Chapter 3: Accusations and Aftermath

Later, the detective told me straight up: “Your in-laws think you murdered Rachel. That’s why you’re here.”

My hands shook under the table. I wanted to scream, but my voice came out like gravel: “If anyone thinks I did something, show me the proof. What evidence do they have?”

Tears burned behind my eyes. I tried to keep it together.

“Then why’d you cremate Rachel before her parents got here?”

“She was in the ICU for over ten days. Every day, I signed another critical notice.” My whole body trembled as I talked. “Our baby was sick, too young to be left alone. She wouldn’t even let the nanny take care of her. Four, five months old, no mom…”

I couldn’t hold it together. My fists dug into the table, desperate for something to hold onto.

“When the doctor said Rachel was gone, I—”

I looked up at the detective. “You ever feel like…the ground just disappears under you?”

After that, it was all a blur. Funeral home folks came. I don’t even remember what they said. They said they’d handle everything. I let them. Rachel… she fell from a cliff in the accident. She was unrecognizable. I was afraid her parents couldn’t handle it, so I had her cremated."

“Then why call the insurance company?”

“When we got married, Rachel bought both of us high-value health and accident insurance. She’d just renewed it. I found the policy in the cabinet when I was grabbing clothes. I thought maybe it could help with the bills. But insurance companies are all talk—hours on hold, paperwork, no help.”

I gritted my teeth. The endless phone calls, the hope they’d help, the way they let us down.

“But you got the payout, right? Millions. Especially accident insurance. Who buys that much? Looks like you planned this.”

That stung. I exploded, lunging at him. “What good is the payout now? I wish we never needed it! I wish she was still alive!”

They pulled me off him before I could do any real damage. My hands ached to punch something, anything.

The detective left, replaced by a woman. After I calmed down, she asked, “Why buy such high-value insurance?”

“My wife did. She said once you have a family, you’ve got responsibilities. She didn’t want us dragging each other down if something happened. She paid for it, not me.”