The Kiss of Death

I give my grandmother a gift she'll never forget on her 60th birthday.

My husband and I get into a fight on the highway back to my hometown. He pulls over in the emergency lane and chases me out of the car. He then drives off, leaving me stranded on the highway.

He later gets into a major accident on the highway. His car is totaled, and he dies.

It's actually not an accident—it's homicide.

I'm the murderer.

The police officers rang my doorbell at 5:00 am that morning. I yawned and stepped out in my nightgown to answer the door.

"Are you Ivy Lane?"

I nodded. "Yes, that's me."

The officer leading the group was a woman in her 40s, who presented her badge. I glanced at her name, and it was Eleanor Castillo.

"We're from the Everwood Police Department. Your husband, Chester Paget, was involved in a serious car accident last night on the Everwood section of the ring highway. He died at the scene."

From the moment I saw the officers at my door, an uneasy weight had been pressing on my chest. The phrase "died at the scene" dropped like a final anchor, grounding all my swirling emotions in an instant.

This moment was something I had rehearsed in my mind more times than I could count.

"An accident?" Feigning shock, I froze for a moment, murmuring under my breath as I covered my face with both hands.

"No… No, that's impossible…"

When I lowered my hands, my eyes were bloodshot, and a single, perfectly timed tear rolled down my cheek.

"What caused the accident? He was fine last night. How could he just…"

Eleanor observed my reaction closely as she replied, "The preliminary investigation suggests that fatigue driving may have been the cause."

I gripped the doorframe, my voice breaking as I muttered, "That stretch of highway… the service stations are too far apart, and it was right at dusk when visibility was poor.

"Yesterday was my mother-in-law's birthday. He must've been rushing to make it back for dinner. If only we'd left earlier…"

"Ms. Lane, we'll need your cooperation. Please come with us—"