Chapter 4

The guard threw the bedroom door open.

I stepped in right behind him, holding my phone high to record everything.

It was a repulsive sight.

Chloe and Austin were tangled up, completely naked on the bed.

"Ah!" Chloe shrieked, frantically grabbing the blanket to cover herself.

Austin sat up abruptly. When he saw me, his face twisted in rage. "Ethan! You set me up!"

The guard stood frozen, quickly turning his back in embarrassment. "Uh... sir, this seems like a domestic dispute..."

I let out a cold laugh. "I set you up?"

"Chloe, weren't you terrified of the homeless man outside? Are you scared of this one?"

Chloe’s face turned paper-white, her body trembling uncontrollably. "Ethan, let me explain..."

I stopped the recording. The video was successfully saved.

"Officer—well, security officer—you saw everything."

I immediately dialed 911 right in front of them.

"Yes, 911? I'm at Riverview Apartments, Unit 1503. I just caught my wife in bed with an intruder, and things are turning violent. Please send officers immediately."

The police arrived quickly.

Wrapped in bathrobes, Chloe and Austin were escorted out of the building to the police station for questioning, looking utterly humiliated.

I followed them to the station to give my statement, handing over the video footage as evidence.

In the interrogation room, in front of the officers, I played the part of a heartbroken husband.

"Officers, I don't want to make a public scene out of this."

I pointed at Chloe. "I forgive her."

Chloe looked at me in utter disbelief. Austin let out a massive sigh of relief.

"I won't press charges. I accept my loss. My only condition is that we file for divorce tomorrow."

Seeing my firm stance on getting a divorce, and considering it was a civil matter, the police focused on mediation.

They gave Chloe and Austin a harsh lecture, filed the report, and let them go.

Chloe and Austin walked out of the station.

Chloe offered a fake, tearful apology. "Ethan, thank you. Let's go home and talk this through, okay?"

Austin also walked up and tried to pat my shoulder. "Man, I'm so sorry. This... it's all my fault. I had too much to drink."

They thought I was still the same idiot from my past life.

I waved my hand with a "weary" expression.

Then, I pulled out my car keys and shoved them into Austin's hand.

Austin froze.

I spoke quietly, "I don't ever want to touch that car again. It feels dirty. It's still parked in my office garage."

"Aren't you my bro? Do me a favor. Drive it and take Chloe home."

"That car is bad luck."

Austin thought I was referring to the "bad luck" of catching them cheating.

Smirking, he took the keys. "No problem, Ethan. I got you."

He wrapped his arm around Chloe smugly. "Chloe, stop crying. I'll take you home."

The two of them hailed a cab and headed toward my office.

I watched the cab disappear around the corner.

Then, I turned right back around, walked into the station, and found the officer who had just taken my statement.

I gasped, "Officer, I suspect they are conspiring to murder me! Chloe sent me a fake AI video to lure me home, and Austin posted a fake alibi on Instagram... they are trying to stage a fatal car accident!"

The officer's expression sharpened. "Do you have any proof?"

"I suspect Austin tampered with my brakes! It's the black sedan parked at East Tower Plaza, plate number 387-9CS!"

"I felt something was off tonight, which is why I didn't go to the parking garage. I think he did it this afternoon! Please, look at the surveillance footage from the East Tower garage!"

"What?!"

The officer stood up abruptly. "Where is the car now?!"

I started "shaking" in fear. "I... my mind was a mess. I thought he just slept with my wife... I didn't think he wanted to kill me..."

"I gave them the keys... They are in a cab heading to the garage right now to pick up the car!"

The officer gasped, instantly grabbing his radio. "Dispatch! We have two suspects traveling in a cab from the East Precinct toward East Tower Plaza!"

"Locate a black sedan, plate number 387-9CS, immediately! Alert all patrol units. The vehicle's brakes have been tampered with. If started, it will be extremely dangerous! I repeat, extremely dangerous!"

The officer finished shouting into his radio and looked at me with a complex expression. "Stay here. You are now our key witness."

He rushed out of the office.

I sat alone in the interrogation room, staring quietly at the paper cup on the table.