The Perfect Frame-Up

I was out of town when I received a text from my neighbor, saying my husband had brought a flashy woman home.

I rushed back immediately.

My husband wasn't there. I frantically tore through the apartment.

You bitch, where are you hiding? Get out here!

I peeked under the bed, only to find a bloody female corpse.

Her head had been severed. Her eyes were wide open, staring dead at me.

I was scared out of my wits.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door. My husband was back!

Click. The front door unlocked.

A shiver ran through my entire body. Almost on instinct, I glanced left and right, then swiftly darted into the closet.

The closet had louvered doors. Through the slats, I could still see that head under the bed.

The woman was wearing heavy smokey-eye makeup and exaggerated colored contacts.

At first glance, her two eyeballs looked completely black, bulging as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

I clamped my hand over my mouth, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it would explode.

I just couldn't figure it out. I came here to catch a cheater; how did I stumble into this?!

Why did my husband kill her?

Did they get into some kind of fight?

My husband has always had a bad temper. When we go out to eat, if the waiter is a bit slow bringing the food, he'll slam his fist on the table.

Arguing with people is practically a daily occurrence for him.

But no matter what, it shouldn't escalate to murder, right? That's a serious crime. Didn't he consider the consequences?

While my mind was racing, my husband walked into the bedroom.

He looked to be in a great mood. He was carrying a black plastic trash bag in his hand, casually humming a tune.

"Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day~"

Humming, he slowly crouched down, set the plastic bag by his feet, and fished that head out from under the bed.

He held the head in his left hand, and with his right hand, he tapped the woman's nose in an exasperated manner.

"You!"

"You just wouldn't listen!"

His tone was playful, as if they were flirting.

"Look at you, so pretty. I really did like you."

"I told you to be a good girl and lie on the bed, but you just had to go snooping through my things."

"You found out my secret. What could I do? I had to let you die!"

"We haven't even been together that long. I really hate to see you go."

As he spoke, he actually leaned in and planted two hard kisses on the woman's bright red lips.

The thick, foul stench of blood rushed to my nose. I almost threw up.

I never, ever expected my husband to be such a sick freak.

Holding a severed head, and he could actually kiss it!

Is he some kind of psychopathic serial killer?

And what was this secret he just mentioned?

We've been married for four years. I'm the one who cleans the house. His phone password is my birthday, and I can look through it whenever I want. I've never noticed anything unusual!

I stared at Derek's blood-stained face, twisted in a grotesque, eerie expression. He looked like a complete stranger.

He kissed the head a few more times, then started humming again.

"Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day..."

While humming, he tossed the head into the black plastic bag, then bent down and reached under the bed to drag out the woman's body.

Only then did I see clearly that the woman had no clothes on.

She had a curvy figure, her waist shockingly thin. If she were alive, who knows how captivating she would be.

But now, that slender waist had been slashed with a massive knife, looking as if she had been sliced in half. A small section of her intestines was even spilling out.

Derek reached out, slowly stroking that bloody, mangled piece of intestine, a look of slight heartbreak crossing his face.

"What a shame. I didn't want to kill you so soon!"

After saying that, he turned and went to the kitchen, coming back with a heavy meat cleaver.

He crouched on the floor and began expertly dismembering the body.

Watching him slice meat and separate bones, stroke by stroke, a wave of intense nausea washed over me. I was on the verge of vomiting.

Everyone's heard of the legendary master butcher, right? The kind whose technique is so practiced and superb that the blade slides precisely into the gaps between the joints without ever needing to hack forcefully.

That's the exact vibe Derek gave me.

His movements as he dismembered the body were smooth and fluid; it was almost too seamless.

I barely heard any sounds of chopping bone.

He was clearly reveling in his own skill, a smug expression on his face.

Soon, he had dismantled both legs, separated and piled the bones, chopped the meat into pieces, and stuffed it all into the black plastic bag.

He stood up, stretched, and suddenly, his gaze stopped. His expression changed drastically.

I looked in the direction his gaze had fixed on, my eyes instantly widening in terror, cold sweat pouring down my back.

It was my earring!

I instinctively touched my earlobe; my left ear was indeed bare.

It must have fallen off when I was frantically tearing through the room earlier.

Derek furrowed his brow tightly, walked over, and picked up the earring.

