Chapter 4

"I remember that too! Grace sounded so convincing back then, so I didn't think much of it. But looking back, it's incredibly suspicious!"

The neighbors' testimonies spread like wildfire through the crowd.

The livestream chat went completely wild:

"The neighbors are confirming it! Grace is definitely a killer. No doubt about it."

"No kid would throw away his SATs unless he actually saw his dad get murdered."

"This is terrifying. I heard her husband was a really nice guy. How evil do you have to be to brick someone up in a wall?"

"What are the cops waiting for? Go in and smash the wall!"

At that moment, a young officer ran into the yard, panting, and handed a file folder to Detective Marcus.

Marcus flipped through the documents, his face growing darker by the second.

Finally, he looked up at me. "Grace, according to the city water records, on the night Richard went missing, your household water usage spiked by seven times its usual amount. What were you washing away in the middle of the night?"

"Also, home association records show you renovated a partition wall in your bedroom that very same night, entirely by yourself, without hiring any contractors."

"Tell me, why would a woman pull an all-nighter to build a brick wall by herself? What were you hiding?"

Marcus’s eyes locked onto mine, trying to read my expression.

I remained completely calm. "Detective, the water spike was because a pipe burst. I spent half the night fixing it and washing the flooded floors."

"As for the wall, the plaster was cracked and damp. It looked ugly, so I put up some decorative brick veneer. Since when is home DIY a crime?"

"I built a brick planter in the backyard last week too. Do you want to smash that open as well?"

Marcus sneered. "Fixing pipes and bricking a wall all in one night without sleeping? Grace, do you take us for idiots?"

He didn't want to waste any more time. He waved his hand. "Move her out of the way. Get inside and break that wall!"

Two officers grabbed my arms to drag me away while the others rushed into the house with sledgehammers.

Seeing them reach the bedroom door, panic flared in my chest.

I broke free from the officers with a burst of desperate strength. I ran into the kitchen, grabbed a paring knife from the counter, held it against my own throat, and screamed:

"If anyone touches that wall, I’ll kill myself right here!"

To prove I wasn't bluffing, I pressed the blade in. The sharp steel broke the skin, and a warm trickle of blood slid down my neck.

Marcus froze. He immediately raised his hand, signaling his men to stop.

The house went dead silent.

Everyone stared at me, terrified.

The livestream chat exploded:

"Oh my god! She’s threatening suicide to protect a wall? She’s insane!"

"What on earth is in that wall that’s worth her life?"

"The more she acts like this, the more it proves there's a body in there!"

The viewer count on the stream had bypassed half a million.

Seeing the blood on my neck, Marcus grew visibly anxious.

He held his hands up in a placating gesture, keeping his voice soft and steady. "Grace, please calm down. If you didn't do anything, breaking the wall will prove your innocence."

"But doing this only makes you look incredibly guilty."