But I could still save her name from him.
Part 6: The Woman at the Funeral
The funeral took place four days later in Juneau.
The church was full.
Teachers came. Parents came. Former students came with flowers, drawings, letters, and trembling voices.
Colin did not attend.
But Marissa did.
She stood alone at the back, dressed in plain black. She looked nothing like the glossy woman in the Bahamas photo. Her face was pale. Her eyes were swollen.
After the service, she approached me.
“Mrs. Brooks,” she said, voice shaking. “I’m so sorry.”
I stared at her.
“Did you know Lily was dying?”
She covered her mouth as tears spilled over.
“Not at first. He told me they’d been divorced for a year. He said she had abandoned him. I didn’t know about the cancer until I saw a message on his phone in Nassau. When I confronted him, he laughed.”
My stomach hardened.
“What did he say?”
“He said the policy would clear soon. He said then we’d be rich.”
I studied her.
Guilt has a posture. Hers was real.
“If you are sorry,” I said, “prove it.”
She reached into her purse and handed me a thick envelope.
“I left him when we got back,” she whispered. “I copied everything I could.”
Inside were screenshots, banking records, expense reports, and a small USB drive.
“There’s a recording,” she said. “He was drunk at the resort. He didn’t know my phone was recording. Use it.”
Nathan and I listened to the file in my hotel room that evening.
Behind Colin’s voice were waves, music, and laughter.
“Don’t worry about the credit card bill,” he slurred. “Once Lily’s policy pays out, we’ll have half a million. I timed it perfectly. She’s too weak to change anything.”
Nathan leaned back slowly.
