Chapter 3

Andrew came over fast, stripped off his jacket, and knotted it around my waist to hide the worst of it.

"Go to the room and change your clothes."

I didn't have the strength to say anything. I gave a numb little nod.

I got to the room and found the door standing open, my suitcase torn apart and everything strewn around.

Minnie was standing in the middle of it.

The moment she saw me, she flung the matching lingerie set I'd so carefully packed right in my face and screamed at me.

"You slut! Is this what you used to seduce Andrew?"

I raised a hand and pushed the underwear off my shoulder.

Then I took clean clothes and a pad from the suitcase and walked into the bathroom.

"Minnie, I'm exhausted right now. I don't have time to act out your little script."

But Minnie acted like she hadn't heard a word, still lost in the murder-mystery world.

"Don't think you're getting away."

She rushed over and shoved me hard.

I wasn't braced for it and went down against the floor, my elbow cracking into a chair and turning red at once.

The crash was loud enough to bring the three of them in from the living room.

Andrew had barely stepped inside when Minnie threw herself sobbing into his arms.

"What's so special about this woman? Why won't you just get rid of her?"

"Andrew, I'm the one who's your legal wife!"

She pulled two red booklets from her pocket and threw them at me.

"Queenie Cobb, open your eyes and take a good look at what this is!"

I picked up the red booklet by my hand.

Opened it.

The holders listed inside were Andrew Sanchez and Minnie Henson, the two of them in white shirts on the red-backed photo, smiling like newlyweds.

There was an embossed seal stamped under the photo.

The marriage certificate was real.

My eyes dropped to the date underneath.

Something buzzed inside my skull, and every thought in my head just stopped.

That same day, on my way to choose my wedding dress, I'd been in a car accident.

After the surgery, the doctor told me I'd been three months pregnant, and that the baby hadn't made it.

I called Andrew, crying.

He hung up on me more than twenty times in a row.

In the end I sent him the medical report.

He answered in a second.

【Wait for me. I'm coming right now.】

That day he'd knelt at my hospital bed and cried until his eyes were red.

"I'm sorry. If the company hadn't called a last-minute meeting, I could've gone to see the dress with you, and none of this would've happened."

"Queenie, get your strength back. We'll have another baby someday."

All the details I'd made myself overlook came into focus.

He'd said it was just a meeting at the office, but he'd done his hair, worn a new suit, put on cologne.

So that was the day he went and registered a marriage with Minnie.

No wonder he'd kept finding one excuse after another to push back the date for us to make it legal.

I lifted my head.

"Andrew, then what am I? What was that wedding?"

Andrew looked away from me.

"I'll explain everything to you once the game's over."

Minnie clicked her tongue.

"Queenie Cobb, the facts are right in front of you. Do you even need to ask?"

Quinn came in behind her, arms crossed over his chest.

"That's the point. Andrew and Minnie are the real couple. You, Queenie Cobb, are just the mistress."

Andrew said, low, "All of you, that's enough."

He took Minnie and Quinn by the arm and walked them out of the room.

Before shutting the door, he left one line behind.

"It's not what you think. Don't let your mind run off with you."

I sat up slowly and went to the bathroom to change out of the soiled pants and shirt.

Once that was done I picked up my phone, meaning to quietly arrange a boat to come to the island and take me away.

But the full signal bars in the corner of the screen suddenly vanished.

It wasn't just the cell service that was gone; the villa's WiFi was down too.

At the same moment, Minnie's voice came through the door.

"To make sure everyone gets the full game experience, the staff have switched on the island's signal jammer."

"There won't be any signal until the game ends tomorrow afternoon."

I didn't bother answering her.

I locked the door from the inside.

A whole night without sleep, plus nearly three hours of walking, and the moment I touched the bed I blacked out.

The next time my eyes opened it was to knocking.

Minnie was shouting outside the door.

"Queenie Cobb, open up! You've got the nerve to sleep?"

"Your parents killed themselves. They couldn't live with the shame of you being a mistress."

"Get out here, now!"