They All Said I Did It

Before I could shove my wife, Cheryl Craig, into the ocean, I turned myself in.

The security guard frowned. What? Are you saying that you're going to kill someone on this cruise?

I nodded. It's 5:05 p.m. right now. In 20 minutes, I'll push my wife off this cruise ship. You need to arrest me, now.

He stared at me like I had lost my mind. "You've got to be kidding! I've never seen anyone confess before the crime."

He waved me off and started to walk away, so I had no choice but to start smashing things in the lobby.

Only when the cuffs snapped around my wrists did I finally breathe again.

In my last life, Cheryl was pushed off this very ship and fell into the ocean. Before I could even finish arranging her funeral, the police came for me.

The ship's security footage clearly showed me pushing her overboard, but at that exact time, I was in a room with my father. There was no way I could've done it.

I asked my father to testify for me, but he said I had already been planning to kill Cheryl for the insurance money because my company was falling apart.

In the end, I was sentenced to death for murder.

Even as I faced execution, I still couldn't understand it.

I didn't do it, so why did everyone insist that I had?

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to before Cheryl fell into the ocean.

Chapter 1

"What? Are you saying that you're going to kill someone on this cruise?"

I glanced at my watch, my voice tight. "It's 5:05 p.m. right now. In 20 minutes, I'll push my wife off this cruise ship. You need to arrest me, now."

The air seemed to freeze.

The security guard stared at me like I had lost my mind. "I've never seen anyone confess before the crime. What's wrong with you? Are you sick or something?

"I'm not lying. Just arrest me. You'll know in 20 minutes if I'm telling the truth."

He frowned, irritation clear on his face. "If you and your wife are into weird roleplay, that's your business, but don't waste our time."

He turned to leave.

Panic hit me. I grabbed a vase nearby and smashed it hard against the floor. The crash echoed through the lobby, sharp and loud, drawing everyone's attention.

"Are you out of your mind?" a younger guard shouted. He stepped toward me to stop me, but I hurled something else, forcing him to jump back.

"What are you guys even doing?" someone yelled at the guard. "Grab him already! We paid for this cruise to relax, not to watch some lunatic lose it!"

Voices of frustration rose from the crowd.

I kept going, smashing anything I could get my hands on like a man possessed.

The head of security rushed over with his team. They swarmed me, pinned me to the ground, and snapped handcuffs onto my wrists.

"I've never seen anything like this," the younger guard was still explaining breathlessly. "He walked up saying he was about to kill someone and wanted to be arrested. When I didn't, he just went crazy."

The cold metal around my wrists steadied me.

"Take him to the security office. Keep him there and don't let him cause any more trouble."

The security room was wide and empty. I closed my eyes and started counting down the moment my wife, Cheryl Craig, would fall into the sea.

In my last life, we took this same cruise as a family trip.

My wife's old flame, Harry Baxter, had insisted on coming along.

I didn't want him there, but Cheryl said he was getting married soon and would be moving overseas, that this would be the last time he would ever bother us. Thus, I gave in.

I never expected things to spiral out of control.

While watching the sunset on the deck, Cheryl and Harry got into an argument, and he pushed her off the ship.

I called for help right away, but the sun had already set, and the ocean was rough. There was nothing they could do until morning.

By the next day, she was gone; no body, no trace. She was declared dead after falling into the ocean, and her body was never recovered.

Before I could even finish dealing with her death, the police showed up.

"We believe you're connected to Cheryl Craig's fall. You need to come with us."

They showed me the footage, which clearly captured me pushing Cheryl into the ocean.

I knew it had to be tampered with.

Right before it happened, my father hadn't been feeling well. I stayed in the room with him the whole time. There was no way I could've been on the deck.

I looked at my father, hoping he would speak up for me.

Instead, he glared at me with anger. "His company's collapsing. He's been planning this for a while, killing his wife for the insurance payout. I should've stopped him. I failed as a father. Son, just admit it. People on the deck saw you push Cheryl."

He was lying.

I saw it with my own eyes. Harry was the one who killed Cheryl.

I couldn't believe my father would lie through his teeth.

If it had only been him, I could have argued my way out.

However, there were so many witnesses on the deck. There was no way they were all lying. There was also the surveillance footage from the time it happened.

I couldn't explain any of it. All I could do was insist I was innocent.

In the end, I was sentenced to death for refusing to confess.

Even as I died, I still couldn't understand why everyone insisted I had killed Cheryl with my own hands.

Chapter 2

Second by second, time dragged on.

Suddenly, something heavy hit the water outside. The cruise ship's engines roared loud enough to swallow most sounds, but I still caught it clearly.

So it happened Cheryl still went overboard.

Moments later, hurried footsteps pounded down the hall. The young security guard shoved the door open so hard that it slammed against the wall.

He froze when he saw me. "Why are you still here? Weren't you just"

Before he could finish, a crowd of passengers surged in behind him.

"It's him! He's the one who killed her! I saw him push that woman into the ocean!"

"Trying to run? With this many people watching, where do you think you're going?"

"Killing someone in broad daylight? You've got some nerve! I'm going to make sure everyone knows what you did today!"

A young man, worked up and shaking with excitement, held his phone up and started livestreaming.

"Guys, this is my first time seeing a crime scene live. Hit like, and let's watch how he tries to talk his way out of this!"

I turned my face away from the camera being shoved inches from me and flexed my wrists, numb from the cuffs.

"What happened out there? I've been cuffed here the whole time. I don't know anything."

Their eyes finally dropped to the handcuffs behind my back. Doubt flickered across their faces, so I kept going.

"Ask the ship's security. I caused a scene in the lobby earlier. They cuffed me here themselves."

The young guard still looked confused, but he nodded anyway.

