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They Killed My Cat. I Killed Their Future
Novelix
Completed
"When a six-year-old boy was injured by my cat, my husband seized the chance to blame me. He had actually stolen my cat from our home so his mistress could play with her. I lived through this day once before. They let me take the fall. My cat died. I died too. Now I'm back, and this time I'm not playing their game. I let them talk, let them lie, let them think I'd take the blame again. The security footage and their own words told the truth. They planned to sell my condo for her pet boutique. Instead, they'll pay for what they did. My cat is alive, and I'm done being their scapegoat. Revenge has nine lives, and I've got all of them."
Chapters (5)
第1章
The moment I came back to life, a six-year-old boy was screaming that my cat had blinded him.
The child rolled across the lawn, clutching his face. His mother rushed over, snatched my cat off the ground, and raised her above her head.
The first time I lived through that afternoon, she threw Mochi onto the pavement and killed the cat who had been mine for seven years.
I lunged forward and tore her from the woman's hands.
My husband, Ethan Cole, took two steps back with the woman beside him.
"The cat belongs to her! This has nothing to do with us!"
The other woman was Lily Bennett.
She had also been Ethan's mistress for the past two years.
Lily loved cats. Ethan was severely allergic to them. Even so, while I was out, he had stolen Mochi from our condo and brought her downstairs for Lily to play with.
Lily had not used a leash.
The boy had yanked Mochi's tail. Startled and trapped, Mochi had slashed at him, one claw sinking into his eye.
Back then, no one gave me a chance to explain.
The boy's mother slapped me twice. His father arrived with a butcher knife.
Ethan stood beyond the crowd and watched me collapse in a pool of blood.
They blamed everything on me. After I died, Ethan even sold the condo my parents had left me and used the money to open a pet boutique for Lily.
Then the world snapped back into focus, and I was standing at the entrance to our complex again.
This time, I moved first.
I blocked the hand reaching for Mochi and held her tight against my chest.
"She's mine," I said. "If someone has to answer for this right now, start with me."
Ethan and Lily both relaxed.
They thought they had their fall guy.
The boy's screams cut through the air.
"Mom! Mom, I can't see!"
His mother's face drained of color. She forgot about the cat, dropped to her knees, and tried to pry his hands away from his eye.
Blood ran between his fingers.
Lily was already hiding behind Ethan.
Mochi had curled beneath an ornamental tree. Her tail was puffed to twice its size, and a low growl I had never heard before rumbled in her throat.
I remembered that spot. It was where they had caught her before.
The woman had grabbed Mochi by the hind legs and slammed her into the pavement.
By the time I reached her, Mochi was convulsing, foam spilling from her mouth. I knelt and held out my hand, but she never pressed her head into my palm the way she always had.
Then came the two slaps.
Ethan had pointed at me and shouted, "Your cat attacked somebody. Don't you dare blame anyone else!"
Lily, eyes red with manufactured tears, had added, "I've told her before that her cat has a nasty temper, but she keeps letting it roam."
Before I could ask how she knew anything about Mochi's temperament, the boy's father arrived with the knife.
The last thing I saw was Ethan guiding Lily backward with one protective hand.
He shielded her so completely that not even my blood touched her shoes.
Now that same hand rested at the small of her back.
Exactly as I remembered.
I could almost hear my teeth grinding.
"Call an ambulance," I said.
I crouched near the child without touching his eye.
"Don't let him rub it. Security, please call 911 and ask for the police too."
The boy's mother jerked her head up.
"You have the nerve to call the police?"
"Your son's eye comes first."
I unlocked my phone and held up my driver's license and contact information.
"This is who I am. This is my number. I'm not going anywhere."
She stared at me.
More than a dozen neighbors had gathered. Several were filming.
I made my voice deliberately calm.
"The cat is mine. I can cover the emergency costs up front."
Ethan's eyes lit up.
I saw it. So did Lily.
The tension vanished from the corners of her mouth.
I took off my jacket and approached Mochi slowly. When she saw me, she gave a tiny cry.
My eyes burned.
I wrapped her in the jacket and lifted her against me.
The boy's mother charged over.
"You're still worried about the cat?"
She raised her hand, but a security guard stepped between us.
I did not retreat.
"I know you're terrified. But the cat can't take any more stress. If she hurts someone else, this will only get worse."
The woman's chest heaved.
"If my son loses that eye, I swear to God, I'll kill you!"
Last time, she had made good on that threat.
I lowered my head and stroked Mochi's ear.
She was alive.
For now, that was enough.
第2章
Before the ambulance arrived, I went out of my way to make myself sound responsible.
