count?”
“Ask him, you ask this unfaithful man if he’s keeping a woman at home!”
“Asher, you’re not human! Give me back my daughter’s life!”
My mother was crying uncontrollably, and Gideon approached to gently pull her away, attempting to comfort her. “Auntie, Asher isn’t that kind of person. This isn’t what you think. Please, calm down and listen to what he has to say.”
My mother pushed him away, her eyes blazing with anger. “The other woman is living in our home, and it’s not what we think? Do we need to catch them in the act for it to be real?”
“Ask him yourself! Go and ask this unfaithful man if he’s keeping another woman in our house!”
She pointed accusatorily at Asher, her voice loud and piercing. Gideon also looked at him, urging, “Asher, explain what’s happening. You didn’t bring Cora home, did you?”
But Asher couldn’t explain because it was undeniably true that Cora was staying at our home. The neighbors could all attest to it.
“I’m sorry…”
In the end, Asher lowered his proud head and apologized to my mother. Gideon was in disbelief.
“Asher, did you really bring Cora home? How could you be so heartless?”
Asher admitted to his betrayal, and the image of the distant Professor Asher shattered. People around pointed at him with scornful looks, and even Gideon stopped defending him.
My father stepped forward to support my mother, his tone softening as he addressed Asher.
“Adeline is gone, and whether you cheated or not, she can’t see it. I just want to know how she died. It’s our last request as her parents.”
“Please, tell me clearly, how did Adeline die?”
After saying that, my father bowed to Asher, a man who had always stood tall, now bending because of me.
[Dad, it’s your unfilial daughter. Don’t ask this murderer. He’s the murderer!]
[Dad, get up. Don’t beg him. Don’t!]
My soul wandered restlessly around them, pleading with my parents not to bow to this murderer.
[He won’t tell you who the killer is. It’s not worth it for me, Dad!]
I shouted the last sentence, my soul becoming unstable.
“Asher, are you even human? Adeline loved you so much. She left her parents and moved far away to marry you, quit her job to be a housewife for you. Don’t you miss her at all? Aren’t you afraid that Adeline will come back to haunt you?”
<
о
My mother’s voice was filled with tears, each word a sharp accusation against Asher, but he still clenched his teeth, refusing to speak, so my father prepared to call the police.
As he dialed, Asher snapped out of it. He fell to his knees, “Dad, Mom, it’s my fault. Please don’t call the police. I’ll tell you everything.”
Whether it was a sudden pang of conscience or fear of my father calling the police, Asher finally started to tell the truth.
“That day, it was our fifth wedding anniversary. I wanted to go home and celebrate with her. I swear I was ready to go home, but then Cora contacted me, saying she was unfamiliar with the area…
“So you brought Cora home on your anniversary?”
“How could you be so foolish!”
Before he could finish, Gideon interrupted, disbelief filling his voice.
Asher nodded slightly, and in the next second, my father kicked him over, my mother stopping my father, forcing herself to look at Asher.
“Let him continue. We might as well hear how much Adeline suffered alone.”
So Asher continued.
“It was because Cora used reverse psychology on me, and I acted on impulse. I really didn’t mean to lock Adeline in the fridge. You have to believe me.”
Asher looked at my parents hopefully, wishing for their understanding, but as the victim’s parents, they couldn’t.
“Just because of that woman’s words, you locked my daughter in the fridge. Asher, you really are something!”
My parents were furious, one taking deep breaths, the other stomping their foot, forcing him to continue talking. They didn’t expect Asher’s
next words to hit like a thunderbolt.
“I was too busy with work and forgot… forgot to let Adeline out…”
“What did you say?”
“How could you forget something so important? Is my daughter’s life worth so little to you?”
Almost as soon as Asher finished speaking, my mother’s voice rang out, furious. Gideon, however, spoke up with confusion.
“No, something’s not right. When Adeline was brought to the crematorium for makeup, the body didn’t seem frozen.”
My parents hadn’t seen my body, so they couldn’t tell, but Asher had. The panic of recent days left him with no time to think. With Gideon’s reminder, he started to recall and then spoke to my parents with newfound joy.
“I remember now, when Adeline was brought over, her whole body was decomposed. It didn’t look like she died from freezing, but rather from being scalded by hot water. Her death had nothing to do with me.”
“Dad, Mom, Adeline’s death has nothing to do with me.”
Asher’s guess seemed more reasonable with Gideon’s testimony. He felt it had nothing to do with him and stopped blocking my dad from calling the police.
That call, which came half a month late, was finally made.
Justice for me was on the way.
The police arrived quickly. This case had no witnesses or evidence; the few clues were pieced together by everyone.
According to the clues, the police went to find the most important person in the case, Cora.
They found out that the place where my body was picked up was a house Cora had bought years ago. She never rented it out, so the only person who could have taken me in and out was her.
Unfortunately, the police were a step too late. By the time they arrived, Cora had already run away with a suitcase.
3:14 PM!
