It wasn't until I rushed toward death that the truth finally pierced the veil.
Mandy's disappearance wasn't my fault.
It was her. Bonnie. To protect Brandon, to rekindle their old flame, she'd abused her badge to spin a monstrous lie.
Mandy wasn't lost. She was hidden.
And I wasn't the villain. I was just Brandon's scapegoat.
My spectral heart seized—a phantom agony sharper than the icy water that had claimed me. Grief threatened to dissolve what little remained of my soul.
Oblivious to my anguish, Bonnie sat with Brandon. They weren't just chatting; they were weaving a future together from threads of their shared past. They spoke of the sweetness of their youth, the passion they'd once shared. Brandon's smile grew brighter, radiant and triumphant.
Just as they leaned into that shared fantasy, a phone shattered the moment.
Mrs. Henson's shrill voice pierced the air, dripping with loathing.
"Where is Justin? Where is that coward hiding?" she demanded. "Today is the anniversary of Mandy's death. As a father, he not only killed his own daughter, but he can't even be bothered to handle her funeral rites? Bonnie, tell me—you're so brilliant, so capable. How did you end up shackled to a waste like him?"
That familiar tirade stirred memories I thought I'd left behind.
Years ago, Brandon had abandoned Bonnie—a girl from a humble background—to chase his dreams abroad. She'd been devastated. Spiraled. Surrendered her guaranteed university admission, her one ticket out of poverty.
To pull her from that abyss, I did everything. Begged my parents to pull strings, to pave her way. Back then, Mrs. Henson called me the family's "lucky star," the son-in-law she'd prayed for.
But as Bonnie's talent surfaced and her career skyrocketed, the dynamic shifted. Mrs. Henson's adoration curdled. Once Mandy went missing, that simmering resentment boiled over into open hatred. Every encounter ended in vicious insults or physical blows.
For years, Bonnie played the mediator. I used to think it was because she loved me. Now I realized it was nothing more than guilt—a payment on a debt she could never clear.
The barrage of accusations made Bonnie rub her temples. She glanced toward the hidden room where Mandy lay, her hand instinctively tightening around Brandon's.
"Mom, Mandy is just missing. Don't speak of her as if she's dead," she said, voice strained. "And you can't pin everything on Justin. He... he hasn't had it easy these past few years. Go easy on him."
Witnessing her half-hearted defense, a bitter smile twisted my lips.
Even now.
Bonnie would rather let the world believe our daughter was dead than expose her lover. She would rather let her husband rot under infamy than hand Brandon over to justice.
The bond of a first love ran deep indeed. Her protection of him was absolute, bordering on pathological.
I tried to look away, but the invisible tether of the afterlife dragged me in her wake.
The night deepened. My body was drifting down the dark currents of the river, cold and alone. Yet here, Bonnie noticed nothing amiss. Her world had narrowed to one man.
Worried the night wind might chill him, she ushered him inside.
This was the same Bonnie who would give me the cold shoulder for days if I spoke out of turn. Yet tonight, she knelt before him. Removed his shoes. Took his bag. Prepared a warm foot bath with her own hands.
A level of tenderness I had never received. Not once in my life.
Not even in my death.
