My husband Richard and my best friend Camille shared a love for extreme winter swims. I’d warned them the ocean was dangerous, but they never listened. Yesterday at the beach, I found them. They lay naked, floating on the surface. Their bodies were still entangled, leaving no doubt about their final activity. Panic seized me, sharp and cold. I fainted on the spot. When I woke, their bodies were stiff. And my panic reached a whole new level. To placate me after a fight, Richard had taken out a life insurance policy worth hundreds of millions. I was the sole beneficiary. How in the world was I supposed to explain this to the insurance company? Someone was shaking me awake. My eyes fluttered open to hushed, excited whispers. “They must have been so in love. I heard it took the forensics team forever to pull them apart.” “I know! They came here for winter swimming every day. What dedication!” “Winter swimming? Looks more like a secret lovers’ rendezvous to me.” I shook my head, pushing myself up. The sight before me snapped me wide awake: those two naked bodies, lying there, completely exposed. Trembling, I tugged on the arm of the person next to me. “What… what happened to them?” The person looked at me with pity. “They’re gone.” Gone? But just yesterday morning, they’d been so alive. I remembered it clearly. Camille had sought out Richard, playfully slapping his chest. “Can’t? A real man never says he can’t!” Her laughter rang out, bright and dazzling. “It’s barely five degrees out, and you’re already scared?” Then, she’d shot me a pointed glare. “Or is it that Vivian, at her age, is still jealous and won’t let you go?” “Vivian, I don’t mean to criticize, but why are you so controlling?” “Richard and I have been winter swimming for years. If something were going to happen, it would have happened by now, wouldn’t it?” “But if Richard’s scared, then I’ll just go alone.” Hearing that, Richard ripped his shirt off right in front of me. “You know how fit I am, what do I have to be scared of?” he declared to Camille with a loud laugh. “What would a housewife like Vivian know about our kind of fun?” “Don’t mind her, let’s go.” They went back and forth, mocking me. That’s when I finally gave in and let them go. But now, they were telling me they were dead? I couldn’t accept it. The tears came in a flood, and I sobbed, completely broken. “Ma’am, you must have been terrified.” A young officer in uniform walked over, his voice gentle. “I understand. Seeing them, naked and tangled, floating in the water like that…” “Anyone would be scared stiff. We don’t blame you.” “But you’re the first witness, so we might need you to cooperate with our investigation later.” Hearing that, I cried even harder. Richard was gone, and here I was, the grieving widow with an impossible to-do list. I had to take over Richard’s company and inherit his entire estate. On top of that, I had to explain the massive life insurance policy he took out right before he died. Where would I find the time for an investigation? But the young officer didn’t understand my turmoil. He just shook his head at the bodies. “What’s the point of love in the end?” “Trying to find excitement at their age… intense activity in cold water likely caused muscle cramps.” “And since they were locked so tightly together, neither could break free” I froze. Intense activity? Stuck too tightly? The memory from last night crashed over me: the sight of their lower bodies, fused in that unmistakable position… A sharp pain shot through my chest, stealing my breath. Thirty years of marriage to Richard. Forty years of friendship with Camille. I couldn’t believe it! The two people I trusted most, doing this behind my back… Yet, all the evidence lay right before my eyes.
