1 My husband and my best friend were obsessed with their polar plunges. I always told them they were getting too old for that sort of thing, that something bad could happen, but they’d just laugh and say I didn’t get it. Yesterday, I went to the beach to pick them up, just like any other day. But this time, I found them floating naked in the water, their lower bodies still tangled together. Panic and shock washed over me in a tidal wave. I didn’t think to call for help. I didn’t even scream. I just fainted. By the time I woke up, they were both stiff. And that’s when my real trouble began. Just last week, to get back in my good graces, my husband had taken out a billion-dollar life insurance policy. The beneficiary was me. Now, how in the world was I supposed to explain this to the insurance company? … Someone was shaking me awake. My ears were filled with hushed whispers. “They were really in love, huh? Took the medical examiner hours to separate them.” “I know, right? I heard the old couple came here every day for their winter swim. So devoted!” “Less of a swim and more of a… romantic dip, if you ask me.” I shook my head, trying to clear the fog, and slowly sat up. The sight before me snapped me into sharp focus. Two naked bodies lay on the sand, completely exposed. My hand trembled as I tugged on the sleeve of a person standing nearby. “What… what happened to them?” The man sighed, his eyes full of pity. “They’re gone.” Gone? Just yesterday morning, they were so full of life. I remember Chloe showing up at our house, playfully punching Leo on the chest. “What, you’re backing out? A real man never says no!” she’d laughed, her smile radiant. “It’s barely forty degrees out, and you’re already scared?” Then she’d shot me a dirty look. “Or is it Olivia? Getting on in your years and still jealous of us? Is that why you won’t let him come?” “Honestly, Olivia,” she’d continued, her tone patronizing, “you need to loosen the leash a little. Leo and I have been swimming together for ages. If something was going to happen between us, don’t you think it would have by now?” “But fine, if Leo’s too scared, I’ll just go alone.” That was all it took. Right in front of me, Leo ripped off his shirt. “You know I’m not scared of anything,” he’d boomed, laughing. “What does a housewife like Olivia know about our hobbies, anyway? Don’t mind her. Let’s go.” They had tag-teamed me with their words until I finally gave in. And now, they were telling me they were dead? I couldn’t accept it. Tears flooded my eyes, and my body shook with sobs. “Ma’am, you must have been terrified.” A young man in a police uniform approached me, his voice gentle. “I mean, seeing two people… intertwined like that, just floating in the water… anyone would have passed out. We don’t blame you.” “But you were the first witness. We’ll need you to answer a few questions for our investigation when you’re ready.” His words only made me cry harder. Leo was dead. As a woman on her own, I had so much to deal with. Not only did I have to take over his company and inherit his massive fortune, but now I had to figure out how to explain this mess to the insurance company that just issued a billion-dollar policy… I simply didn’t have time for an investigation. The young officer, misinterpreting my distress, shook his head at the two bodies. “All that passion didn’t do them much good in the end.” “Getting on in years, looking for a thrill… all that vigorous activity in the cold water. They must have gotten cramps.” “And because they were… stuck together so tightly, neither of them could make it back to shore.” I froze. Vigorous activity? Stuck together so tightly? The scene from last night flashed back into my mind. They had been pressed together, their lower halves joined in a position that was unmistakably… My heart seized, and I couldn't breathe. I had been married to Leo for thirty years. I had known Chloe for forty. I couldn’t believe it. The two people I trusted most in the world had been betraying me like this. The evidence was lying right there on the sand. I clutched my chest, feeling the air leave my lungs. But then, a different thought pushed through the pain. They were still my husband and my best friend. One was a powerful CEO, the other a renowned dance instructor. They were proud people who cared about their reputations. As much as I hated them, the dead deserved some dignity. I couldn't let them be exposed like this. I took a deep breath, scrambled to my feet, and snatched up the matching pair of designer underwear they’d left on the beach. I walked over and draped one over each of their faces. Then I collapsed to the ground and wailed. “Please! Stop taking pictures!” “My husband and my best friend are dead! Please, just leave them alone!” I cried, my voice tearing from my throat. I was torn between rage and a strange kind of pity. Rage at their betrayal. Pity for myself… they were dead, but they’d left me with a mountain of paperwork. The crowd of onlookers grew, and my words sent a shockwave through them. “Wait, they weren’t a couple? She’s his wife? So they were having an affair?” “Oh my god, her husband and her best friend? This is juicier than a soap opera!” “No wonder they came all the way out here… it was a secret rendezvous!” “They probably did this all the time. It was bound to end badly.” “That poor woman… to find them like that and faint from the shock!” Their words felt like a physical weight on my chest, crushing me. The young officer finally understood. His expression softened with even deeper sympathy. “Ma’am, please get up. The ground is cold. By the way… do you two have… any children?” We did. But our son, Dylan, was on his honeymoon with Chloe’s daughter, Sophie. He wouldn't want to be bothered. Still, with so many concerned eyes on me, I made the call. As expected, Dylan answered with an annoyed sigh. “What do you want now? I told you not to bother me and Sophie.” “Is it that you can’t be happy with Dad, so you don’t want us to be happy either?” I swallowed the pain in my throat and choked out the words. “Dylan… your father is dead.” There was a pause, then a burst of disbelieving laughter. “You’re insane.” “You’ll die before my dad does! Can’t you go one day without wishing he was dead?” I could hear Sophie laughing in the background. “Oh, Dylan, you know how she is. Just hang up.” “Sophie,” I cut in, my voice rising with a fresh wave of sobs, “your mother is dead, too.” The line went silent for a few seconds. Then came her sharp, piercing shriek. “Olivia! Just because my mother is close to your husband, you’re going to curse her like