"Why do I remember Brooke wearing these earrings when she went out?"

This pair of pearl earrings was a birthday gift from Derek. I loved them. Before leaving the house, I even specifically chose an outfit to match them.

Derek teased me, saying people usually pick jewelry to match their clothes, but I was doing it backward.

Derek obviously remembered this scene too, and his expression grew increasingly grim.

He raised his head, carefully scanning the room, his eyes darting everywhere.

I was so terrified I held my breath.

The next second, I realized something and immediately pulled my phone from my pocket.

My palms were drenched in sweat, my fingers slipping wildly against the glass.

I tapped the screen several times but couldn't get it to unlock.

My whole body was shaking, my heart practically leaping out of my throat.

Through the louvered wooden door, I saw Derek pick up his phone from the nightstand and dial my number.

My phone wasn't on silent. If it rang, I was dead meat!

In the nick of time, a flash of inspiration hit me. I just pressed and held the power button on the side to shut the phone off!

And right at that moment, I heard a clear female voice echo in the quiet bedroom.

"The subscriber you have dialed is currently unavailable."

"The subscriber you have dialed is currently unavailable."

After trying a few times, Derek's frown deepened.

"Why is it turned off all of a sudden? Did the battery die?"

"Forget it, I'm probably just overthinking. There's no way she'd be back so soon."

"That silly girl probably lost the earring before she even left the house."

Derek shook his head and chuckled, slipping the earring into his pocket before going back to dismembering the body.

For about half an hour, he separated all the bones and chopped meat, bagging them into different large black plastic bags, and took them to the kitchen.

Hiding in the closet, my legs had gone completely numb from crouching.

The sound of running water came from the kitchen.

I rolled my numb ankles and carefully pushed the closet door open a crack.

Our apartment's layout had been remodeled. The small room next to the kitchen was opened up to create a dining area, and the kitchen sliding door opened towards that side too.

Between the dining area and the living room, there was a cabinet partition.

Which meant, if I slipped out of the master bedroom without making a sound, I could walk straight to the front door without catching Derek's attention.

I planned to use this opportunity to escape.

As for how this would end, I had no idea, and I didn't have the luxury to think that far ahead.

Right now, I just desperately wanted to get away from Derek, this murderer.

I opened the closet door and stood still for a few seconds, letting the feeling return to my legs.

Then, tiptoeing, trying my absolute hardest not to make a single sound, I slowly moved toward the front door.

One step, two steps, three steps. The dark red security door was right in front of me!

Derek was still in the kitchen, intently washing things. The sound of running water hadn't stopped.

I had just grabbed the door handle, my knuckles white from gripping it so tight.

Suddenly

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Knocking exploded on the door without warning, startling me so badly I shook all over.

"Brooke? Derek? Are you guys home?"

It was the neighbor, Mrs. Gable. Her voice was loud and carried an irrepressible excitement.

Almost instantly, the water in the kitchen stopped.

My scalp prickled. I immediately yanked my hand back and looked around frantically. The living room was wide open with nowhere to hide; only the heavy, L-shaped fabric sofa had its side facing the front door.

I practically dove behind the corner of the sofa, curling up into a ball, my heart pounding like a drum.

Derek's footsteps grew closer, brushing past the sofa where I hid, heading toward the door.

"Who is it?"

He asked, his voice as calm as ever.

"It's me, Mrs. Gable from next door."

The voice outside grew even more enthusiastic.

"I heard noise coming from your place, thought maybe Brooke was back?"

"I just baked some fresh cornbread muffins. They're Brooke's favorite, still piping hot."

"Oh, Mrs. Gable."

Derek cracked the door open just a sliver, not all the way.

"Brooke isn't back yet. I was just in the kitchen chopping some bones for a rib stew. Want some, Mrs. Gable?"

"Oh, is that so?"

Mrs. Gable's tone shifted, her eyes trying to peer through the crack in the door, looking like she wanted to squeeze her whole body inside.

"That can't be right. I think I saw her coming into the complex this afternoon."

"Did you two have a fight?"

"Derek, you're an honest man. You can't be messing around behind our Brooke's back!"

I lay flat on the cold tile floor, cold sweat drenching my back.

Mrs. Gable lived right across the hall. She was straightforward, enthusiastic, and extremely nosy.

