I was on a business trip when my neighbor texted to say my husband had brought home some gorgeous woman. I booked the next flight home. Derek wasn’t there. I tore through the place like a lunatic. “You slut! Show yourself!” I bent down to check under the bed and found a bloody corpse. Her head had been cut off. Her eyes were wide open, staring right at me. I nearly jumped out of my skin. That’s when I heard footsteps. Derek was coming back! The lock clicked. My body jolted. On pure instinct, I scanned the room and dived into the closet. The closet had louvered doors. Through the slats, I could still see that severed head under the bed. She was wearing heavy smoky eye makeup and theatrical contact lenses. At first glance, her eyes looked completely black—bulging like they might pop out of their sockets any second. I clapped a hand over my mouth. My heart thundered so loud I thought it would burst through my ribs. This wasn’t happening. I came to catch him cheating, not walk into a crime scene. Why would Derek do this? Did they get into a fight? Derek had a temper, sure. If our server was slow at restaurants, he’d pound the table. Picking fights was practically his hobby. But murder? That’s crazy. Did he even think about the consequences? My thoughts raced as Derek stepped into the bedroom. He seemed to be in a great mood, carrying a black trash bag and humming cheerfully. “What a beautiful day, everything’s going my way~” Still humming, he knelt down slowly, set the trash bag beside him, and pulled that head out from under the bed. He cradled the head in his left hand, tapping the woman’s nose playfully with his right. “You just wouldn’t listen, would you?” His tone was teasing, like they were old flames bantering. “Look at you. So beautiful. I really did like you.” “I told you to stay put, but you just had to go digging through my stuff.” “You found my secret. What was I supposed to do? You left me no choice.” “We had such a good thing going. Hate to see it end like this.” As he spoke, he leaned in and smacked two loud kisses on the woman’s bright red lips. The metallic stench of blood hit me hard. I gagged, clamping my mouth shut tighter. I never knew Derek had this side to him. Kissing a severed head? What the hell? Was he some kind of psychopath? And what secret was he talking about? We’d been married four years. I cleaned this house, organized his life. His phone password was my birthday—I could check it anytime. Never saw anything suspicious! I stared at Derek’s blood-smeared face, contorted into that sick grin. He looked like a total stranger. He kissed the head a few more times, then went back to humming. “What a beautiful day, tomorrow’s gonna be even better…” Still humming, he tossed the head into the trash bag, then bent down to drag the woman’s body out from under the bed. That’s when I noticed she was naked. She had an amazing figure—would’ve been a knockout if she were alive. But now there was a gaping wound across her slim waist. Derek reached out and stroked the wound slowly, his face almost mournful. “What a waste. Didn’t want to have to do this so soon.” He went to the kitchen and came back with a meat cleaver. He knelt on the floor and started dismembering the body with practiced ease. His movements were smooth, almost elegant. I could barely hear the bones cracking. He was completely focused, like an artist admiring his work. Soon he had both legs separated at the joints, bones laid out neatly, flesh chopped and stuffed into the trash bag. He stood up and stretched. Suddenly his eyes locked on something. His expression shifted instantly.
