Chapter 5 See If You Can Recover Her Body

• Luke couldn't come to terms with the idea that something might have happened to me. He slammed the car door with frustration and dialed my number again, only to be met with the same automated voicemail message indicating my phone was off.
• He then opened WhatsApp.
• The first thing that showed up was Anna's chat, which was pinned to the top. He had added a heart emoji next to her name in his contacts.
• In the past, my profile had always been pinned at the top of his contacts.
• I had noticed two years ago that it had been replaced by Anna's.
• He had once saved her contact name as "Annoying Chloe," but it was later changed to "Anna."
• When I questioned him about pinning her chat to the top, he had appeared guilty and came up with elaborate excuses, even accusing me of being petty and aggressive.
• Three years ago, when Anna moved back to the Sander residence, she began to subtly undermine me in every way she could.
• With her acting skills, she had managed to convince my parents and even my brother to see me as the villain, fostering deep resentment toward me.
• I had hoped Luke was different. We had grown up together; he knew me well.
• But he, too, had changed quietly.
• He now looked at me with the same disdain as everyone else.
• There had been numerous signs of this. While Luke had moved on, I stubbornly held onto the past.
• Luke quickly scrolled through his contacts. After receiving countless messages from friends and family following his wedding, it took him a while to find my profile.
• He opened it and saw my last message alongside the location.
• "Luke, we need to talk."
• Luke stared at the message for a long time.
• Eventually, he pressed the voice message button. "Chloe, where are you?
• "I told you not to play these games. We're married now! Why are you making things difficult with Anna? Do you have any idea how upset she was yesterday?
• "If you come back now, I'll overlook what happened last night."
• After sending the messages, he threw his phone aside. Roy, observing his weariness mixed with concern through the rearview mirror, spoke softly.
• "Mr. Bolton, Mrs. Bolton has always been reasonable. Even when you left her at the wedding, she didn't lose her temper. I don't think she would play such a cruel prank involving the police. Maybe we should go look for her?"
• "You know her well, huh?"
• "No, Mr. Bolton, I just think she's had an unfortunate turn of events."
• "Unfortunate?" Luke scoffed.
• "She's always enjoyed creating drama for attention. Fine, if you're so idle, send someone to Silver Shore. Let's see if you can recover her body."
• When someone starts to hate you, there's no need to ask them why. Every reason they come up with will seem perfectly valid.
• I had noticed a change in Luke's attitude long before.
• He used to hate Anna, but later, he couldn't stop talking about her. It was clear his loyalty had shifted.
• He remembered her likes and dislikes, and whenever he traveled, he brought back gifts for both me and Anna.
• Six months ago, Luke went abroad for a project.
• When a sudden earthquake caused a landslide, I immediately booked a flight to join him. But Anna had hidden my passport and visa.
• Unable to travel legally, I watched helplessly as Anna flew out of the country on the same day.
• I took a dangerous risk and traveled across the Pacific illegally, encountering a tsunami in the process. If not for the help of some compassionate strangers, I would have drowned.
• When I finally made it back, relieved to be alive, Anna accused me of having taken a pleasure cruise.
• I tried to explain about the passport, but she publicly revealed it from a drawer, leaving me unable to clear my name.
• Luke wouldn't listen to my side of the story and spoke to me harshly.
• Seeing the transformation in him, I decided it was time to end things.
• "Luke, let's call off our engagement."
• "What are you talking about?" He frowned, clearly irritated.
• I replied calmly, "I've done all I can for this relationship. I don't want us to go from being partners to complete strangers. Let's end things while we still have some good feelings left."
• Seeing my determination, panic finally appeared in Luke's eyes.
• From that moment on, he made promises to set boundaries with Anna.
• He showered me with gifts, and he organized an elaborate proposal and began planning our wedding.
• I had thought we would be happy like this forever.
• Three months ago, after a night of drinking, we had been intimate, and I found out I was pregnant. I was excited to share this news with him.
• But Anna made a scheme and fell down the stairs. At the time, Luke rushed over and lifted her up in a furious rage. When I tried to explain, he shoved me violently to the floor.
• That was when I realized that the recent sweetness had been nothing but a facade.
• It was fragile and easily shattered.
• It became apparent that he had always trusted Anna, despite the evidence.
• When I was thrown to the ground, the pain in my abdomen was so intense that I fainted. The doctor informed me that the fetus was unstable, and I had to stay in the hospital for days of bed rest.
• His assistant, Roy Carroll, told me that Luke was working on a major project and, despite knowing about my hospital stay, had not come to visit.
• But at that point, I didn't care about him. My focus was solely on the child. I needed to ensure its safety.
• Unexpectedly, Anna showed up at my hospital bed, describing in vivid detail how Luke had embraced, kissed, and touched her ...
• I felt a churn in my stomach and a wetness between my legs, as if fluid was leaking out.
• Weak and unable to reach the call button, I had to shout for the doctor.
• In my desperation, I got out of bed. Even if I was to separate from Luke, I had to protect this baby.
• As I got up, I saw the blood staining the sheets.
• The pain caused me to break into a cold sweat. I took slow, painful steps toward the door.
• Blood continued to flow from me, spreading across the floor.
• Ignoring everything else, my mind was solely on the baby, my baby ...
• Everything went black, and I collapsed.