She was the one who texted me to hurry back and catch my husband bringing a woman home.

I never imagined that after sending the text, she'd actually come knocking to watch the drama unfold.

This was going to get me killed!

Hearing her words, Derek's face predictably changed.

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't Brooke coming back tomorrow? I'm the one who bought her the flight ticket."

"How could she be back today? Mrs. Gable, are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

Derek's voice was still smiling, but beneath that smile, something had snapped taut.

He gripped the door handle, his knuckles turning white.

Mrs. Gable let out an "Oh my," lowering her voice a bit, filled with the eager curiosity of someone who loves a good spectacle.

"My kid, Toby, saw her. Said he ran into Brooke at the front gate half an hour ago. She even said hi to him. He wouldn't make a mistake like that!"

She paused, then her voice rose again, probing.

"What, she didn't come inside?"

"Or did she come in, see something she shouldn't have, you two fought, and she ran away?"

Mrs. Gable narrowed her eyes, implying heavily.

"Derek, you can't be doing things like this!"

"Brooke is such a good girl. Her parents treat you like their own son, always bringing you food, buying this and that, taking such good care of you."

"You can't do anything stupid!"

Derek's face was livid, his jaw clenched tight.

He stayed silent for a long time before forcing out a response.

"Mrs. Gable, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Brooke really hasn't come back, and there's nothing shameful going on in this house."

He stepped aside, his tone carrying a hint of exasperation.

"If you don't believe me, why don't you come in and see for yourself?"

Mrs. Gable let out an awkward, dry laugh.

"Oh, listen to you. Why wouldn't I believe you?"

While grumbling internally, she figured I must have had something come up and gotten delayed somewhere in the complex.

Otherwise, rushing back to catch him cheating and running into a woman caked in makeup, the two of us would have already blown the roof off. It wouldn't be this dead quiet.

Thinking this, Mrs. Gable shoved the plate of cornbread muffins into Derek's hands, smiling apologetically:

"I guess our Toby must have seen wrong."

"You go back to what you were doing. I won't bother you anymore. If Brooke comes back, tell her I said hi."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks for checking in, Mrs. Gable."

Closing the door, Derek slowly turned around.

He stood in place for a moment, the corners of his mouth inching up into a wide grin.

"Baby~"

"You're back. Why aren't you coming out?"

"Are we playing hide-and-seek with Hubby?"

As he spoke, he started walking. Unhurried, yet with a clear target, straight toward the sofa.

The crisp sound of his footsteps exploded in my brain.

I was paralyzed with terror, nearly fainting from the sheer fear. My mind went completely blank; I had no idea how to react.

The footsteps stopped.

Above my head, Derek's deep voice sounded.

"Ha, found you!"

My entire body went rigid. My neck popped and cracked as I mechanically raised my head.

Derek crouched down, raising his hand to stroke the top of my head.

"Brooke, you've been a bad girl. Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

"AHHH"

I let out a blood-curdling scream.

Derek moved fast. His hand slid swiftly down from the top of my head, clamping tightly over my mouth.

The scream was muffled in my throat.

I struggled desperately, using all my strength to push him.

"Let me go! Let go!"

Derek was tall and heavily built, incredibly strong.

I couldn't break free at all.

With both my mouth and nose covered, my vision went black in waves. My chest tightened, suffocating.

Soon, my eyes rolled back, and I passed out.

When I woke up, I was lying on the sofa, covered with a thick blanket.

Derek poked his head out from the dining room, calling me gently.

"Honey, I figured it was time for you to wake up."

"You little sleepyhead, you sure can sleep. Come eat now that you're awake."

"I simmered this rib stew for three whole hours. It smells amazing."

I jolted, bolting upright.

For a split second, I almost suspected I was already dead.

But the warm, thick blanket on me, and the autumn breeze blowing in from the balcony carrying that distinct, damp post-rain smell, reminded me I was still alive.

I looked at Derek with terror and uncertainty, clutching the blanket tightly around me.

Derek walked over carrying a white porcelain bowl.

"Try it. You'll love it."

A thick layer of milky-yellow oil floated in the bowl, with a few off-white bones bobbing inside.

Just like the bones that had been chopped up earlier.

My stomach heaved, and I nearly vomited.

I forced it down, shrinking back against the cushions.

"I need to use the bathroom."