I clutched my chest, feeling like I was suffocating. But then, a thought struck me: they were, after all, my husband and my best friend. One was a powerful CEO, the other a renowned dance teacher. Both were people who cared deeply about their image in life. Though I hated them, I couldn’t let their dignity be so utterly stripped away in public. I took a deep breath, rushed over, grabbed the matching swim trunks and bikini bottom they’d shed, and used them to cover their faces. I collapsed to the ground, a raw wail tearing from my throat. “Please, everyone! No more pictures!” “My husband and my best friend are dead! Can’t you just let them rest in peace?” My cries held a twisted mix of fury and a profound, selfish ache. Fury at their ultimate betrayal. And heartache for myself… for the mountain of paperwork and endless arrangements his death had dumped in my lap. A crowd swelled around us, a wave of shocked murmurs rippling through it as my words sank in. “Wait, so they weren’t married? You’re his wife? So this was…an affair?” “Oh my god, her husband and her best friend! That’s brutal!” “No wonder they were out in the ocean… it was a secret rendezvous” “They probably did this all the time, which is why it finally went wrong.” “That poor lady, witnessing their affair and then passing out!” Listening to their comments, my chest felt crushed under a heavy stone, making it hard to breathe. The young officer paused, then finally understood what I’d said. His expression softened with pity. “Ma’am, please get up, the ground is cold.” “By the way, do you… do you have any children?” Yes, I did. But Brandon was on his honeymoon with Camille’s daughter, Brooke, and definitely wouldn’t be answering my calls. Still, facing so many sympathetic eyes, I dialed his number. As expected, the moment he picked up, Brandon’s voice was irritable. “What are you calling for again? Didn’t I tell you not to bother Brooke and me?” “Are you so miserable with Richard that you can’t stand to see Brooke and me happy?” I fought to keep my voice steady, the pain searing through me. “Son, your father is dead.” He paused, then burst into disbelieving laughter. “You’re crazy.” “You’d drop dead before Richard ever would! Seriously, are you just miserable if you’re not wishing death on him?!” Next to him, Brooke’s laugh chimed in. “Oh, Vivian, you know how she is. If it’s nothing, just hang up.” I quickly cut her off, my sobs growing louder. “Brooke, your mother is dead too.” The air went silent for a few seconds. Then, her shriek. “Vivian! My mom was just a little close to Richard! Do you have to curse her like that?! Their relationship was completely innocent! Do you just want to make everyone in this family miserable?!” I ignored her, my voice dropping to a trembling, deliberate whisper. “They were doing it in the ocean. They cramped up. Got stuck. And died together.” Afraid she’d missed it, I repeated the words, slowly and clearly. But they still didn’t believe me. Brandon was roaring now. “Afraid she’d missed it, I repeated the words, slowly and clearly! Don’t you dare project your filth onto her! IThis is just your jealousy! You’ve always been jealous of Camille, and now you’re taking it out on Brooke, trying to ruin our honeymoon!” The officer, unable to stand it, took my phone. “I’m the officer investigating this drowning-” He didn’t even finish before Brandon furiously interrupted him. “Now you’re even hiring actors for your little show?” “Ha! Too bad! We won’t fall for it!” “Spread all the rumors you want! We’ll deal with you when we get back from our honeymoon!” With that, the call was disconnected. I tried calling again, only to find I’d been blocked. I closed my eyes tightly, saying nothing more. The officer gently helped me into the ambulance. “It’s alright, Ma’am. You passed out then, so you couldn’t have known anything anyway. I won’t question you further.” “Go to the hospital and get some rest. Then, you can start preparing for Richard’s funeral.” As he spoke, several people covered Richard and Camille with white sheets. Once the sheets were on, everything was hidden. As if those naked, tangled images had never existed. I looked at them, suddenly unsure whether to cry or laugh. Cry? I had cried enough. Laugh? I didn’t dare.