Too responsible, if anyone had been paying attention.
"Yes, I've raised her since she was a kitten. Seven years. I bathe her, give her medicine, trim her claws, everything. My husband almost never touches her."
Ethan jumped in at once.
"I'm severely allergic. I couldn't take care of a cat if I wanted to."
I nodded. "That's right. His allergy is serious."
Afraid someone might question her, Lily hurried to add, "I've never seen that cat before. I was just walking by when I noticed her on the lawn."
I turned to look at her.
Her makeup was understated and flawless. Around her neck glittered a delicate Harry Winston diamond pendant.
Months ago, I had found it in Ethan's desk and secretly thrilled at the thought that he had planned a surprise for me.
The surprise was that it had been meant for his mistress.
I had died too soon to give the necklace another thought. Now it caught the sun every time Lily moved, impossible to ignore.
I smiled.
"Right. She must have happened upon the scene too."
Ethan gave me a wary glance, but suspicion quickly gave way to relief.
He must have thought I was still the woman I used to be.
The woman who apologized first whenever anything went wrong. The woman who, with a knife at her throat, would still ask whether she had failed someone.
Emboldened, Lily pointed at me.
"I even warned her that the cat looked aggressive, but she didn't come over."
A neighbor frowned.
"Didn't you say you were just passing by? How did you know who owned the cat?"
Lily froze.
Ethan answered for her.
"She's seen my wife's social media. Mochi is pretty distinctive."
I looked at Ethan.
"You two know each other?"
Silence fell for one long second. His throat moved.
Then I widened my eyes as if I had just remembered.
"Oh, right. Ms. Bennett is a client of his company. She must have seen Mochi in one of my posts."
Lily nodded eagerly. "Yes. A client."
"Then it makes sense that she recognized her," I added helpfully.
The neighbors stopped asking questions. For the first time that afternoon, Ethan looked openly pleased with me.
He stepped close and lowered his voice.
"You're handling this the right way."
I held Mochi and met his eyes.
"A child is hurt. Someone has to take responsibility."
He patted my shoulder.
"That's my girl. Let's get this cleaned up, and we'll talk about the rest at home."
The moment his fingers brushed my jacket, he yanked them away.
Cat hair.
Ethan had been severely allergic since college. Before we married, I asked him over and over whether he could live with Mochi. He swallowed antihistamines and promised he could.
After we moved in together, he confined her to my office and the enclosed balcony.
I compromised every time. I bought three air purifiers. I mopped twice a day and washed the couch covers every week. If I saw so much as a loose strand of fur, I crouched down and rolled it off the floor.
I thought that was what compromise in a marriage looked like.
Only as I lay dying did I learn the truth.
The man who refused to touch me after I held my cat had put on a mask and gloves, stuffed Mochi into a carrier, and delivered her to Lily himself.
Not because he had suddenly learned to love cats.
Because Lily had once said, "Your wife's Ragdoll is gorgeous. I wish I could take her out just once."
She wanted something, so he took it.
My property.
And when disaster followed, he charged the bill to me.
The ambulance arrived. The boy's mother climbed in with him. Before the doors closed, she pointed at me.
"Don't disappear."
I texted her a photo of my license.
"I'm taking my cat to an emergency vet, then I'll come straight to the hospital."
Ethan spoke beside me.
"She'll be there."
The woman glared at him.
"You're the husband? Good. You're not walking away from this either."
Ethan scowled. "I have nothing to do with that cat."
I cut in before he could say more.
"He's telling the truth. Mochi has always been my responsibility."
A satisfied smile tugged at Ethan's mouth.
He did not see the camera beside the black button on my collar, its lens no larger than a pinprick.
From his first declaration that the cat was mine, it had captured every image and every word.
第3章
I took Mochi to the emergency vet first.
The veterinarian found signs of acute distress, one broken claw on her right front paw, and abdominal tenderness consistent with being kicked. There was no evidence of internal bleeding. Because Mochi had injured a child, the clinic also notified animal control and explained the required ten-day quarantine.
"I'd like to keep her overnight for observation."
I agreed.
When a technician carried Mochi away, she hooked her claws into my sleeve. I carefully eased the fabric free.
"I'll come back for you."
She did not understand. Her huge blue eyes followed me until the door closed.
Ethan waited outside the clinic. He would not even come through the door.
"Done?" he asked through the glass.
"Yes."
"Then let's get to the hospital."
He looked down at his phone.
I knew who he was texting.
After I died the first time, my younger sister recovered deleted messages from Ethan's old phone. At this exact time, Lily had sent him more than a dozen frantic texts.
