Vows of Vengeance

"I, Alexander Grant, take you, Elara Hamilton, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge myself to you." In this dream, Elara, dressed in a flawless white wedding gown, gazed at the man standing before her, making his vows. This man was the one she had chosen to spend her life with. Yet, Elara could never have guessed that Alexander, despite his striking looks and reassuring smile, carried a hidden darkness within him. After their wedding, Elara's life didn't unfold like the fairy tale she had hoped for, with a prince and princess living happily ever after. Six months later, she discovered that an investment project Alexander had recommended to her father, John, had gone horribly wrong. The person in charge vanished overnight with all the investors’ funds, using a fake identity. This plunged John into severe financial distress, forcing his company to dissolve to repay the debts. Overwhelmed by the pressure, John suffered a fatal heart attack. After her father's death, Elara, her mother Linda, and her younger brother James, who was still in high school, were the only ones left in the family. Elara sought Alex's help, hoping he could clear the enormous debt for them. However, Alex refused, claiming all his funds were tied up in other investments with no liquidity available. He did offer Elara a job as a financial manager in his company, but since she had no experience in finance or accounting, having worked in the fashion industry since graduation, Linda, who had experience as a CFO, stepped in to work for Alex's company and take on the bulk of the debt. Elara continued her career in fashion, doing her best to support her mother. James wanted to help too, but his mother and sister both hoped he would focus on his studies for the time being. Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction. A year had passed, and Elara was pregnant. Their first wedding anniversary was also approaching, and she planned to share the good news with Alex on that day. However, she didn't notice Alex coming home later and later recently or the troubled look on Linda's face. She was just immersed in the anticipation of the future and the joy of her pregnancy. October 22nd was their anniversary, and while Elara was decorating the house, Linda called. However, Elara missed the call and only received a voicemail from Linda saying, "Hey honey, I found something important at Alex's company that I think you should know about. Call me back." Half an hour had passed by the time Elara heard the message. Sensing the seriousness in Linda's voice, she hurriedly tried to call back, but after five attempts, there was no answer. Elara then tried to reach Alex, but his phone went unanswered too. Suddenly, a feeling of dread washed over her. Elara's phone rang with an unfamiliar number, and she decided to answer it. "Hi, this is Elara." "Hi, Elara, it's Nancy, your old neighbor. You might not remember me." "Oh, hi Nancy. Of course, I remember you. Is everything okay?" Elara was surprised to receive a call from her former neighbor. "Well, your old house suddenly caught fire. I called 911, and they're on their way. I thought you should know." "A fire? How could this happen! I'm on my way right now, thank you, Nancy." Elara quickly hung up and drove to her former house. On the way, she couldn't help but wonder why today. She didn't know why Linda and Alex weren't answering their phones, nor why the old house would catch fire out of the blue. Too many questions filled her head, swirling since her marriage to Alex. Anxiety took over, and she couldn't help but punch the steering wheel and curse, "f**k!!" Elara arrived at the scene just as the 911 team had extinguished the flames. The once familiar structure now stood eerily silent, its walls charred and its windows shattered, a stark contrast to the memories it once held. With her heart pounding, she approached the officer in charge, trying to mask her anxiety. "I'm Elara, the previous owner of this house." she said with a tremor in her voice. "May I ask what caused the fire?" The officer, who had been examining his notes, looked up at her. His expression was somber, professional. "I’m Adam. We've conducted a preliminary investigation. The origin of the fire appears to be the living room. Moreover, during our search, we discovered the remains of a person inside. We believe you might be able to assist us in identifying the deceased." "A person? Can you identify the gender?” The words hit Elara like a physical blow, sending a jolt of shock through her. A guess, an unwelcome suspicion, flashed through her mind, but she was reluctant, even afraid, to believe it. "Sorry, we can’t identify the gender right now. The forensic team has taken the body back for further investigation. Afterwards, I'll take you to the police station, where you might be able to help us identify the victim." the officer continued, his tone gentle yet firm. "It's crucial for us to piece together what happened here, and any information you provide could be invaluable." Elara's heart raced, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. After a moment's hesitation, she found her resolve. "Oh, okay. I’ll do whatever I can to help." The officer nodded, signaling for another officer to approach. "We'll escort you. Please prepare yourself, as this can be quite distressing. And remember, we're here to help in any way we can." After returning to the police station, Officer Adam gave Elara about ten minutes to gather her thoughts and compose herself. "Whenever you're ready, I'll take you over." Adam approached Elara to say. "Yes, I'm ready now. Sorry about that." Elara had rested in the room for a while, bracing herself for whatever was to come. "Okay, please follow me." Adam instructed. Elara followed Adam to the room where the body was stored, watching as the medical examiner pulled open the drawer to reveal a body covered with a white sheet. "We found a wedding ring and a cellphone on the body. Here are the personal items we discovered." the medical examiner handed a bag of evidence to Adam. "Thank you for your work, Sam." Adam said to the medical examiner, who waved it off, acknowledging it was all part of the job. "Mrs. Grant, here is the evidence bag. Perhaps you can help us identify to whom these belong." Adam handed the evidence bag to Elara. Taking the bag, Elara didn't need much time to recognize the items as belonging to her mother, Linda. The ring was a family heirloom of the Hamiltons, unmistakable to her. "These belong to my mother, Linda Hamilton. I believe this body is hers." Elara said, choking up with emotion. "Sorry for your loss. Thank you for providing us with this information. We'll need to conduct further investigations. Please keep your phone line open for us to contact you if we need more cooperation." Adam professionally explained as he escorted Elara to the police station's entrance. "Okay, I understand." Elara said, feeling numb. First, she lost her father, and now, on her wedding anniversary, her mother too. It felt as if the sky had fallen. Returning home in a daze, she sat in the partially decorated living room and suddenly thought of her husband, who had been unreachable. She picked up the phone and dialed Alex. After a few seconds, Alex answered. "Where are you? Why aren’t you answering my calls?" Elara asked the person on the other end. "Dear, I'm at the office. I've been in meetings all day, didn’t even check my phone. Is there something you needed?" "When are you coming home? You remember what day it is, right? It’s our first wedding anniversary." Elara no longer had the energy to decipher whether Alex was lying or not. Even if naively, she sensed that Alex might be involved in what was happening. "Of course, how could I forget such an important day? Wait for me at home, honey." Alex said, nonchalantly on the phone from his office. Was he alone? Of course not. "Baby, are you really going to spend the evening with Elara? Are you going to leave me alone?" a woman's voice echoed in Alex's office. "This will all be over soon. Just a little longer, and victory will be ours." Alex's tone was drastically different from when he spoke to Elara, now filled with tenderness and affection. "Alright then, I'll wait a bit longer." the woman said as she stood up from the sofa and walked over to the desk, planting a kiss on Alex. "Mm, it won't be much longer. You have my word." Alex replied, deepening the kiss...