All Chapters of The Perfect Death: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Emmy Winslow looked at me without the slightest hint of panic. Instinctively, she shifted to the side, placing herself in front of a man who wore a loose jacket. When he lifted his head, my blood ran cold.It was Corbin Ellery, my best friend.The same Corbin who had clung to me at Emmy's funeral five years ago, sobbing until he passed out.My breathing stalled. I gripped the doorframe so hard my nails dug into the wood."You're alive." Even I could hear the tremor in my voice.Emmy looked at me with faint amusement. "You already heard everything, didn't you?"I stared at her face.Five years.I'd spent five years looking at that face in photographs, in dreams, and in the hallucinations that came with crushing depression.For five straight years, I hadn't slept through a single night because I missed her so much.The guilt had destroyed my appetite. I'd wasted away until I was barely 110 pounds.I truly believed I'd caused her death.My hand shot up, and the slap echoed thr

Chapter 2

My finger froze above the screen.The glow from my phone felt like needles stabbing into my eyes."What did you say?" My voice came out hoarse."I've been secretly paying your father's medical bills through connections." Emmy looked at me as though I were some pathetic clown performing for her amusement."Holloway Industries went bankrupt three years ago. What you make every month isn't enough to cover even a single day of his ventilator costs."Go ahead and make the call. The moment the police arrive, your father's medication stops."A chill spread through my entire body.Three years ago, my father, Victor Holloway, suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage, and Holloway Industries collapsed soon after.To pay for his surgery, I sold our marital home. Then I sold everything else I owned.I'd always believed a hospital charity foundation had saved my father.Now I knew the truth. She had used the thing I was most grateful for as the knife pressed against my throat."He's my bio

Chapter 3

The gala was held at The Monarch, the most luxurious hotel in Blackridge.The moment I walked through the doors, every eye in the room turned toward me with a sense of disdain, mockery, and anticipation.Emmy stood in the center of the ballroom in a perfectly tailored black gown. Corbin's arm was linked through hers, his demeanor as refined and gentle as ever.Standing side by side, they looked like the perfect couple."Emmy, Grayson is here." Corbin tugged lightly on her sleeve.Emmy turned toward me. Her gaze landed on the waist of the suit I'd altered. Her brows knit together. A flicker of irritation flashed across her face before disappearing."Come here." She tilted her chin toward me.I dragged my heavy feet across the floor.The giant screen behind them lit up with wedding photos. They had been legally married overseas five years ago."Thank you all for coming tonight. There's something I'd like to clarify." Emmy's cool voice carried through the ballroom."The car acci

Chapter 4

I woke up in a hospital corridor.No private room or hospital bed.I was sprawled across a hard bench outside the emergency department, covered with an old jacket a nurse had kindly draped over me."You're awake?" The cleaning lady nearby glanced at me."Your wife dropped you off at the ER and left. Said she was heading to Cardiology to stay with another man who was practically at death's door."I didn't respond. Bracing myself against the bench, I slowly sat up.My stomach still hurt.I pulled out my phone.There was an unread message on the screen. It was from the hospital."Patient Victor Holloway was pronounced deceased at 2:14 a.m. today due to heart failure after his medication was discontinued due to nonpayment. Please contact the hospital as soon as possible to complete the necessary procedures."My hand trembled. The phone slipped from my fingers and hit the floor.2:14 a.m.That was when I was unconscious after drinking that glass of liquor and coughing up blood a

Chapter 5

The wind died.A single dull impact echoed up from below.Emmy stood frozen at the edge of the rooftop, staring down.A crowd had already gathered around the spot where Grayson had landed. Screams rang out one after another.A pool of red spread across the gray concrete. It was Grayson's blood.Without warning, Emmy's legs gave out beneath her, and she dropped to her knees on the rough rooftop surface."Grayson..." she said hoarsely.Behind her, reporters and livestreamers held up their phones, every camera pointed directly at her.The livestream had already surpassed a million viewers. The screen was flooded with comments calling her a murderer and telling her to rot in hell.The police arrived quickly.Two officers climbed onto the rooftop and pulled Emmy to her feet."Emmy Winslow? Or should we call you by your other name?"One of the officers produced a pair of handcuffs and snapped them around her wrists."You are suspected of fraud and forging official documents. You

