I am a doctor.

One day, I come across a weird patient when I am on duty.

The first thing she says when she sees me isn't that she feels unwell somewhere. Instead, she says something hair-raising.

"Dr. Cantrell, your girlfriend is a murderer."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" I shoot back with widened eyes and shoot up from my chair.

I feel offended.

She calmly says, "She won't be home tonight because she needs to deal with the body. You will know whether what I say is true by tonight."

Beau's POV

I had a gentle and beautiful girlfriend. My friends envied me, and my family approved of her. I used to feel proud that she was mine.

But all of that shattered in an instant because of the patient sitting in front of me.

"Dr. Cantrell, your girlfriend is a murderer. She's going to kill you."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

My eyes widened as I rose from the chair. I was deeply offended by what I had just heard. "If you insult my partner again, I'll have security escort you out."

My girlfriend, Kaylee Dishman, was gentle by nature. At work, she was approachable and well-liked by everyone. How could she possibly be a killer?

The woman in front of me looked deathly pale, as though all the color had been drained from her face. She didn't seem the least bit surprised by my reaction. "You'll believe me eventually," she said. "You're a man of conscience."

Her gaze slowly drifted to the plaque on my office wall. "Your girlfriend won't be coming home tomorrow night. She's going to dispose of a body." After saying that, she got up and left.

I frowned, convinced the woman was suffering from some kind of mental disorder. She should probably see a specialist.

For the rest of the evening, I rested in my office. Since it wasn't the holiday season, the emergency department remained quiet throughout the night.

It wasn't until morning that my coworker came to take over my shift. "Beau, did anything exciting happen last night?" he asked.

"I was on duty. What could possibly happen?"

Marshall Covington looked surprised. "You didn't forget Halloween was last night, did you?"

I froze for a moment. Halloween? Wasn't it just another made-up holiday?

"Dr. Covington, as a medical professional, I suggest you stick to scientific reasoning," I said, rolling my eyes at him. I gathered my things and stood up to leave.

After getting home, I took a shower and immediately fell asleep on the bed.

When I woke up again, it was already evening. I picked up my phone and sent Kaylee a message. "Kaylee, shall we have fried chicken tonight, just like always?"

It was our little tradition. When we first started dating, we were both broke students. For all four years of college, we always celebrated our anniversary with fried chicken. Today marked our anniversary once again.

"I can't. Something came up at the office," she replied. "You're on your own for dinner tonight. I'll be home late."

I let out a soft "oh," a hint of disappointment settling in. Still, it didn't matter too much. Over the past two years, we had both become busy with work, and missing anniversaries wasn't unusual anymore.

I was about to make myself a simple meal at home when my phone rang. It was Kaylee's coworker and best friend, Winter Langley.

"Beau, you two are seriously relationship goals," she said. "Kaylee even asked the boss for permission to leave work early today because it's your anniversary."

I was taken aback as I read the message on my phone. Kaylee had clearly told me she was busy at work and couldn't come home tonight. But now, Winter said she had taken leave specifically to celebrate our anniversary with me.

The stories didn't match. So, who was lying? Or was Kaylee secretly planning some kind of surprise for me?

With that thought, I didn't bother making dinner and simply waited in the living room for her surprise to arrive. One hour passed, then two, then three…

By 10:00 pm, she still hadn't returned. Staring out at the dark, overcast sky, I took a deep breath. In the end, I never made the call.

It was because I remembered what that woman had told me. "Your girlfriend won't be coming home tomorrow night. She's going to dispose of a body."

Another 30 minutes passed, and Kaylee still hadn't returned. It was already past the latest time she would normally come home. I tried calling her, but I couldn't get through at all.

Just as I was beginning to worry that something might have happened to her, she sent a message. "I'm in a meeting at the office. I'll head back a bit later!"

As I read it, my heart sank. Winter had already uploaded a video to social media of herself relaxing at home and watching TV—so how could Kaylee still be in a meeting at work?

Something suddenly clicked in my mind. Could that woman really have been telling the truth? I didn't think twice and drove straight to the hospital.

I walked up to the nurses' station. The nurse on duty looked at me in surprise. "Dr. Cantrell, what are you doing here?"

"Vanessa, pull up last night's patient records for me," I ordered, my face stiff and tense.

Noticing my expression, Vanessa McKinnon didn't press for details and immediately went to handle it.

"You were on duty last night, and only one patient came in. Here."

With that, she handed me a printed medical record. I looked down at the name and phone number on it.

The woman was called Amber LeBlanc. I went back to my car and dialed her number. "Hello, Dr. Cantrell," she said, as if she had been expecting my call.

"Where's Kaylee?" I asked.

She let out a laugh. "I told you, didn't I? She's disposing of a body."

I gritted my teeth. "Don't be ridiculous. Kaylee would never kill anyone."

Amber paused for a moment. "So, you still don't believe me, huh? But I'll make sure you do."