Her last message read, "She isn't going to tell them about us, is she?"
Ethan replied, "No."
"Are you sure?"
"You know her. Tell her a kid might go blind and she'll scare herself to death before anyone else has to. lol"
By the time my sister read those words, I really was dead.
The man who had shared my bed for five years understood me perfectly. He knew I hated burdening people. He knew I avoided conflict. He knew fear made me focus on fixing the immediate problem.
And he knew exactly how to use those qualities to send me to my grave.
Outside the clinic, Ethan put away his phone.
"Lily left. She's badly shaken."
I nodded. "She's certainly had terrible luck."
Guilt made him defensive.
"Don't start with the sarcasm."
"I'm not being sarcastic. If she was only passing by, what could she possibly be responsible for?"
His expression softened.
"As long as you understand."
During the drive, he coached me on what to say at the hospital.
"Tell them Mochi is usually gentle and something startled her. Don't mention Lily. Don't get into who brought the cat outside."
I kept my hands on the wheel.
"But I didn't bring her outside."
The car went quiet.
Ethan turned toward me. "What does that mean?"
I looked puzzled, as if the thought had only just occurred to me.
"Mochi was home when I left this morning. Maybe I didn't close the door all the way?"
He studied me for two seconds.
"You've been forgetful lately. She probably slipped out on her own."
"Oh," I said softly. "Then I must have left the door open."
His shoulders relaxed.
At the hospital, I signed an authorization covering up to $10,000 of the family's immediate out-of-pocket expenses. The boy's mother looked marginally less hostile when the patient advocate handed her a copy.
His father had arrived.
My fingers curled involuntarily when I saw him. I remembered that hand wrapped around the knife that killed me.
Now he wore a gray T-shirt, sweat shining across his forehead.
"That was your cat?"
I nodded. "Yes."
He lunged one step forward. Ethan retreated immediately.
I stayed where I was.
The man thrust a finger at my face.
"If anything happens to my son, I'll take every cent you have!"
"I understand."
Behind me, Ethan muttered, "Stop promising things."
The father heard him.
"Who are you?"
Ethan's face tightened. "Her husband."
The man gave a bitter laugh.
"Perfect. Then you can pay together."
"She owned the cat before we married," Ethan said quickly. "It has absolutely nothing to do with me. I'm severely allergic, and she knows it."
People in the hallway turned to stare.
Lily had arrived too. She stood at a distance, presenting herself as a concerned acquaintance.
The moment Ethan spotted her, tension crossed his face.
I spoke first.
"It's true. He avoids Mochi completely. I can verify that."
Ethan could not hide his smile.
"You're always looking out for me, honey," he said gently. "Let's focus on the child first."
I lowered my eyes. "All right."
Lily walked over.
"Emma, don't blame Ethan. I mean, Mr. Cole."
She had used his first name without thinking, then scrambled back into the formality of a business relationship. Too late.
I almost laughed.
"I don't blame him. Were you frightened?"
She blinked, surprised by my concern. Two seconds later, her eyes filled with tears.
"I just feel so awful for that little boy. When I came downstairs, the cat was already there. I tried to find someone to help, but then she suddenly attacked him."
The lie grew smoother as she spoke.
Ethan supported her at once.
"She was only trying to help. Don't drag an innocent person into this."
I nodded. "I understand."
A middle-aged neighbor stood several yards away, holding up her phone. Its camera pointed directly at us.
I noticed and deliberately said nothing.
Lily's voice became more aggrieved.
"At first, I even thought about picking the cat up, but I was scared. If Emma had controlled her better, none of this would have happened."
Ethan frowned.
"She spoils that animal. I've warned her a hundred times that pets need discipline, but she never listens."
I kept my head down.
They thought I was enduring their accusations.
In reality, I was waiting.
Waiting for them to fill every gap in the story I had not told, one lie at a time.
第4章
When the surgeon came out, the boy's mother's legs nearly gave way.
"His cornea is badly damaged. We need to operate immediately."
She caught herself against the wall.
The father's face went white.
"Will he be able to see?"
"We can't promise anything yet."
His fear turned instantly to rage. He charged toward me, but hospital security stopped him. He cursed me until a nurse led him away.
I did not answer once.
Ethan, meanwhile, kept edging farther out of reach.
Only after the father was gone did he come near me.
"This is bad."
"Yes."
"It could cost a fortune."
"Yes."
"You may have to sell the condo you owned before we married."
I looked up.
He was completely serious.
"The child's eye matters more than a piece of real estate."
My parents had left me that condo before they died. It was nearly nine hundred square feet in a desirable neighborhood, and its value had climbed sharply over the years.
