Louise stood outside her own bedroom door, phone raised, hand steady.
From inside came the rhythmic creaking of the bed frame she had picked out three years ago at IKEA, accompanied by sounds that were definitely not someone assembling furniture.
She suppressed the urge to vomit. Instead, she focused on the camera framing. The lighting was decent, thanks to the hallway lamp. The audio was crystal clear.
And... Action.
She pushed the door open.
The scene before her was like a bad soap opera. David was on top, sweating like a pig at a roast, and Natalie was underneath him, her manicured nails digging into his back.
Louise didn't scream. She didn't cry. She simply kept recording.
"Smile for the camera, lovebirds," Louise deadpanned. "The resolution on this thing is fantastic. I can see every pore of betrayal."
"Fuck!" David yelled, scrambling off the bed so fast he nearly tripped over his own discarded boxers. He grabbed a pillow to cover his privates, looking like a frantic, naked toddler. "Louise! Baby! Wait—it's not what it looks like!"
Louise let out a short, sharp laugh. "David, you were literally inside my step-sister. Unless you tripped and fell, and she just happened to be naked to catch you, I think it is exactly what it looks like."
"Please, let me explain!" David pleaded, his face turning a blotchy red.
"There is nothing to explain," Louise said, ending the recording and hitting save. Cloud backup: On. "We're done. I have the evidence. I'm filing for divorce, and I'm sending this to your mother. Let's see if Ella thinks her son is 'cursed' now."
David's face went pale. "You can't do that. I'm up for a promotion! Mr. Finch will fire me if this gets out. He hates scandal!"
"You should have thought about your career trajectory before you decided to host a team-building exercise in our marital bed," Louise retorted. She turned her gaze to the bed, where Natalie was pulling the sheet up, managing to look both guilty and smug at the same time.
"Anything to add, Bestie?" Louise asked, her voice dripping with sugar-coated venom.
Natalie sniffled, summoning a few crocodile tears. "Louise... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. We just... we couldn't help it. It's love."
"Love?" Louise raised an eyebrow. "You call sneaking around behind a cancer patient's back 'love'? I call it being a trashy cliché, Nat. Honestly, I expected better from you. Actually, no. I didn't."
"It's not entirely our fault!" David interrupted, finding his courage now that he had his pants back on. "I'm a man, Louise! You've been sick for months. You're always tired, you're always at the hospital... I have needs!"
The room went silent.
Louise looked at the man she had vowed to love forever. The man she had given up her fated mate for.
"So it's my fault?" Louise asked quietly, the sarcasm slipping away to reveal the hurt beneath. "My cells are eating me alive, David. I am fighting for my life. And you think because I couldn't serve you, you were entitled to sleep with my sister?"
"I didn't say entitled..." David mumbled, looking at the floor.
"That is exactly what you meant," Louise snapped. "You are a weak, pathetic little man."
She turned to leave, grabbing the doorknob. She needed fresh air. She needed a lawyer. She needed to get away from the stench of their cheap perfume and cheaper excuses.
But David lunged.
He grabbed her arm, his grip bruising. "You can't leave, Louise. You can't post that video."
"Let go of me!" Louise shouted, trying to wrench her arm free. "I'm going to the police if you don't let me go!"
"I won't let you ruin me!" David growled, panic making his eyes wild. "You're my wife. You stay here and we fix this."
"Fix this?" Louise laughed incredulously. "There is no fixing this! I am divorcing you, and I am taking half of everything. Including the cat!"
Natalie sat up in bed, her eyes narrowing. "Wait... David? What do you mean 'fix this'? You said you were going to dump her anyway. You said she was a boring, barren burden."
David froze, caught between two angry women.
"Shut up, Natalie!" David snapped. "I just said that to get you into bed! Louise is my wife. She's... she's stable. She's good for my image. I'm not divorcing her for a fling like you."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Louise almost felt sorry for Natalie. Almost.
