Delilah froze, stunned for only a heartbeat before a slow, delighted smile spread across her face. Then, laughter—high, sharp, and cruel—spilled out.
“Dead? Really?” She tilted her head, savoring the thought. “Then let’s go see her and then celebrate.”
By the time Delilah was en route, Nathaniel was already at the crash site.
The air was thick with the stench of burned metal and smoke. The twisted remains of the vehicle lay crumpled against the scorched earth, barely recognizable as a car.
An officer led him toward the remains they had recovered. “We can’t identify her by sight,” the man explained. “But these were found at the scene.”
One by one, they showed him her possessions—a charred handbag, a half-melted phone, the faint outline of a familiar scarf.
And then… the necklace.
The necklace he had given her once, years ago, when promises still meant something between them. The sight of it ripped through him, stealing the air from his lungs.
He remembered his promise, “I will love you for the rest of my life. You are the only one for me, and I promise to make you happy forever.”