But I quickly pulled myself together. I called my office. “It’s with great sadness I inform you that Mr. Sterling has passed away. I’ll be back this afternoon to take over the company’s operations…” “I…I won’t let Richard’s legacy simply disappear!” Richard had no other immediate family in this world besides Brandon and me. I didn’t want him lying cold and alone in the morgue. So, I quickly arranged for his cremation. After the cremation, I went straight back to the office. “Ms. Sterling, you’re so strong…” “Mr. Sterling’s passing is so tragic, yet you’re still thinking of the company, still coming back to work…” “Exactly. Ms. Sterling is the only daughter of the Sterling empire, a pampered heiress who never had to lift a finger in her youth. Now, she has to manage the company herself.” “Without Mr. Sterling, she’s utterly alone and vulnerable.” I choked back a sob, grasping their hands. “Richard is gone, but the company must endure. I will see it through.” With that, I walked into the office and signed the appointment letter as Chairman of the Board. This company had originally been given by my father to Richard when he married into our family. Now that I was taking over, it was perfectly reasonable. The next few days were a blur of activity. Richard’s multi-million dollar estate needed to be settled, and there was the multi-billion dollar insurance policy to claim. The insurance agent, though initially questioning the timing of Richard’s policy purchase and death, sighed and stamped the documents after reviewing the case files. A few days later, Brandon and Brooke returned from their honeymoon. Their return coincided with Richard’s memorial service. I had prepared offerings since early morning, carrying the urn as I walked out. Seeing me, Brandon frowned. “I’ve already heard.” He glanced up and down at the urn in my hands, his voice impatient. “Didn’t a dog just die at home? Do you need to be so solemn?” A dog? I remembered. Because Richard’s death was so scandalous, I had paid a large sum to silence all media. But I hadn’t expected the official story to be that it was my beloved dog’s memorial service. Later, considering the difficulty of media work, I didn’t bother to correct it. I opened my mouth to explain, but Brooke scoffed. “Vivian, Richard’s money will all be left to Brandon and me eventually.” “So, what you’re wasting now is our money!” “You’re spending our money on a dog’s funeral, did you even ask for our permission?!” With that, she turned to the bodyguards standing by. “What are you staring at? Go on, dismantle all this stuff!” The bodyguards exchanged uneasy glances, unsure what to do. I trembled with rage. “Brandon!” “Look at the wonderful daughter-in-law you’ve chosen! She’s utterly disrespectful!” Brandon was visibly stunned. He rarely saw me lose my temper like this. A moment later, he growled in a low voice, “Mom! Brooke isn’t wrong!” He pulled a small seashell from his pocket. “She even went out of her way to buy you a gift. What a great daughter-in-law, isn’t she?” I glanced at the luxury shopping bags Brooke was carrying. All international brands. Clearly meant for Camille. But now, I was past caring. Camille wouldn’t be receiving them anyway. Clutching the urn, I ignored them and started walking out. “If you still care about your father, follow me.” But I hadn’t taken more than a few steps. A hand suddenly grabbed my hair from behind and yanked it back. “I was kind enough to buy you a gift, and you’re so ungrateful!” “You’re ignoring me for a dog! You can forget about me ever calling you ‘Mom’!” Caught off guard, the urn slipped from my hands and smashed to the ground. Ashes scattered everywhere. My eyes instantly burned red. “You! Do you even know what this is?!” Brooke looked down, prodding the pile of ashes with her foot. “Just a dog’s ashes.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust, then stomped on them. “What’s the difference between this and trash?!” “My mom was right, you really are a jealous shrew! If my mom had met Richard earlier, you wouldn’t even be in the picture!” I stared at the mess on the floor, my ears ringing. But Brandon didn’t see anything wrong with Brooke’s actions. He pulled a few bills from his pocket, tossed them onto the ashes, and said. “Mom, stop making a fuss. This is enough for you to buy a few new dogs. Clean it up quickly, don’t make the house a mess!” I completely lost it. I grabbed a wooden stick from the corner of the yard and swung it at him with all my strength. “You disobedient brat! You ungrateful son!” “Your father is dead! You’re defiling his ashes! I’ll beat you senseless!” Brandon dodged, shouting back, “Will you ever let it go?! Still cursing my dad!” “Richard loved Camille for years! He never should’ve been so weak, staying with you instead of just divorcing-” His words were cut off as a group of people stepped through the gate into the yard. They carried white funeral wreaths and somber black banners. At their center was Richard’s portrait in black and white. The funeral director leading them stopped short at the sight on the ground. “Mrs. Sterling, what happened to Mr. Sterling’s ashes?” Brandon froze. All the color drained from his face. “You..” he stammered, his lips trembling. “What did you just say?”
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