Chapter 1After three years away, my husband was finally coming home. I couldn't wait.
Then, the night before he was supposed to arrive, his call came.
"Babe, something came up at the company. I can't make it home."
I was furious when my mother-in-law showed up with a delivery.
"Jade, sweetie—Ethan sent your favorite pecan pie!"
"He can't be here, but look, he's thinking of you."
I stared at that box.
Then the next second, I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.
"I need to report a murder. My husband's been killed!"
"His body is in this house!"
My in-laws froze.
...
My father-in-law's smile died on his face.
His reading glasses slid down his nose. He didn't notice.
My mother-in-law's mouth dropped open.
"Jade... what are you SAYING?"
"Ethan just called us!"
"You can't just—you can't curse him like that because you're mad!"
The dispatcher's voice came through cautious.
"Ma'am, I need you to calm down."
"You're saying your husband's dead, but your family says he just called?"
"I have to warn you—false reports are a crime."
I ignored my in-laws.
"I'm not lying. My husband is DEAD."
"And his body is in this house right now."
My mother-in-law grabbed the phone from me, words tumbling out.
"Officer, this is crazy! Impossible!"
"My son just called! He said he can't come home for the holiday!"
Her eyes dropped to the box.
"Look—he even express-shipped this! He can't be dead!"
I looked at that box again.
One glance.
That's all I needed.
Ethan was already dead.
I took the phone back.
"Officer, I swear on my LIFE. He's dead."
"And if you don't get here fast, I'm next."
The dispatcher's tone sharpened.
"Ma'am, I'm dispatching units to your location now."
"Stay on the line. Keep yourself safe."
I hung up.
The room went silent.
My mother-in-law grabbed my hand, eyes red.
"Jade, what's happening?"
"What do you mean Ethan's dead? What body?"
"You're just angry he's not coming, right? You don't mean it, right?"
My father-in-law stared, waiting.
I pushed down the churning in my gut.
"I'm sorry. I'm not joking."
"Ethan's dead."
"When the police get here, you'll see."
They didn't believe me.
They thought I'd lost my mind.
Ten minutes later, sirens screamed from the street below.
Three cops knocked.
The lead officer—Detective Cross—scanned us with sharp eyes. Settled on me.
"You received a package your husband sent, and you're reporting him murdered?"
"In this house?"
My mother-in-law rushed forward.
"Officers, this is a misunderstanding!"
"My son is FINE! We can prove it!"
My father-in-law pulled out his phone.
"Yes! My daughter-in-law's just upset. Let me call him right now!"
Detective Cross frowned. Looked at me hard.
"Ma'am, I suggest you withdraw this report."
"If that call proves your husband's alive, you'll face charges for wasting police resources."
I met his stare.
Didn't flinch.
I pulled up Ethan's number on my phone. Held it out.
"Call him."
My voice was steady.
"But use YOUR phone."
Chapter 2
My father-in-law's hand froze mid-air, phone still raised.
He stared at me.
"Jade, what are you trying to say?"
"You don't trust us? Ethan's our SON!"
"Sir, calm down."
Detective Cross stepped forward.
"Her request is reasonable."
He nodded at the younger officer.
"Miller, use your phone. Speaker."
Miller dialed and hit speaker.
The room went silent.
Everyone stared at that phone.
Two rings.
Then a recorded voice.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed cannot be reached. Please try again later..."
Detective Cross frowned. "Again."
Miller redialed.
Three times.
Same automated message: "cannot be reached."
"That's... that's impossible!"
My mother-in-law went pale.
"How can it not go through!"
"He was just on the phone! He told us to save him some pie!"
My father-in-law fumbled with his own phone, trying again.
Same message.
They looked at each other.
Real panic in their eyes now.
I looked at Detective Cross.
"You see?"
My voice was calm.
"He was just talking to us. Now nothing."
"Is that normal?"
"And with AI these days, faking someone's voice takes five minutes."
"Keep investigating. I'm not signing off on this."
Detective Cross studied me hard.
Finally, he waved at his team.
"Miller, call the station. Have forensics bring equipment."
"If we still find nothing, we're taking her in."
I breathed out.
Then Miller's phone rang.
Miller looked at the screen.
His face changed.
"Detective, it's him. The number we just called!"
Detective Cross frowned. Gestured for him to answer.
Speaker on.
Ethan's voice came through.
"Hello? I see this number called me several times."
"Something urgent?"
Miller glanced at Detective Cross.
"This is Officer Miller with Portland PD. We got a report saying you were murdered, so I'm calling to verify you're okay."
Dead silence.
Then Ethan's shocked voice.
"What? Someone said I'm dead?"
"Officer, you've got to be kidding. I'm FINE."
"I was just busy. Couldn't answer."
My mother-in-law rushed to the phone, tears spilling.
"Ethan! You scared me to DEATH!"
"Why didn't you answer any of our calls!"
My father-in-law crowded in.
"We called SO many times! Your wife told the police something happened to you!"
"Mom, Dad, don't panic."
Ethan sighed over the phone.
