The Wife's Murder Loop

The Fifth Time

The sting of such a huge betrayal swallowed me whole.

Tears fell without my control, and I trembled so badly I could barely stand. "Why?" I whispered.

"Why?" Jayden's face went soft with pity and hard with cruelty. "Because he loves you, Elena. He loved you so much he couldn't bring himself to do it. That's why he let me do it for him so you could be freed."

He stepped closer, the blade in his hand flashing cold light.

"Now you can leave in peace. Your death will save the husband you love. You should be happy about that, shouldn't you?"

I looked at him. The tears in my eyes dried up, and my heart turned to ice.

To hell with love.

Even if I had to claw my way back from hell itself, I would. I would personally drag those two demons down.

It was the fifth time I'd been reborn.

I didn't cry or make a scene. I lay in bed and waited quietly for that familiar blade.

My enemy was no longer just Jayden. It was both of them, Jayden and Julian.

I was outnumbered. Trying to fight them head-on would be a death sentence.

I needed a perfect plan—one that would make them turn on each other.

Jayden arrived on schedule, and I didn't bother pretending anymore. "Do it," I said.

He paused for a heartbeat, surprised I'd seen through him, but his hand on the knife never wavered.

The sixth time.

The seventh time.

The eighth time.

I needed time to replay everything in my head, to examine every detail.

Julian's greed and paranoia. Jayden's temper and low self-worth.

Their weaknesses were the only weapon I had.

By the ninth time I was reborn, the plan had mostly taken shape in my mind. I wasn't going to lie down and die.

Before Jayden came through the door, I used my phone to send an anonymous email to Julian's private account.

The message was simple, just one line: 'Be careful of your brother. He wants the money all to himself.'

Then, I deleted the sent message.

The whole move was smooth like water.

I started the phone's recorder and waited for Jayden to come in.

He'd barely stepped through the door before I spoke. "You're not Julian. I know you're Jayden."

He blinked in surprise, then recovered. He sneered at me. "So what if you know? You know I—"

"I know you and your brother plotted to kill me for that ten-million payout," I said.

Panic hit him. He lunged forward, trying to strangle me, but before he reached me, I waved my phone so he could see I was recording.

Jayden went pale.

He lunged, ripped the phone from my hand, and crushed it under his boot.

"That won't help," I said. "I already set the recording to send on a timer. If I don't cancel it within three hours, that audio will automatically go to my best friend's email, then she'll take it to the police.

"Which of you do you think can avoid being summoned by them? I know you wanted to replace your brother, to pin this on him, but guess what I might have said at the start of the recording, or what I might have sent Julian. Once he knows you had selfish plans, do you think he'll still keep you?"

I let out a small, bitter laugh. "I doubt your fate will be much better than mine."

Jayden's breath caught. He stared at me, and for the first time, there was something else in his eyes—fear.

He wasn't afraid of the police; he was afraid of Julian.

"You—" He trembled with rage and raised the knife.

"Then, kill me," I said, closing my eyes. "Kill me. Let it all blow apart. Neither of you will get away."

The knife hovered above my head and did not fall.