that?” “Their relationship is completely innocent! Why do you have to make things so miserable for everyone?” Ignoring her tirade, I repeated, my voice trembling, “They were having sex in the ocean, got cramps, and couldn’t get out. They drowned. Together.” I said it slowly, word for word, to make sure she understood. But they still didn’t believe me. Dylan’s voice was raw with anger. “Chloe is a lady! She would never do something like that in a place like that!” “Just because you have a dirty mind doesn’t mean everyone else does! I think you’re just jealous of her, and that’s why you’ve never liked Sophie! You’re just trying to ruin our honeymoon!” The young officer couldn’t stand it anymore. He took the phone from my hand. “Sir, this is Officer Miller with the….” He didn’t even get to finish. Dylan cut him off. “Wow, you even hired an actor? Nice try! We’re not falling for it! Spread all the rumors you want! We’ll deal with you when we get back!” The line went dead. When I tried to call back, I’d been blocked. I closed my eyes, all the fight gone out of me. The officer gently helped me into the back of an ambulance. “It’s okay, ma’am. You fainted anyway; you wouldn’t have seen anything useful. I won’t ask any more questions. Just go to the hospital and get some rest. Then you can start making arrangements.” As he spoke, paramedics covered Leo and Chloe with white sheets. Once they were covered, it was as if the naked, tangled scene had never happened. I looked at the two white forms, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Cry? I had no more tears. Laugh? I didn’t dare. But I pulled myself together quickly. I made a call to the company. “It is with great sadness that I must inform you that Mr. Harrison has passed away. I will be in this afternoon to take over his duties… I… I will not let Leo’s legacy fall apart!” Leo had no other family in this world besides me and Dylan. I couldn’t bear the thought of him lying alone in a cold morgue. I arranged for the cremation immediately. Afterward, I went straight to the office. “Mrs. Harrison, you are so strong…” “To lose your husband so tragically and still come back to work for the company…” “She’s the sole heiress of the Rhodes family, you know. Grew up a pampered socialite, and now she has to manage all this herself…” “She’s all alone now that Mr. Harrison is gone…” My voice choked with emotion as I clasped their hands. “Leo is gone, but the company must go on. I will hold it together.” I walked into the president’s office and signed the appointment papers to become the new chairwoman. This company had been a wedding gift from my father to his new son-in-law, Leo. It was only right that I take it back. The next few days were a blur. There were billions in inheritance to process and the billion-dollar insurance policy to claim. The insurance agent was initially suspicious about the timing of the death, but after reviewing the official case file, he just sighed and stamped the paperwork. A week later, Dylan and Sophie returned from their honeymoon. They arrived on the day of Leo’s memorial. I had prepared the offerings that morning and was carrying the urn out of the house. Dylan saw me and frowned. “I heard.” He glanced at the urn in my hands, his tone impatient. “It was just a dog. Do you really have to be so dramatic?” A dog? I remembered then. The circumstances of Leo’s death were so scandalous that I had paid a hefty sum to keep the media quiet. I hadn’t realized their official story was that I was mourning my beloved pet. It seemed a small price to pay for their discretion, so I hadn’t argued. I opened my mouth to explain, but Sophie let out a derisive laugh. “Olivia, you do realize that all of Leo’s money belongs to Dylan and me now, right? So every penny you’re wasting is our money! Did you ask for our permission to spend our money on a funeral for a dog?” She turned to the bodyguards standing by. “What are you waiting for? Get rid of all this junk!” The guards exchanged uneasy glances, unsure what to do. I trembled with rage. “Dylan! Look at this wonderful wife you’ve chosen! She is completely out of line!” Dylan seemed taken aback. He’d rarely seen me lose my temper. After a moment, he shouted back, “Mom! Sophie’s not wrong! She even bought you a gift!” He pulled a seashell out of his pocket. “See? What more could you want in a daughter-in-law?” I glanced at the designer shopping bags Sophie was holding. They were clearly meant for her mother, Chloe. But I was too tired to care. Chloe wouldn’t be receiving any gifts now. I clutched the urn tighter and started to walk past them. “If you have any respect left for your father, you’ll follow me.” I had only taken a few steps when a hand grabbed my hair from behind, yanking me backward. “I go out of my way to buy you a present, and you just ignore me? You care more about a dead dog than me! Don’t you ever expect me to call you ‘Mom’!” Caught off guard, I lost my grip. The urn slipped from my hands and shattered on the ground. The ashes scattered across the stone patio. My eyes turned red. “You! Do you have any idea what that is?” Sophie looked down and poked the pile of ashes with the toe of her shoe. “It’s just dog ashes.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust and ground her heel into them. “What’s the difference between this and trash?” “My mother was right about you,” she sneered. “You’re nothing but a jealous shrew! If my mom had met Leo first, you never would have even been in the picture!” I stared at the gray dust on the ground, a roaring in my ears. But Dylan, instead of reprimanding her, pulled a few bills from his pocket and tossed them onto the ashes. “Mom, stop making a scene. Here, this is enough to buy a few new dogs. Now clean this up before you make a mess of the whole house.” I completely lost it. I grabbed a wooden stake from the corner of the garden and swung it at him with all my might. “You monster! You ungrateful child! Your father is dead, and you desecrate his remains? I’ll kill you!” Dylan dodged the blow, shouting back, “Are you ever going to stop? Stop cursing my dad! He loved Chloe for years! He never should have been soft on you; he should have divorced you ages ago—” He never finished his sentence. A group of people dressed in black walked through the garden gate. They were carrying white funeral wreaths and black banners. In the center, one of them held a large, black-and-white portrait of Leo. The man in charge saw the scene and froze. “Mrs. Harrison… why are Mr. Harrison’s ashes… all over the ground?”
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