I stared at the unassuming ceramic jar, keeping my expression neutral. To the untrained eye, it was just a dusty old vessel. In reality, it was a fortune disguised as junk.
Julia had threatened to smash it a dozen times during her temper tantrums.
"It holds sentimental value," I used to tell her, shielding it with my body. "Please, don't touch Mom and Dad's things."
Now, the spirits of my in-laws hovered beside me. We wanted to leave it to you and Julia as an inheritance, my mother-in-law lamented. We never imagined our own flesh and blood would be the one to end us.
I was just reaching for a bag to conceal the jar when the front door banged open.
Julia marched in, with Ava Chavez—the neighborhood's most notorious gossip—hot on her heels.
Julia's gaze landed on me, and her face twisted with disgust. "Simon, didn't I tell you to get out? What are you doing back here?"
She didn't wait for an answer, turning her performance toward Ava. "It's all his fault. He cursed my parents. They should have lived for years!"
"I took care of them," I said quietly. "I managed their meds, their meals, their hygiene. Where were you, Julia?"
Ava scoffed, looking at me like something she'd scraped off her shoe. "Save it, Simon. You really are a piece of work."
A dry, bitter laugh escaped me.
For months, I had been the one by their bedside day and night. Meanwhile, Julia had been busy painting a masterpiece of lies to the neighbors, claiming I was an unemployed leech who abused the elderly. Whenever she needed sympathy, she would wail loudly enough for the whole block to hear. Now, the neighbors looked at me with pure hatred.
"Beast! How did we raise such a beast?" my mother-in-law screamed at her daughter, though only I could hear her.
"If it weren't for Simon, we would have died in misery long ago!" my father-in-law shouted, his ghostly fists clenching. "He was the only one who cared!"
They screamed their defense, but their voices dissolved into the air, unheard by the living.
I caught a flicker of a smile on Julia's lips before she suppressed it.
Watch out, Simon, my mother-in-law warned, drifting closer. I know that look. She's plotting something.
Julia's expression hardened. "My parents were stable, Simon. Why did they deteriorate so fast? Did you feed them something? I found a strange medicine bottle in the trash."
Ava gasped, clutching her chest theatrically. "Julia! Why haven't you called the police? He murdered them! How can you let him walk away?"
My in-laws were right. Julia was setting the stage to frame me.
Julia sighed, feigning the weight of a grieving saint. "Let it go, Ava. We were married once, after all. Mom and Dad wouldn't want a scandal tarnishing their memory."
She reached into her bag and slammed a document onto the table.
"Sign the divorce agreement. Then get out of my sight."
Don't sign it yet, my father-in-law urged. If you agree too easily, she'll get suspicious. She knows you have nowhere to go. Stall.
He knew his daughter's twisted mind better than anyone.
I slumped my shoulders, adopting the posture of a defeated man. "Julia... do we really have to do this? Can't we work it out?"
A smirk tugged at Julia's mouth. "Have some dignity, Simon. You killed my parents. I can't live with a murderer."
"You leech!" Ava chimed in, her voice rising so the neighbors might hear. "Trying to bleed Julia dry even now? I'm going to make sure everyone knows exactly what kind of monster you are."
I knew exactly why Julia had brought Ava. She was a human megaphone. By tomorrow morning, the entire community would know Julia was the tragic victim and I was the villain who refused to let go.
Although every fiber of my being wanted to flee this toxic house, I had to sell the performance. "Julia, please. Give me one more chance. I'll do better."
"Chance?" Julia sneered. "You don't deserve chances. Sign the papers. Now."
I let out a long, shuddering breath, picked up the pen, and scrawled my signature with a trembling hand.
Julia fought back a triumphant grin. She had to maintain her grieving facade in front of Ava, but her eyes danced with victory.
I turned back to my suitcase, my heart pounding.
"Wait." Julia's voice cut sharp. "What's in the bag?"
I froze, then turned slowly, forcing a look of resignation. "Just my clothes. I packed a few days ago... I thought giving you some space might help save our marriage."
