"Daddy! Mommy is under the pool!""
The words shattered the perfect evening.
I was on one knee beside the infinity pool of my mansion, holding an open red velvet ring box toward the woman I intended to marry. Crystal chandeliers illuminated the terrace. Champagne glasses sparkled beneath the golden lights. Two dozen guests stood around us, smiling, waiting for her answer.
Then my six-year-old daughter came running across the marble patio.
Her little pink shoes slipped against the wet stone. Her blonde curls bounced wildly around her tear-streaked face.
"Daddy!"" Ava screamed again, pointing at the water.
"Mommy is down there!""
The woman in the champagne-colored dress stopped smiling.
Her name was Vanessa Cole.
For eleven months, she had been my girlfriend. For the last three, she had been living in my house, wearing my wife's old perfume, sleeping in the bedroom that once belonged to the woman I had buried in my heart.
And tonight, I had planned to ask her to become my wife.
I slowly turned toward Ava.
"Sweetheart, what did you say?""
"Mommy!"" She pointed at the pool with trembling fingers.
"I saw her! She's alive! She's looking at me!""
A nervous laugh escaped one of the guests.
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
"Ava, honey, that's enough.""
But my daughter shook her head violently.
"No! You're lying!""
The smile vanished completely from Vanessa's face.
She crouched in front of Ava, gripping both her little shoulders.
"Listen to me," Vanessa said through clenched teeth.
"You know better than to make up stories like this.""
She looked over her shoulder.
"Take your hands off my daughter.""
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then Vanessa released Ava and straightened her dress.
"Marcus, she's upset. Children imagine things. We shouldn't encourage—"
"She said she saw her mother.""
"Your wife is dead.""
The words came out too quickly.
Too confidently.
I stared at Vanessa.
My wife, Elena, had supposedly died fourteen months earlier in a boating accident. Her body had never been recovered, but the authorities had eventually declared her presumed dead after an extensive search.
I had spent months paying investigators, hiring divers, and searching every stretch of coastline.
Eventually, everyone told me to accept what had happened.
Everyone except Ava.
She had never accepted it.
Every night, she asked whether Mommy was coming home.
Every birthday, she saved a piece of cake for her.
And now she was standing in front of me, crying and pointing at the pool.
"Where did you see her?"" I asked.
Ava grabbed my hand.
"By the bottom. I was looking through the glass.""
She pointed toward the far end of the swimming pool, where the underwater lighting illuminated the pale blue tiles.
"That black door. I saw Mommy's face through it.""
Vanessa stepped between us.
"Marcus, please. Don't do this.""
I looked at her.
"Don't do what?""
"Don't let her turn tonight into another one of her episodes.""
Ava began sobbing harder.
"I'm not lying!""
Vanessa sighed dramatically, looking toward our guests.
"I'm sorry everyone. Ava has been having trouble adjusting. Sometimes she says things because she misses her mother.""
A woman near the outdoor dining table nodded sympathetically.
Someone else lowered their champagne glass.
But I wasn't listening to them.
I was watching Vanessa.
Her fingers were trembling.
Not from embarrassment.
I had seen Vanessa angry. I had seen her jealous. I had even seen her furious when I refused to let her reorganize Elena's belongings.
But I had never seen her afraid.
"Marcus," she whispered, reaching for my arm.
"Let's take Ava inside.""
"Because this is ridiculous.""
"Then you won't mind showing me what she's talking about.""
Her eyes darted toward the pool.
Just for a second.
But I caught it.
I looked at the water.
The pool was unusually still. Beneath the shimmering surface, the blue tiles seemed to disappear into darkness near the deep end.
I took one step toward it.
Vanessa grabbed my wrist.
I looked down at her hand.
"Marcus, listen to me.""
"Let go of my arm.""
She tightened her grip.
"You have no idea what's down there.""
The terrace went silent.
I stared at her.
"What did you just say?""
Vanessa swallowed.
"I mean, it's deep. You could hurt yourself.""
I pulled my arm free.
Then I looked at Ava.
"Sweetheart, are you absolutely sure?""
She nodded, tears running down her cheeks.
"I saw her hand. She was hitting the glass.""
My stomach twisted.
I turned toward the pool.
The champagne dress, the expensive ring, the guests, the carefully arranged flowers—all of it suddenly seemed absurd.
I threw off my royal-blue jacket.
Vanessa rushed forward.
"Marcus, don't!""
I kicked off my shoes.
"Someone call emergency services!"" I shouted.
A guest immediately pulled out his phone.
Vanessa grabbed my shoulder.
"Please. You don't understand!""
I shoved her hand away.
The water swallowed me.