"Yes, I put the cuffs on him myself about 20 minutes ago. I've had the key the whole time. There's no way he left."

In my last life, after Cheryl fell, all I cared about was saving her. I never noticed the strange looks around me.

This time, I found security first and told them everything. That made him my witness.

"Wait Did we get the wrong guy?"

"I saw him causing trouble in the lobby earlier. It took several guards to restrain him."

"Why didn't you say that sooner? What a waste of time! Move, everyone. Let's go find the real killer."

The streamer turned to leave, but then Harry shoved through the crowd, his face twisted with anger.

"Michael, Cheryl wanted a divorce. Even if you can't handle that, that's not a reason to kill her!"

He raised his voice so everyone could hear.

"You all don't know this, right? The woman who fell overboard was his wife. He killed her!" Harry's expression shifted into grief. "Poor Cheryl. She was willing to walk away with nothing just to get free of you. Why couldn't you let her go?"

The crowd lit up instantly.

"You're married. If it doesn't work out, you separate! How could you kill her?"

"Just look at his face. He looks like trouble. He's definitely the killer."

"Damn, you almost fooled us! I hate men who hurt their wives. I'm teaching you a lesson today!"

The streamer stepped forward and kicked me hard, over and over.

I was chained to the pipe with nowhere to dodge. I went down hard, and the words I was about to say died in my throat.

On his livestream, the comments exploded.

[This is terrifying! That's the second wife-murder case this month. What do women even get out of marriage?]

[That poor woman. Didn't even get her divorce before she lost her life.]

[Hit him harder! He ruined a life and thinks he can walk away? We can't let him off easy! I'm sending a tip. Kick him a few more times for me!]

Once one person started, the rest rushed in.

Fists and feet came from every direction. My clothes were torn, my face split and bruised.

The head of security saw things spiraling out of control. He pulled out his baton and shouted, "That's enough! We don't have the full story yet. If you keep causing trouble on this ship, you're all getting arrested!"

The chaos finally died down.

I dragged myself up from the floor and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.

"I didn't kill anyone! My wife's death has nothing to do with me. If you don't believe me, check the security footage!"

Chapter 3

The young guard snapped out of it and immediately pulled up the surveillance footage.

When it confirmed I had been cuffed in place the entire time, everyone exchanged uneasy looks.

A flicker of panic crossed Harry's eyes, but he steadied himself fast. "You can't just look at the room. Pull the footage from the deck where it happened, too."

The head of security brought up the deck cameras, and the crowd rushed over.

On screen, Cheryl and I walked to a quiet corner of the deck, talking. Then, in the span of a blink, something set us off. We started arguing.

Part of the view was blocked, so I couldn't clearly see Cheryl, but the man on screen looked agitated. In the middle of the argument, he kept turning his face toward the camera tucked in the corner.

A few seconds later, he shouted like he had lost control and shoved Cheryl hard. She went straight over the railing and into the ocean.

The man turned and ran, then the footage cut out.

My mind went blank.

The man in the video looked exactly like me. Even his height and build were the same.

But The one who went to watch the sunset with Cheryl was supposed to be Harry. How did he turn into me?

Even the livestream chat froze.

[What's going on? How can the same person be in two places at once?]

[No way. Even identical twins wouldn't look this much alike!]

[There's no way to fake surveillance that fast. One cancels the other out. The evidence is useless!]

The streamer scratched his head, glancing between the screen and his phone. "There are witnesses and footage on both sides. Doesn't that count as reasonable doubt?"

Harry stood there, caught off guard.

It wasn't until the woman in black behind him cleared her throat that he snapped out of it.

"Take a good look. That's clearly Michael! In cases like this, the husband or wife is always the primary suspect. These guards are obviously covering for him. He must have paid them off. Don't let him fool you!"

Before his words even settled, my father rushed in from somewhere and struck me across the face.

"Michael, I didn't raise you to be this cruel! I know the company's strapped for cash. I already told you I'd find a way to fix it. You don't get to kill your wife for insurance money just because she wants a divorce!"

My father threw a stack of documents at me. The streamer hurried in close and zoomed in on them.

The chat exploded again.

[Two insurance policies? Am I seeing this right? If his wife dies, he gets four million!]

[I'm freaking out. My husband just bought me insurance, too. Is he going to kill me?]

[She went on this trip thinking he'd changed, thinking he'd be better. Turns out he planned this whole thing to take her life. What is wrong with people?]

As public opinion shifted, Harry's lips curved just slightly, a smile so faint that it almost slipped by. "Now we've got witnesses, evidence, and motive. Michael, what else do you have to say?"

"Trash like this deserves to pay with his life!"

"Yeah, make him pay!"

"Make him pay! Make him pay!"

The crowd surged again, fists in the air as the chant grew louder.

Even the young guard who had just backed me up looked at me now with disgust.

Right then, my phone started ringing.

I looked at the young guard. He instinctively reached for my cuffs, but Harry cut in sharply.

"He's a killer. If you let him loose and he hurts someone else, what then?"

I swallowed the anger burning in my chest. "With this many people watching, what do you think I can do? You sound pretty scared. What, feeling guilty?"

"Don't twist this around on me!"

Harry tried to argue, but under my insistence, the head of security stepped in and had my hands moved to the front instead of behind my back.

My secretary's voice came through the line. I listened carefully to every word. When the call ended, the weight on my chest finally lifted, and I let out a quiet laugh.

My father wiped at his eyes like he was grieving. "No matter what tricks you try, you killed Cheryl. That doesn't change. From today on, I'm done with you. I'll make sure the police punish the man who murdered my daughter-in-law!"

If I hadn't lived this once already, I might have believed he was truly disappointed in me.

A cold smile touched my lips. "Dad, you care about Cheryl this much What, is she your real daughter or something?"