"The machinery's too loud. My boss was right there. Phone was in my pocket—I couldn't hear it ring."
"What's going on? Why did Jade report me dead?"
Detective Cross looked at me.
His eyes showed clear displeasure now.
He spoke into the phone, voice stern.
"Mr. Hayes, as long as we can confirm you're safe."
"Handle your domestic issues yourself."
"Officer, I'm so sorry for the trouble."
Ethan apologized, sounding sincere.
"Jade's probably just mad I had to work overtime and can't come home. She's throwing a tantrum."
"She's not usually like this. Please don't hold it against her. I'll talk to her."
He hung up.
Detective Cross pulled out his incident log. Handed me a pen.
"Ms. Carter, your husband just called police personnel directly. Can't fake that."
"He's safe."
"Sign here. We're closing this."
I stood there staring at that log.
My head buzzed.
This was IMPOSSIBLE.
Ethan was dead.
But if he was dead, who was on that phone?
I forced myself to stay calm.
Looked up at Detective Cross.
"I'm not signing."
"What MORE do you want?"
My father-in-law exploded.
"The police confirmed everything! Are you STILL going to pull this?"
My mother-in-law grabbed my arm.
"Jade, stop making trouble, okay?"
"Do you want to end up in jail?"
I yanked free. Looked Detective Cross in the eye.
"Let me video call Ethan."
"If I see him alive, I'll sign. You can go."
My in-laws kept trying to stop me.
Detective Cross's face darkened.
But I wouldn't budge.
He sighed.
"Fine. One video call."
"But this time, I want to see what excuse you come up with."
I opened Ethan's contact. Hit video call.
The screen showed his name.
Then it went black.
The call declined.
I tried again.
Same thing. Rejected instantly.
I lowered my phone. Looked at Detective Cross.
"You saw that."
"He was just on the phone. Now he won't answer video."
"Does that sound right to you?"
"With deepfake tech everywhere, voice calls mean nothing."
"Keep investigating. I will NOT sign off on this."
Detective Cross frowned hard.
Something was clearly wrong.
But just as he hesitated—
The front door swung open.
The person who walked in made everyone freeze!
Chapter 3
I spun around.
A man in a black jacket stood in the doorway, travel-worn.
Ethan.
"Ethan?!"
My mother-in-law practically threw herself at him, grabbing his arms.
"You said you couldn't come back! How are you HERE?"
My father-in-law took his bag with shaking hands.
"You scared us half to death! Your wife called the cops saying something happened to you!"
Ethan put his arm around my mother-in-law's shoulder and laughed.
"Mom, Dad, I wanted to surprise you. I was almost at the door when you started blowing up my phone. You nearly ruined it!"
His eyes found mine.
Three years apart.
Those eyes, that smile, even the lines at the corners—everything looked exactly right.
But I knew something was WRONG.
Detective Cross relaxed.
He held out the pen to Ethan.
"Mr. Hayes, now that you're here, we can close this out. Just need your signature."
"God, I'm so sorry you had to come out here for this."
Ethan reached for the pen.
But the second his arm lifted—
I saw it.
His right arm... was smooth!
My brain exploded.
"WAIT!"
I lunged forward and slammed my hand down on the pen.
"Don't sign!" I turned to Detective Cross. "This is NOT Ethan!"
The room went dead silent.
My father-in-law lost it. He yanked my hand away.
"Jade Carter! When are you going to STOP?"
"The man is RIGHT HERE!"
"Do you WANT to get arrested?!"
My mother-in-law grabbed me, nearly crying.
"Jade, please! Ethan drove all night to surprise you!"
The man whose hand I'd grabbed sighed.
"Babe, the joke's gone too far. I know you're mad I lied about the phone, but there are cops RIGHT here. Can we not do this?"
They all tried to talk me down.
I kept my eyes on Detective Cross.
"Officer, I'm telling you one more time. This man is NOT Ethan Hayes."
"The real Ethan Hayes is DEAD."
Officer Miller looked at our wedding photo on the wall. Lost patience.
"Ms. Carter, open your eyes and LOOK at him. How is he not Ethan Hayes?"
"You haven't given us ONE piece of real evidence. Just chaos."
"Your husband's standing right here and you're STILL making stuff up."
"Keep obstructing us and we're taking you in."
My mother-in-law panicked, stepping between us.
"Officer, please don't arrest her! She's been under so much stress! I'm so sorry!"
My father-in-law apologized repeatedly. "We're terribly sorry, officers."
Ethan put his arm around me.
"Jade, come on. Just apologize so they can go home."
I shoved him off.
Walked to the dining table.
Grabbed the pie box that had traveled a thousand miles and shoved it at Detective Cross.
"You want evidence?"
I stared into his eyes.
"It's RIGHT HERE."
Detective Cross hesitated. He opened the box.
The next second, his whole body went rigid! His face went white.
He jumped back and drew his weapon.
"NOBODY MOVE!"
His eyes went bloodshot.
"Miller, call for backup NOW!"
"I know where Ethan Hayes's body is!"
