Chapter 4

Carter was losing his mind with rage.

"You turned the apartment into a landfill! I can't even roll my suitcase out!"

I blinked innocently. "Oh, did you need to take that suitcase today? I had no idea."

"Carter, why don't you help me clean up? We can finish before noon."

Carter checked his watch, his face twisting in panic.

"I don't have time! I have to leave by 7:00, that's ten minutes from now!"

I nodded. "Okay, go do your thing. I'll finish cleaning before you get back."

"Actually, can you call a junk removal service for me? It'll be much faster if they haul all of this away."

Carter, desperate to leave, nodded quickly and pulled out his phone.

"Hey, JunkBusters? I need an emergency pickup at Evergreen Crest Apartments, Unit 1202. There's a massive pile of trash. Please send a crew up immediately!"

I tilted my head and looked at him. "Are you sure there's nothing in here you want to keep?"

Carter yelled in frustration, covering his nose, "It smells like rot! Just have them throw everything away! Don't leave a single thing!"

I smiled gently.

"Perfect. That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

Carter slammed the front door behind him, muttering, "Ruined my whole morning. Unbelievable."

Ruined his morning?

Oh, honey, the show hasn't even started yet.

Once the door clicked shut, I took off my mask and gloves. I stood up from the pile of garbage.

I walked over to the study door, leaning against the frame, staring intently at the massive suitcase.

Faint, muffled snoring was coming from inside.

In my past life, when Carter pushed me out the window, Amber had poked her head out to wave at me.

"Bye-bye, old lady~"

Amber, you never would have guessed that right now, you and I are the only ones left in this apartment.

The doorbell rang.

Two muscular junk removal workers stood at the door, staring at the chaos inside in utter shock.

"Are... are we throwing all of this away, ma'am?"

I nodded. "Yes. My husband said to get rid of everything. Leave nothing behind."

The workers began making trips back and forth, clearing a path from the study to the front door.

I walked into the study and grabbed the handle of the suitcase.

Amber's muffled, sleepy voice came from inside.

"Carter? Are we finally leaving?"

"Shh," I whispered quietly. She fell silent instantly, thinking it was her boyfriend playing along.

I wheeled the heavy suitcase out of the study, into the elevator, and down to the parking lot where their giant junk truck was parked.

The radio on the truck was blaring a loud commercial:

"Got junk? Call JunkBusters! We handle all your hazardous and unwanted waste!"

One of the workers walked down with the last load of trash, looked at the suitcase in my hand, and called out:

"Ma'am, this suitcase looks brand new. Are you sure you want to toss it?"

I nodded solemnly.

"Yes. It contains highly hazardous biological waste. Please be extremely careful not to open it. My husband warned me that if it's exposed to light, it will release lethal gas."

The worker nodded seriously. He called his partner over, and together, they hoisted the heavy suitcase and threw it into the back of the garbage compactor truck.

As the suitcase tumbled into the dark steel container, I thought I heard a muffled, high-pitched shriek.

But with the loud commercial music playing, I couldn't be sure.

I went back upstairs, mopped the floors, and used an untraceable burner phone to contact a digital media agency based in Europe.

Once everything was set, I poured myself a cup of tea and sat comfortably on the couch with a book.

At 9:00 AM, the electronic lock beeped.

Carter walked in, humming a cheerful tune.

I looked up at him.

"You look happy."

Carter gave me a smug, knowing smile. "I'm about to get rid of a massive burden. Of course I'm happy."

"Is that so? Well, congratulations."

I looked back down at my book.

Carter practically skipped toward the study.

The second he opened the door, his humming stopped.

He rushed inside, tearing the room apart, but found nothing.

"Clara! Where's my suitcase?! Where did you put it?!"

Carter ran back to the living room, sweat pouring down his face.

I took a slow sip of my tea.

"Oh, you mean the suitcase with the hazardous waste?"

"The junk disposal crew came. I had them take it away to be incinerated."