Deceitful Marriage

Chapter 04

For most of the whole day, I painted or explored my new phone. There were many photos and videos for me to look through, Jasper by my side the entire time laughing or smiling at a few of them. His wonderful carefree laugh was contagious and it felt so good to be by his side. As the sun set and it was time for bed, I never felt uneasy laying by his side—thankful the lamp was on so there were no nightmares to ruin my sleep last night.

"You sure you'll be okay while I'm gone?" Jasper grabs his coat by the front door and pulls it on. I watch as he buttons it up with those slender fingers, the wedding ring shining from the light above.

"Yeah," I lean against the wall.

"I'll be back before ten tonight. Don't hesitate to call me or the neighbors if anything is wrong. They know you're going to be here all day," he unlocks the door.

"Wait," Jasper turns around in time for me to kiss his cheek, "Have a good day."

His eyes widen in shock for a split second before grinning, "Text you when I get there. I love you."

"Be safe," I mumble out the words as he leaves.

This is my first time being alone in the house.

Jasper already made breakfast for me so I stroll into the living room and plop myself on the comfy couch. I might as well catch up on what's happening in Washington, so I switch on to the local news.

The newscaster is a woman in her late twenties in a white blouse. There's a picture of a young man and a lady shown besides her. Their smiles shine through the screen.

"On Sunday night at around midnight, police discovered two more bodies in Arbor National Park. Just like the other victims, they were brutally tortured and hanged on trees. Residents nearby are frightened to think the Redeemer is still on the loose after two years. There have been riots near the police station about claims being brought upon the thirty victims, now thirty-two. Chief Benjamin J. Lee has a few words to say about everything that's stirring up—"

I turn down the volume and investigate more about this Redeemer on my phone. My heart skips a beat as I scroll through the many articles, Youtube, Podcasts, Instagram, and TikTok videos about this serial killer. This is crazy, it goes far back to two years. It wouldn't matter if I sit here and read all day, there's no way I'll get even halfway through this. I tuck my legs tuck underneath me as I begin the first article.

My eyes squint from staring at the screen for too long and glance at the time, it's almost noon. I've been reading for almost three hours. Here's what I found out about the Redeemer: The first victim was found hanging on a tree with no fingers nor tongue, bruises all over her arms and legs, and a chunk of her hair missing from the scalp on February 2020, two years ago. Her name was Avery Smith and she was twenty-five years old. One article claimed she abused her five-year-old son by burning his skin and forcing him to drink boiling water. My stomach clenched while reading that, but whatever happened to her wasn't the worst. All of the Redeemer's victims were abusers or having affairs with their loved ones. They were also tortured to the brink of death, but what causes them to die is being hung. The thing is the Redeemer would force them to be on their tippy toes, if they had any, and leave them. They would soon get exhausted or in too much pain to stand any longer, forcing them to suffocate by the rope. All of this is brutal and no need to rethink any of the victims' suffering, but social media quickly began to stir up after seeing a pattern.

Many people are supporting the Redeemer and wish for him to continue what he's doing. Others want the death penalty because no human deserves to go through what the victims went through. Honestly, it's crazy that any of this has been going on for this long. Police have no leads, suspects, or anything to figure out the identity of the Redeemer. Now it puts me in a difficult situation: do I support what he does?