I followed his gaze and froze. Cold sweat broke out all over me. It was my earring! I touched my earlobe automatically. The left one was empty. Must’ve fallen off when I was tearing through the room earlier. Derek frowned. He walked over and picked it up. “Rachel was wearing these when she left. I’m sure of it.” These pearl earrings were Derek’s birthday gift to me. I loved them—before my trip, I’d even picked out an outfit specifically to match them. Derek had teased me about it, saying people usually pick jewelry to match their outfit, not the other way around. Like making dumplings just because you had soy sauce, he’d joked. Derek clearly remembered that conversation too. His expression darkened. He lifted his head and scanned the room, eyes raking every corner. I held my breath, petrified. Then it hit me. I fumbled for my phone in my pocket. My palms were so sweaty my fingers kept slipping. I tried unlocking it several times, but my hands were shaking too hard. My whole body trembled. My heart felt like it was in my throat. Through the closet slats, I watched Derek pick up his phone from the nightstand and call me. I hadn’t silenced it. If it rang, I was dead! In a split second, I pressed and held the power button, shutting it off just in time. Right then, a robotic female voice cut through the silence. “We’re sorry, the number you are trying to reach is not available.” After a few failed attempts, Derek’s scowl deepened. “Why’s it off? Dead battery?” “Whatever. Probably overreacting. She shouldn’t be back yet.” “Must’ve dropped it before she left.” Derek shook his head with a small laugh, slipped the earring into his pocket, and went back to cutting up the body. About half an hour later, he had all the bones and flesh separated and packed into different large trash bags, which he took to the kitchen. I was still hiding in the closet. My legs had gone completely numb from squatting. I could hear water running in the kitchen. I flexed my numb ankles and carefully cracked the closet door open a fraction. Our apartment had an open floor plan. The small room next to the kitchen had been knocked through to make a dining area, and the kitchen opened right into it. A set of cabinets divided the dining area from the living room. In other words, if I left the bedroom quietly, I could get straight to the front door without Derek seeing me. I had to take this chance to escape. What happened after that? I didn’t know, and I didn’t care right then. I just needed to get away from Derek—from that monster.
I opened the closet door and stood frozen for a few seconds, waiting for feeling to return to my legs. Then I tiptoed forward as silently as possible, inching toward the front door. One step, two steps, three steps. The dark red security door was right there! Derek was still in the kitchen, running water. I reached for the doorknob, my knuckles white from gripping so hard. Suddenly— “Knock knock knock!” A loud pounding came from the door. I jumped, my body jerking violently. “Rachel? Derek? Anyone home?” It was our neighbor Karen—her voice loud and excited, like she was bursting with gossip. Almost instantly, the water in the kitchen stopped. My scalp prickled. I yanked my hand back and scanned the room. The living room was wide open—nowhere to hide except behind the big L-shaped couch angled by the door. I dove behind it, curling into a ball, my heart hammering against my ribs. Derek’s footsteps approached, passing right by the couch where I hid, heading for the door. “Who is it?” His voice was totally calm. “It’s Karen!” The voice outside sounded even more eager. “Heard noise and thought maybe Rachel was home?” “Baked fresh cornbread muffins—Rachel’s favorite. Still warm!” “Hey Karen.” Derek opened the door a crack, not all the way. “Rachel’s not back yet. Just making bone broth—chopping up bones. Want some?” “Really?” Karen’s tone changed. She craned her neck through the crack, like she wanted to squeeze inside. “Weird. Swear I saw her come into the building this afternoon.” “You two fight or something?” “Derek, you’re a good guy. Don’t go messin’ around on our Rachel!” I lay on the cold tile, my shirt soaked with sweat. Karen lived right across the hall. She was friendly enough, but couldn’t mind her own business to save her life. She was the one who texted me about Derek bringing a woman home—said I should come catch him in the act. I never thought she’d stick around for the show after sending that text. Now she was here, trying to stir up drama. And now she was going to get me killed! Derek’s expression shifted when he heard that. “What are you talking about?” “Rachel’s not supposed to be back until tomorrow. I bought her train ticket myself.” “How could she be here today? You must have seen wrong, Karen.” Derek’s voice still had a smile in it, but there was an edge underneath. He gripped the doorknob, his knuckles whitening slightly. Karen let