The Wife's Murder Loop

A Door to Betrayal

I stared at the lock and felt my heart sink a little further.

"Jayden, why are you doing this? Julian is your brother. I'm your sister-in-law."

I tried to stall, my mind racing to find a way out.

"Brother?" Jayden laughed until he doubled over. "When did he ever treat me like one? Growing up, all the good things were his—our parents' love, the name-brand schools, everything. And now even a beautiful wife like you belongs to him."

His voice snapped, his face twisting.

"What gives him the right? What am I missing that he has it all?"

"So, you decided to kill me?" I shouted. "You think murdering me will get you those things?"

"You're right. Killing you won't give me those things," Jayden explained, a cruel edge in his smile. "But he'll lose everything. He'll be smeared as a wife-killer, ruined, left with nothing. And I'll take his life and enjoy what's left of it."

Sudden clarity hit me.

This wasn't mere revenge. He wanted to replace Julian. Destroy him, then live as him.

"You're a lunatic," I spat.

"You think I'm crazy? You'll be crazy with me soon enough," he said, then lunged.

I screamed and dodged, circling the living room couch to keep some distance, but I was heavily pregnant, I had no stamina.

He was stronger. He cornered me against the sliding glass doors until there was nowhere left to back up.

He closed in, and the familiar knife appeared in his hand.

The same knife.

"Elena, stop fighting it. Just be good and take the final road."

I stared at him, and, strangely, my mind sharpened at that moment. I could not die—not like this, not shrouded in this confusion.

"Wait!" I yelled. "Do you really think killing me will make it easy for you to take his place? Julian's company is in deep trouble. Their cash flow's collapsed and they're about to go bankrupt. If you replace him now, you'll be inheriting a mess and tens of millions in debt!"

I was gambling on the fact that he didn't know about Julian's problems.

He hesitated, looking at me with sudden doubt. "Are you lying to me?" he asked.

"You can check for yourself," I replied, keeping my voice steady. "He's been a wreck—pacing, taking calls in the study at all hours. Do you think he was calling to chat?"

I laid out my case calmly, trying to plant a seed of doubt.

Jayden's expression wavered. I knew my gamble was paying off.

Just when I thought I could buy a little more time, his phone suddenly rang.

He pulled it out, glanced at it, answered, and put it on speaker.

A voice I knew all too well came through.

"Jayden, how's it going? Is she dead yet?"

My head buzzed as if something had exploded.

Time froze.

I stared at the name on Jayden's phone screen: Julian.

Julian's voice was impatient over the speaker.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Have you done it? Don't forget what we agreed to. Once she's dead, that ten-million insurance payout is ours. Half for you, half for me. That'll cover the company's shortfall."

Jayden hung up and forced a mocking smile. "Elena, you hear that? Your perfect husband sent you to the grave for money.

"Not only did he know I was going to kill you, but this whole plan was his idea from the start."

Something inside me shattered.

It wasn't brothers at odds or a twisted desire to take over.

It was the man I loved and trusted most—my husband—conspiring with his own brother for money, plotting to kill me and the child I carried.

The news alert had been true.

The killer was Julian, but he had used someone else's hand.

No wonder Jayden always managed to show up right on time in every rebirth.

No wonder he had a key and could slip into the house without the slightest effort.

It was Julian who had paved the way for him all along.