Chapter 27: He Wants to Commit Me to a Mental Hospital

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: He Wants to Commit Me to a Mental Hospital

The water glass in Madeline Quinn’s hand crashed to the floor. She shot to her feet, her lips deathly pale. "What... Whose... whose fingernail is it?"

The question hung in the air, and Madeline Quinn lost control. She threw off her coat and bolted outside, frantic. She was terrified that I was dead, but even more terrified that I was alive and being tortured.

Tears streamed down my face as I spread my arms to stop her. ’I really... she’s all I have left.’

’Don’t go, Madeline, don’t go.’

Zeke Shaw reacted instantly, grabbing Madeline Quinn’s wrist. "Calm down... Maybe, maybe this is just the killer’s Blinding Technique. Maybe... she’s still alive. Don’t do anything rash."

Madeline Quinn sank weakly to the floor, clutching at Zeke Shaw’s leg as she sobbed. "Please, I’m begging you, find Cece quickly. Please..."

"I can do it. I can help you lure him out. Please, I’m begging you."

Madeline Quinn wailed, begging the police to find me. With every passing moment, she couldn’t bear to imagine the kind of pain I might be suffering.

I clutched my head and sank to the floor, trembling in terror. I couldn’t bring myself to imagine what that murderer had done to me before I died.

He had pulled out my fingernails, shattered my knuckles, all to make my hands look less savage and terrifying.

The memory must have been too traumatic. I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t remember where I died.

All I could do was wail along with Madeline Quinn, pleading for the police to solve the case quickly.

Around one in the morning, Julian Fletcher arrived, his expression dark.

’Zeke Shaw must have called him.’

"We found another body. The fingernail on the victim belongs to Cecilia Caldwell," Zeke Shaw stated flatly.

Julian Fletcher frowned. "So that means the body isn’t...?"

Zeke Shaw looked at Julian Fletcher. "Do you really think Cecilia Caldwell is the type of person to rip out her own fingernail and plant it on a corpse?"

Zeke Shaw had no idea what kind of person Julian Fletcher thought I was.

’I wondered, too. In Julian Fletcher’s eyes, was I really that unhinged?’

Julian Fletcher’s hands clenched tightly at his sides. "She’s a lunatic..." he said in a low voice.

’I stared at Julian Fletcher in shock. It had come to this—my fingernail had been ripped from my flesh—and he still refused to believe I was dead!’

"Julian Fletcher! Are you even human?" I screamed, lunging at him to grab his collar. "You bastard!"

I sobbed, slapping at his face—something I never would have dared to do before.

But it was useless. My blows passed right through him, completely painless.

"To marry me, to eliminate any perceived threat, she was capable of pushing Erin down the stairs to kill her... She could drug my drinks, put rat poison in Erin’s cake—is there anything she wouldn’t do?!" Julian Fletcher’s eyes were bloodshot, as if he was losing his composure.

"What are you talking about?! How can you still be slandering Cece at a time like this! Don’t you know the police delayed the investigation because you told them she wasn’t missing? This is all your fault! All of it!"

Madeline Quinn lunged forward, screaming, and slapped Julian Fletcher across the face. "If anything happens to Cece, you’re a murderer! You’re an accomplice! You son of a bitch!"

"After all the horrible things you did to Cece, what kind of man are you?!"

Sobbing, Madeline Quinn started hitting Julian Fletcher.

Julian Fletcher just stood there, letting her hit him.

"Madeline Quinn, what gives you the right to hit Julian?" Erin Whittaker burst in, shoving Madeline Quinn away.

I frantically tried to shield Madeline, but Erin Whittaker was too strong. Madeline stumbled backward, losing her footing.

I reached out to catch her, but could only watch as she passed right through my arms.

Thankfully... Zeke Shaw rushed forward and caught Madeline.

"Julian Fletcher, do you have any proof for these claims?" Zeke Shaw asked, his brow furrowed.

"Proof? What more proof do you need before you’ll leave us alone? We’re about to get married! You people just can’t stand to see anyone else happy, can you?" Erin Whittaker, looking equally unhinged, lifted her hair to show the police a scar, her eyes red. "This is the scar I got when Cecilia Caldwell pushed me down the stairs!"

"And I have the hospital records from when I had to get my stomach pumped! What more proof do you want?!"

Julian Fletcher pulled Erin Whittaker into a protective embrace, his expression pained as he soothed her. "Erin, don’t be scared. Calm down... It’s okay. I’m here."

"Cecilia Caldwell wants me dead! She’s just trying to torment us! When is she going to stop?!" Erin Whittaker wailed, burying her face in Julian Fletcher’s chest. She was a very convincing actress.

I watched Julian Fletcher numbly. His eyes held nothing but absolute trust for Erin Whittaker.

’Erin’s performance was flawless. He would never believe me.’

"Officer Lowell, Erin and I have moved our wedding up. Here’s the invitation. If you want to catch Cecilia Caldwell, be sure to attend our wedding the day after tomorrow." Julian Fletcher handed an invitation to Zeke Shaw before leaving with Erin in his arms.

"Julian Fletcher, if Cece is really dead... will you regret this?" Madeline Quinn asked from where she sat on the floor.

Julian Fletcher stopped in his tracks and looked back at Madeline Quinn. "If she’s really dead, I’ll be buried with her. But if she isn’t—if she planned all of this just to torment Erin—I’ll have her committed to a mental hospital, and she can forget about ever getting out!"