The Death of My Best Friend and Me

Two years ago,my best friend and I married into the Parker family on the same day,and luckily,we both got pregnant almost simultaneously.I was married to the calm and brilliant forensic doctor,Ethan Parker,while she had gotten married to his brother,Evan Parker-an upright lawyer,or so we thought.

However,on the night of our second wedding anniversary,everything changed.

In the middle of a storm,both men rushed out of the house in a hurry,determined to rescue someone they cherished more than anything—Vera,their first love.

They braved the pouring rain and disappeared into the night.Hours later,Evan unearthed two bodies,both female,in an abandoned chemical factory on the outskirts of the city.The women's faces were disfigured,and their abdomen was slightly swollen.

Ethan,with his gloves on and scalpel in hand,worked with unnerving precision,removing any fingerprint from the body of the corpses and using sulfuric acid to obliterate any evidence left behind.When they finished,they removed two small,decomposing embryos,one from each of the corpses.Evan wrapped them up without a second thought and discarded them into a nearby sewer.

The two brothers,who worked seamlessly as a team,sighed in relief when they were done,believing they had successfully covered their tracks.What they didn’t realize,however,was that the bodies they had destroyed were none other than their wives—my best friend and me.

The truth would drive them mad.

——

Lightning cracked across the dark sky,briefly illuminating the grim scene at the abandoned factory.Two disfigured corpses lay uncovered in the muddy open space.Evan and Evan worked silently,their faces grim as they carried out their ghastly task.

Ethan,after putting on his gloves,took out his scalpel and paused,his gaze lingering on one of the bodies for a moment longer than usual.His sharp,handsome features furrowed in thought.

"What's wrong?Vera is waiting for us—we need to hurry,"Evan urged,clearly impatient.

Ethan blinked and shook his head,pushing his doubt aside.As a professional forensic scientist,he quickly returned to work,easily eliminating the fingerprints.Evan handed him a glass bottle filled with sulfuric acid,prepared to destroy all evidence.

Just as Ethan was about to pour the acid,Evan’s voice stopped him.Bending down to examine the other female corpse,Evan's eyes widened as he noticed a small red mark near her collarbone.He quickly pushed aside the woman's tattered clothing to reveal a large wound,already rotting,with no intact flesh left.

Evan shook his head."It's fine.Go ahead."

Meanwhile,my best friend and I hovered above them,our souls bound in a state of disbelief,watching as our husbands worked in sync,destroying what was left of our remains.We exchanged bitter smiles.How could this be happening?

They hadn’t come to this abandoned chemical factory in the dead of night just for any ordinary case.They were here because of a distressing video Vera had sent them an hour earlier—the woman they adored,their"white moonlight."

In the video,Vera was bound,her face pale with fear as she trembled and cried,surrounded by masked kidnappers who held sharp knives to her skin.Their sinister grins grew more menacing in the background,the sound of the rain amplifying the horror.

"Big-shot lawyer,big-time doctor,your sweetheart is quite the delicate flower,"one of the kidnappers sneered,running the blade down Vera’s cheek.

"Evan,Ethan,please save me,"Vera whimpered,her voice barely above a whisper,tears streaming down her face.

"How much do you want?I’ll pay it,just release Vera,"Evan snarled,his icy demeanour cracking as rage flashed in his eyes.For someone known as the city’s most emotionally controlled lawyer,it took only a few of Vera's tears to break him.

Despite his anger though,Evan held back.He couldn’t risk further provoking the kidnappers.

"Do exactly as I say.Go to the address I sent you and destroy all the evidence tied to the corpses you’ll see there,or your precious Vera will meet a gruesome end.Perhaps I'll dump her body in the sewers or the trash—who knows,she might be the next one Ethan finds on his autopsy table."

The kidnapper's words hung in the air like a curse.

"Please,Evan,Ethan,don’t let them kill me.I’m so scared,"Vera's voice trembled with despair,her broken plea echoing through the room as the video abruptly cut off.

Moments later,a message followed with instructions.The kidnappers demanded that every trace of evidence tied to my best friend and me be eliminated.If they failed,Vera’s limbs would be cut off.

My best friend and I watched in silence as our husbands,with cold precision,erased every trace of the horrifying crime from our bodies.They destroyed the DNA of the criminals,using their skills.Ethan,a seasoned forensic pathologist,had seen it all—inhumane,mutilated corpses—but the gaping wounds on our bodies made even him frown.Yet,it was only a brief frown.To him,we were nothing more than discarded meat.Compared to Vera,we were irrelevant.

Tears streamed down my best friend’s face,and I held her,biting my lip to stop my silent cries.I thought I had reached the peak of pain.But when I saw the child we had longed for,ripped from our mutilated bodies,my heart shattered.The child—our baby—had died from the kidnappers’brutal assault and was further disfigured by the sulfuric acid.The membrane had dissolved,revealing raw,twisted flesh.

Ethan’s breathing grew heavier,but he remained calm,bundling the tiny remains of our children and handing them to Evan.Evan,unlike his brother,couldn’t hold it together.He turned away,retching,before running into the pouring rain to dispose of the bodies.My best friend and I screamed,rushing after him,our hands passing helplessly through the lifeless children as they were flung into a filthy ditch,sinking into the black water below.

My best friend collapsed in tears."Why?How could they do this to us?"

Yes,why?Today was supposed to be our second wedding anniversary.Just a month ago,Ethan and I had a bitter fight—yet again—over Vera,his precious"White Moonlight."After weeks of cold silence,he extended an olive branch,sending me a picture of our favourite restaurant,Starry Sky.This was where we first met,where he proposed,the place had a special place in our hearts.

I softened instantly.After all,my name is Star,and once,I was the brightest star in his life.Back then,he was awkward and unsure of romance.He would carefully release fireflies from glass jars,lighting up the night with his eyes only for me.He told me I was the star he would guard across mountains and seas.It wasn’t perfect,but it was enough to heal the wounds of my childhood,where I was always second to my brother in our patriarchal household.

Ethan had rescued me from that misery.He promised to love our daughter,a little girl with dimples just like mine.But today,our daughter was reduced to a pile of acid-corroded flesh by the very hands that once promised to protect her.My heart clenched,the pain unbearable.Ethan—how could you do this?

Once their work was complete,the two brothers looked at each other,relieved.Ethan removed his gloves and contacted the kidnappers.Only after confirming Vera’s safe return did he finally prepare to leave.As an afterthought,he opened his phone and scrolled through our messages.

My inbox was filled with brief,emotionless replies:"Uh,""Oh."The last message he had sent was that photo of Starry Sky Restaurant.But even that hadn’t come from him.Vera had sent it using his phone.That morning,while I was hurrying to meet Ethan,eager to celebrate our anniversary,I saw her post on social media.Under the starry sky,Vera smiled as Ethan held her in his arms.Evan stood nearby,dotting cream on her nose while they all laughed.Even Ethan,who never smiled,looked full of warmth and affection.

Her caption had read,"True favouritism isn’t something you have to say out loud,"followed by a playful wink emoji.She had mastered the art of cruelty,killing me with her seemingly carefree post.

But she never saw the chaos her post caused.My car turned off its path,and I was kidnapped.My best friend had called just before,having seen the post as well.Her husband’s lies were weighing heavily on her,worst because of her pregnancy,and she had wanted to vent to me.The kidnappers,however,intercepted my phone and,imitating my voice,lured her into their trap.