Chapter 6

In the interrogation room, Emmy sat silently in her chair. Her wrists were cuffed to the metal table.Detective Nolan Mercer dropped a thick stack of documents in front of her."Five years ago, you used a multi-vehicle collision to stage your death. Afterward, you left the country using a forged passport and underwent cosmetic alterations overseas."During those five years abroad, you gradually transferred company assets out of the country through overseas accounts."You not only fraudulently obtained a death certificate, but also fraudulently collected a massive life insurance payout." Detective Mercer tapped a series of transaction records. "In the end, all of that money flowed into Corbin Ellery's accounts."Emmy kept her head lowered, not looking at the documents."I want to see Grayson."Again and again, she repeated the same sentence.Detective Mercer slammed a hand against the table. "Grayson Holloway is dead! His autopsy report is right here! Wake up!"A bloodstained

Chapter 7

In the detention center's visitation room, Emmy saw Corbin through the iron bars.Gone was the polished, elegant man from the gala. His hair was a mess. His face was pale. Dressed in an oversized hospital gown, he looked almost ridiculous."Emmy, please save me! I don't want to go to prison!" The moment he saw her, Corbin burst into tears.Emmy's gaze settled on his chest. "Your heart's fine?"Corbin's sobbing faltered, and his eyes darted away."I'm fine... The doctor said it was just shock. I just need some medication."In that instant, everything clicked into place. Emmy looked at him for a long moment before suddenly rising to her feet."Officer, I want to make a statement." She turned toward the police officer standing in the corner.Panic flashed across Corbin's face."Five years ago, the homeless man who died in my car after that multi-vehicle crash… Corbin put him there. He helped me stage the scene of my death." Her voice remained calm and emotionless."Emmy, have yo

Chapter 8

Three months later, Emmy and Corbin stood trial.The case drew nationwide attention because of the enormous amount of money involved and the shocking nature of their crimes.Emmy didn't hire a lawyer. She waived her right to defend herself.Throughout the sentencing, she kept her head lowered.Fraud, forgery of official documents, and intentional assault. The combined sentence was fifteen years in prison.As an accomplice, Corbin was sentenced to ten years.The moment the judge's gavel came down, correctional officers shackled Emmy's ankles and escorted her to the prison transport van.As the van drove through the city square, a news broadcast played across the giant outdoor screen.The Holloway Foundation was officially established. The report showed no photograph of Grayson, only Victor Holloway's smiling face.The enormous sum Grayson had paid for with his life had already funded treatment for three hundred critically ill patients.Emmy stared at the screen. Separated by t

Chapter 9

In her seventh year behind bars, Corbin got into a fight over food inside the men's prison. Another inmate drove a sharpened toothbrush through his throat.He died despite emergency treatment.When a prison guard told Emmy the news, she was standing in the cafeteria waiting for her meal.She simply nodded. Then she picked up her fork and continued eating the boiled cabbage on her tray.By then, she had gone completely numb.Her health continued to deteriorate. Years of hard labor and severe malnutrition had left her with advanced lung disease. She often coughed up blood in the middle of the night.The prison doctor told her that more than half of her lungs had been destroyed, and that she probably wouldn't live much longer.Emmy never applied for compassionate medical release. She refused to take medication.Every day, all she did was stare at the countless tally marks scratched across her cell wall.She could no longer remember what Grayson looked like. She had watched that v

Chapter 10

Many years later, Blackridge underwent several waves of redevelopment.The remote cemetery where Emmy had been buried gradually fell into ruin.The weeds grew taller than a person. The wooden grave marker had long since rotted away in the wind and rain.No one remembered that a woman named Emmy Winslow had once been buried there. Nor did anyone remember that she had once been Blackridge's most formidable businesswoman.The Holloway Foundation continued to grow.Grayson Holloway's name was engraved on the foundation's memorial monument.Every year, countless patients whose lives had been saved by the foundation came to lay flowers beneath it.One year, a young couple arrived with their daughter. The little girl placed a bouquet of white lilies at the foot of the monument."Mommy, who is this man?" She pointed to Grayson's name.Her mother gently stroked her hair. "He was a very brave man. He gave everything he had to save so many people."The little girl nodded, only half unde

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