Chapter 1

The moment the words were spoken, the entire courtroom erupted in an uproar.

Enya Taylor's face instantly turned deathly pale. Her legs gave way, and she nearly slipped off her seat.

The presiding judge slammed his gavel down.

"Court is adjourned! This case is being transferred to the police department for further investigation!"

The bailiffs rushed forward and pinned me down.

As they escorted me out of the courtroom, camera flashes exploded from every direction.

The victims' families wailed in grief, filling the courtroom with their desperate cries. Rotten eggs and chunks of gravel hurtled over the security barriers, striking my head and body in a vicious hail.

A sharp edge sliced open my temple, and warm blood trickled down my face. But my eyes remained locked on my ex-wife, Enya.

As I watched the look of utter despair on her face, as if her very soul had been ripped from her chest, I finally let out a satisfied laugh.

They took me back to the detention center.

Inside the interrogation room, Oscar Nyland sat across from me. He was the head of the Criminal Investigation Division, and his stare alone was enough to make anyone uncomfortable.

"Where is Ryan White?" he demanded.

I leaned back against my chair.

"Bring Enya here. I'll tell her myself."

"Not happening," Oscar refused without a hint of hesitation. "She's the victim's fiancee, which means that she's off this case. And based on what we know, Ms. Taylor was your wife, and the victim was your closest friend. So tell me—did you murder him out of jealousy?"

I didn't answer. I just stared at him.

Oscar took my silence as a sign of weakness and slapped a stack of photos onto the table. They were pictures of Ryan and me as teenagers.

In the top photo, I was smiling brightly. Ryan stood behind me, his gaze slightly off to the side.

"This was taken when you had just started middle school, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Our investigation reveals that you met Ryan in elementary school, and the two of you became inseparable. You attended the same boarding school afterward. While you grew up spoiled and dependent on Ryan for everything, he had been forced to fend for himself since he was a child.

"He washed your clothes, bought your meals, and took care of you in every way. He even gave up the opportunity to attend a top university. Your SAT score was only high enough for a less prestigious university, so he voluntarily changed his selection just so he could stay by your side and continue looking after you."

A cold laugh escaped me, but I didn't deny a single word.

Oscar continued, "Ryan and Ms. Taylor were in the same program during college. He was her senior. And through him, you met her. Three years after graduation, you two got married.

"But the jealousy followed you into marriage. Ryan and Ms. Taylor couldn't so much as talk without you blowing up. Six years ago, Ryan tried to reconcile with you. Instead, you waited until he was drunk and burned the building down. Fortunately, Ms. Taylor discovered it in time and saved his life.

"You fled afterward and remained on the run for six years. Even then, you showed no remorse, murdering five more people by different, exceptionally brutal means."

Oscar slammed his hand on the table, scattering the photos at my feet.

"Eric Beckett!" he shouted. "After you went on the run, you changed your name to Ezra Beckett. You think you're trapped in hell, so you tell yourself that killing people is justified? Did you even know that Ryan never pressed charges against you? Even after you tried to kill him, he chose not to pursue the case.

"He and Ms. Taylor spent years searching for you. She filed for divorce only to draw you out. And when that failed, she finally chose to be with Ryan—to make up for what you'd done."

I couldn't hold it in anymore. A laugh escaped me.

"He never pressed charges against me?" I retorted. "And she wanted to make up for what I did?"

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. "I never realized that you could dress up an affair like some noble act. Honestly, it's impressive."

Oscar's expression turned grim. He leaned forward, sizing me up.

"If they were really having an affair, why didn't they get together until six years after you disappeared?

"Ryan kept every one of those photos until the day he died. The bond he valued so deeply became the very thing that exposed the man who murdered him. Eric, do you feel no guilt at all?"

My eyes stung as I looked at the happy faces in the photos at my feet.

Oscar caught my reaction and eased his tone. "Eric, just tell me where he is. Let him rest in peace."

"Rest in peace?"

A bitter, knowing smile crossed my face as I lifted my head and fixed my gaze on the one-way observation glass.

"Enya, what do you think? Does someone whose every word was a lie deserve to rest in peace?"