out an “Oh!” and lowered her voice, but you could hear the gossip-hungry excitement. “Tyler saw her! Said he ran into Rachel at the building entrance half an hour ago. She even said hi. No way he’s mistaken!” She paused, then her voice went up again, fishing for information. “What, she didn’t come up?” “Or did she come in, see something she shouldn’t have, you two fought, and she took off?” Karen raised her eyebrows meaningfully. “Derek, you can’t do this!” “Rachel’s such a sweet kid. Her parents treat you like their own son—always bringing you food, buying you stuff, looking out for you.” “Don’t do something stupid!” Derek’s face turned stone cold. His jaw tightened. After a long silence, he finally spoke, his tone forced. “Karen, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “Rachel really hasn’t come back. And there’s nothing to hide here.” He stepped aside, sounding almost helpless. “If you don’t believe me, come on in and check for yourself.” Karen laughed awkwardly. “Listen to you! Of course I believe you.” She mumbled something about Rachel probably getting stuck in the lobby. Otherwise, if Rachel had really come back to catch him cheating and found that woman, there’d be screaming by now. No way it’d be this quiet. With that, Karen thrust the plate of cornbread muffins into Derek’s hands and forced a smile. “Tyler must’ve been mistaken.” “You get back to your broth. I’ll let myself out. Tell Rachel I stopped by when she gets in.” “Will do. Thanks, Karen.” Derek closed the door and slowly turned around. He stood there for a moment. Then a slow smile spread across his face. “Baby~” “You’re home. Why don’t you come out?” “Playing hide and seek with your husband?” As he spoke, he started walking toward the couch—slow, deliberate steps. Each footstep echoed in my head. I was petrified, my mind going blank. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. The footsteps stopped. Derek’s voice came from above me, low and cold. “Well, well. Found you.”
My body went rigid. I lifted my head slowly, my neck stiff as a board. Derek crouched down and reached out to brush my hair. “Rachel, why didn’t you tell me you were coming home early?” “Ahhh—” I let out a bloodcurdling scream. Derek moved fast. His hand slid down from my hair to clamp over my mouth. My scream turned into a muffled gurgle. I thrashed wildly, pushing against him with all my strength. “Let me go! Let me go!” Derek was bigger, stronger—all muscle. I couldn’t break free. With my mouth and nose covered, black spots danced in front of my eyes. My chest felt like it would explode from lack of air. My eyes rolled back, and everything went dark. When I came to, I was lying on the couch with a thick blanket over me. Derek poked his head out from the dining room and smiled at me. “Hey, sleepyhead. Figured you’d be up soon.” “You sure can sleep. C’mon, breakfast is ready.” “Spent three hours on that bone broth. Smells amazing, right?” I sat up so fast I got dizzy, my body rigid with terror. For a second, I wondered if I was already dead. But the warm blanket over me and the cool autumn breeze drifting in from the balcony—still damp from the rain—reminded me I was alive. I stared at Derek, clutching the blanket tight, my eyes wide with fear. Derek walked over with a white ceramic bowl. “Try it. You’ll love it.” A thick layer of yellowish fat floated on top. A few off-white bones bobbed underneath. The memory of what he’d done made my stomach heave. I almost retched. I swallowed hard and shrank back. “I need to use the bathroom.” “Sure, go ahead.” Derek moved the bowl aside and sat down next to me on the couch. I stood up shakily and took a few steps toward the bathroom. I glanced back at Derek. He was still smiling at me—no sign he thought I might fight or run. Like everything that happened was just my imagination. I didn’t know what game he was playing, but I wasn’t about to waste this chance! I spun around and ran for the door, screaming for help at the top of my lungs. Derek didn’t even try to stop me. He just sat there on the couch, watching calmly with a dark look in his eyes. I wrenched the door open and ran straight into Karen, who was just stepping out of her apartment. When she saw me, her eyes lit up. “Rachel! I knew you were home!” She hurried over, leaned in, peeked into my apartment, then stage-whispered, “Well? Did you find her?” “If there’s gonna be a fight, just holler. I’ll help you take that homewrecker down!” “Karen, call 911! Now!” I grabbed her hand, tears streaming down my face. “Derek killed her! He murdered that woman! Call the cops!” “What? Murder?” Karen’s eyes went wide. “Don’t say stuff like that! You’re scaring me!” “I’m telling the truth! He killed her—cut her up…” I babbled, trying to explain what happened. Karen turned pale. She pulled me into her apartment, locked the door, and called the police.
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