"Wow," Louise chuckled darkly. "Trouble in paradise already? Don't worry, Nat. You can have him. I'm generous like that."
Louise took advantage of David's distraction and shoved him hard. "Get out of my way!"
"No!" David shoved back.
It wasn't a calculated move. It was the desperate shove of a coward losing control.
But Louise was weak. Her body was frail from the chemo, her balance compromised. She stumbled backward. Her feet tangled in the rug.
She flailed, reaching for something, anything—but her hand only grasped empty air.
CRACK.
Her temple collided violently with the corner of the solid oak nightstand.
The world exploded in white light, then instantly faded to gray.
Louise collapsed to the floor, a doll with its strings cut. A warm, sticky sensation spread rapidly through her hair.
"Shit! Louise!" David screamed, dropping to his knees. "Louise, wake up! I didn't mean to!"
He fumbled for his phone, his hands shaking so hard he dropped it twice. "I have to call 911. She's bleeding. There's so much blood."
He was about to dial when a hand snatched the phone away.
"Give it back!" David shouted at Natalie. "She's dying!"
"Exactly," Natalie said. Her voice was icy calm.
David blinked, looking up at her. Natalie stood over them, naked wrapped in a sheet, holding the phone out of reach.
"What?" David breathed.
"Think, David," Natalie hissed. "If she wakes up, what happens? She saw everything. She has that video. She will divorce you. You'll lose your promotion. Mr. Finch will fire you. You'll be broke, disgraced, and paying alimony to a woman who hates your guts."
David looked down at Louise. Her eyes were half-open, glazed and unfocused. She was trying to speak, but only a gurgle came out.
"But... she's my wife," David whimpered.
"She's an anchor dragging you down," Natalie stepped closer, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But if she dies? It's a tragic accident. The poor, sick wife fell and hit her head. You're the grieving widower. You get the sympathy. And..."
Natalie smiled, a cruel curving of lips. "You get the life insurance. One million dollars, David. Plus the double indemnity for accidental death."
David's breathing hitched.
Divorce and ruin... or Death and millions.
Louise, lying on the floor, felt her consciousness flickering like a dying candle. She couldn't move her limbs. But she could hear. She could hear every word.
Call the ambulance, she begged silently. David, please. I was your wife. I loved you.
She looked up at him, trying to find the hero she had married seven years ago.
But David wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Natalie. He was looking at the phone.
"We... we can't just let her die," David whispered, but he didn't reach for the phone.
"We aren't killing her," Natalie soothed, stroking his hair. "We're just... letting nature take its course. She was sick anyway, David. She was in pain. This is a mercy."
"A mercy," David repeated, the word tasting like ash.
"Be a man, David," Natalie scoffed, her voice hardening. "I love your big cock, but sometimes you really lack the balls to do what's necessary. Do you want to be rich, or do you want to be ruined?"
David looked at Louise one last time. He saw the blood pooling around her head. He saw the betrayal in her dimming eyes.
He stood up.
He stepped back.
"I'm sorry, Louise," he whispered.
He turned his back on her.
Rage, cold and sharp, pierced through Louise's fading mind. He's leaving me to die. For money. For her.
Natalie crouched down next to Louise. She didn't check for a pulse. Instead, she placed her bare foot squarely over Louise's heart.
"Father always thought you were better than me," Natalie whispered, leaning in close so only the dying woman could hear. "Because you were the good sister. The smart one."
Louise tried to gasp, but her lungs felt heavy as stone.
"Sorry, Bestie," Natalie smirked. "But here's a little family secret to take to hell with you: Your mom was a bitch. She stole my dad first. I'm just balancing the scales. I stole your husband. I stole your life."
She pressed down with her foot, harder.
"Goodbye, Louise."
The last thing Louise saw was the victorious smirk on her killer's face.
I hate you, Louise thought, her soul screaming into the void. I hate you both. If there is a God... if there is a Moon Goddess... let me come back.
Let me burn you both to ash.
And then, the darkness swallowed her whole.