With that, the line went dead. I sat in the car, my mind in complete turmoil.

When I got home again, Kaylee had already returned and was asleep. Seeing her peaceful, almost childlike expression, I finally felt a sense of relief. No matter what, I would still choose to trust her.

But just as I was about to drift off, I heard her murmur something in her sleep that sent a chill down my spine.

"Amber…"

…

The next morning came, and I woke up with dark circles under my eyes. Kaylee had already made breakfast and was waiting for me.

"Kaylee, were you really working overtime at the office last night?" I asked, biting into the bread in my hand. It felt unusually dry today, and even the milk couldn't wash it down.

She frowned. "Of course, I was."

"But your company has never stayed open that late," I said, faltering slightly.

"Beau, what are you trying to say?" Kaylee suddenly raised her voice. "Are you really questioning me? What right do you have?"

I couldn't understand why my usually gentle girlfriend had changed so suddenly.

"That's not what I meant—"

"Enough. We should take some time apart. Beau, you're not who I thought you were."

Kaylee kept her eyes fixed on me until she walked out the door. I knew we had fallen into a silent standoff.

Her strange behavior left me completely confused. I couldn't help but suspect that Amber was pulling the strings behind everything.

Upon arriving at the hospital today, I found several police officers waiting in my office.

"You must be Dr. Beau Cantrell."

"Yes. What's this about?"

"We've found that a woman named Amber LeBlanc came to see you two nights ago. Is that true?" the middle-aged officer asked, watching me closely.

"Yes." I paused briefly. "She told me something strange."

"What did she say?"

"That someone would kill me. I can't make sense of it."

I hesitated for a moment. In the end, I decided not to bring up Kaylee.

The officer's expression immediately turned serious. He handed me a death certificate with Amber's name and photograph. Cause of death: neuropathic pain.

The officer said, "Amber has been dead for nine days."

I froze. By the time I came back to my senses, the police had already left.

My back was drenched in cold sweat. In hindsight, Amber's behavior that night didn't seem like that of a living person at all.

For the rest of the day, I felt distracted and uneasy. Just as I was wrapping up my shift, Amber came looking for me again.

"Hello, Dr. Cantrell," she said with a smile. "I'd like to have a check-up."

I stared at her, my palms damp with sweat.

There had to be a connection between her and Kaylee—perhaps they knew one another.

To get to the truth, I took her blood pressure and heart rate.

Strangely, what the police had said didn't seem to be true. Amber appeared completely healthy, with no abnormalities in her vitals.

"I don't know what your connection to Kaylee is, but she's a good person," I said. "I hope you won't hurt her."

My words seemed to land heavily on Amber, and she stared at me in silence for a long moment.

Finally, she gave a faint smile. "Things aren't always what they seem. We'll meet again, Dr. Cantrell."

With that, she walked away. Only then did I notice the goosebumps covering my skin.

As I was packing up to go home, I spotted an empty syringe on the floor. The wear on the needle made it obvious it had been used before.

Still, the strange green liquid inside didn't match anything stocked in the emergency department.

The moment I recognized the label on the syringe, every hair on my body stood on end. A cold wave surged from my feet to the top of my head.

NECH nerve-blocking agent—this was a powerful drug with serious side effects, used specifically for treating neuropathic pain.

Only one possibility remained—Amber was the one who had left it there.

…

The police officers came to see me.

"Dr. Cantrell, we've reviewed the surveillance footage from the night you met Amber," the young officer said with a confused look. "It shows you were alone in your office the entire time. You never moved."

"That's impossible."

My eyes widened. I quickly brought out Amber's medical record from Halloween night, along with the used syringe.

"After that night, Amber came to see me again. Oddly enough, I had deliberately checked her pulse and blood pressure, and everything was normal. But she did leave this drug behind."

The officer's expression tightened as he picked up the empty syringe. "What drug is this?"

"NECH nerve-blocking agent. It's a medication used to treat neuropathic pain."

The young officer watched me for a long moment. Finally, he said, "Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Cantrell. We'll need to take this evidence back for further investigation. Is that alright?"

I quickly nodded. "Of course."

I made my way home after leaving the hospital. As I opened the door, the smell of alcohol hit me. Neither Kaylee nor I drank, so where could it be coming from?

Seeing the high heels at the entrance, I knew Kaylee was in the bedroom. From the day things suddenly became strained between us, she hadn't spoken to me once.

It felt as if we were no more than silent roommates, sharing a house while living completely separate lives.

But while I was washing up in the bathroom, Kaylee suddenly appeared behind me. Her arms slid around my waist, pulling me close.

"Beau, I'm so sorry about that day," she said softly. "Things at work have been rough recently, and it had affected my mood. It's all resolved now. I hope you're not still mad at me."

My heart skipped a beat. Whenever she uttered those words, it meant our silent standoff had come to an end.

After drying my hands, I reached down and grasped her hands at my waist.