Chapter 3
Shane’s stepmother, Natalie Blake, once had a daughter with his father, Elliott Lundberg, but the child passed away at a young age, leaving an ache in her heart. Later, by chance, she adopted Amber Schultz.
Three years after Shane’s mother, Courtney Barrett, passed away, Elliott brought Natalie into the family, and she became Mrs. Lundberg. Because of Amber, Natalie never liked me.
As soon as Amber saw Natalie and Elliott, she obediently greeted them.
“Dad, Mom.”
Elliott’s gaze shifted to Shane, his expression darkening with anger: “You ungrateful son! You still have the nerve to show up? You’ve disgraced the entire Lundberg family!”
Yesterday, during the wedding ceremony, just as Shane and I were about to exchange rings, Amber had called, saying her heart hurt terribly. Without hesitation, Shane rushed out, leaving me humiliated in front of everyone.
Amber quickly knelt before Elliott, panic written all over her face. “Dad, it’s all my fault. My heart felt so bad I thought I was having an attack, so I called Shane. I didn’t think it would cause such a mess. Blame me–it has nothing to do with Shane.”
Natalie immediately pulled Amber into her arms. “Abbie wouldn’t be dealing with these heart problems if Allison hadn’t pushed her into the river back then. Besides, the Schultz family hasn’t said anything about yesterday, so why are you so angry? Abbie, get up–the floor is cold.”
This kind of scene had become all too common over the past two years. Every time Amber and I had a conflict, Elliott would start out furious but always let her off lightly in the end.
Amber always walked away with all the benefits, leaving me to swallow the bitter pill.
Shane scanned the room, his eyes searching for someone familiar. “Dad, where’s Allison?” he asked.
“You still have the gall to mention her? Yesterday, you abandoned her at the wedding, leaving her to face all the criticism.
“She managed to calm the guests, took her wedding dress, and said she was going to change- but she never came back. She gave the Lundberg family face, but you trampled on her dignity!”
Shane’s expression shifted slightly. “You’re saying she never returned? Then where did she go? She sent me her location last night!”
He pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling slightly. “The police called me earlier today. They said they found her wedding dress by the Riverside…”
Chap
I laughed bitterly. Only now did he realize I was dead?
“And where is she now? How should I know? Did you think about her when you fled the wedding? Who are you putting on this show for now?” Elliott snapped.
“Dad, I’m heading out,” Shane said abruptly.
“I’m coming with you, Shane,” Amber added, clinging to him.
Watching Shane’s somewhat frantic departure, I found it laughable. Now he panicked? But wasn’t it far too late?
Shane got straight to the point at the Police Station. “Officer, what’s going on?”
“Mr. Lundberg, this morning, a wedding dress was spotted floating in the river. A jogger thought it might be a body and reported it. When we retrieved it, we confirmed it was the custom gown your wife wore at the wedding…”
Amber interrupted, “Was anything else found besides the dress?”
the officer replied, giving Amber a scrutinizing look.
“Maybe Allison threw the dress in the river just to spite you,” Amber suggested nonchalantly.
“She likes pulling stunts like this. Allison often plays these games–we don’t have time to entertain her.”
Her dismissive tone made the lead officer, Liam Ashford, frown. “And you are?”
“I’m Allison Schultz’s sister,” Amber said, her voice sweet and pitiful. “When I was five, she tricked me into leaving the house, pushed me into the river, and tried to drown me.
“Ever since I came back, she’s constantly schemed against me. She loves using pity to manipulate people’s feelings.”
Listening to her slander, I screamed in protest, “It wasn’t me! I never did any of that!”
I had repeated those words countless times, but to everyone else, Amber was the victim, and my explanations were mere excuses.
I thought Liam would fall for her lies, just like everyone else, but his expression remained
calm.
“We found traces of blood on the wedding dress
Liam said, his voice steady. “After analysis,
the DNA matches Ms. Allison Schultz. There are also two puncture holes in the fabric,
consistent with stab wounds.
“If Ms. Schultz was wearing this dress at the time, she would have sustained injuries to both
her abdomen and back.
“Our initial assessment is that Ms. Schultz may have been murdered.”
Shane’s face went deathly pale. His hand trembled as he held a disposable water cup, spilling its contents across the table.
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