He had made the same pitch before. We were a team, he said. Selling my condo was the decent thing to do. He had even lined up a real estate agent before I agreed.
After I died, part of the property passed to him. Six months later, he sold it and used the proceeds to set Lily up in a luxury pet boutique.
I held his gaze.
"Maybe you're right."
His face brightened.
"I'm glad you see that. It may take time to sell, though. Let's find out what the family wants first."
"Fine."
He pulled me into a corner, lowered his voice, and stared hard into my eyes.
"Make it clear you're cooperating. Sign a statement accepting responsibility before lawyers turn this into a war."
Even in the dim hallway, his eyes shone with the thrill of his own scheme.
"What kind of statement?"
He was prepared. From his briefcase, he produced a printed page.
It stated that I, as the animal's owner, had negligently allowed her to escape my control, resulting in injury to a minor, and that I voluntarily accepted the resulting financial liability.
The date was already printed. Only the signature line remained blank.
"When did you have time to draft this?" I asked.
Ethan hesitated. "A lawyer at work sent me a template."
"That was fast."
He scowled. "This isn't the time to fixate on details."
Lily chimed in. "He's only trying to protect you, Emma."
I slowly took the paper.
"You think this will end everything?"
"At least it will keep other people from getting dragged in," Lily said at once.
Her expression changed the instant the words left her mouth. Ethan shot her a warning look.
I pretended not to understand.
"That makes sense."
I folded the statement but did not sign it.
"I'll hold on to it."
Ethan extended his hand. "Sign it now."
I shook my head. "The child is still in surgery. I'll wait for the result."
His face darkened.
"Don't get stubborn on me now."
I looked at him.
"If I sign this, you're saying none of this is your problem?"
"Of course."
He answered too quickly.
I turned to Lily.
"And you?"
She pressed her lips together.
"Why would it be? I was just passing by."
"All right," I said. "I'll remember that."
Neither of them heard the warning.
By then, they had begun to believe I really would carry everything for them.
When people lie, what they fear most is doubt. But if someone keeps validating their story, adding details, and removing every apparent risk, they soon forget they are lying.
Eventually, the lie starts to feel like the truth.
The operation ended at ten that night. The surgeons saved the boy's eye, but no one could say how much vision would return.
His mother sat on a bench and wept in silence. She held his bloodstained jacket, folding and unfolding it whenever the edges failed to line up.
I sat across from her.
"I'll keep covering the immediate medical bills."
She did not look up.
"Money won't give me my son back."
"I know."
"You don't know. You don't have a child."
I had Mochi. She was my family.
Watching Mochi die on that pavement had shut down my body. Cold sweat, useless legs, an empty mind. I still remembered every second.
I had never forgotten the feeling.
I did not argue.
I had hated this woman for hitting me and her husband for killing me. A second chance did not require me to forgive either of them.
But the people who should have been answering her were standing safely behind me.
I took out my phone.
"I've asked the property manager to lock down yesterday's security footage before the system overwrites it."
At last, she looked at me.
"Why would you need that?"
I put the phone away.
"Because memory gets unreliable once lawyers and insurance companies get involved. Video doesn't."
She studied me.
Beside us, Ethan suddenly went rigid.
"What footage?"
I turned. "The complex security cameras. A child was injured. Of course the recordings should be saved."
His color changed, then returned just as quickly. He seemed to remember something and smiled.
"Of course. That's the right thing to do."
I smiled too.
"I thought so."
I knew he would pay a building employee to delete the footage of him and Lily with Mochi.
What he did not know was that I had gotten there first. I already had a copy and had asked the manager to act ignorant when Ethan offered the bribe.
第5章
It was after midnight when we reached home.
Ethan stopped in the entryway and sneezed twice. Mochi loved sitting there.
"Are you bringing the cat home tonight?"
"No. The vet is keeping her."
He exhaled in relief.
The door to my office stood open. Mochi's carrier was gone.
I crouched and found a fresh scrape across the floor.
The pet camera on my bookcase showed as offline. Ethan had unplugged it.
The disconnect time was 2:17 p.m.
What he did not know was that I had enabled cloud event storage when I bought it. The final clip before the power went out had uploaded automatically.
I took a screenshot without opening the video.
Next, I checked the smart lock. Ethan's fingerprint had opened the front door at 2:11. The door opened again at 2:24 when he left.
Thirteen minutes. More than enough time to force a cat into a carrier.
The garage system showed our black SUV leaving at 2:27 and returning at 3:03.
The attack happened at 3:15.
At my desk, I wrote out the timeline.
2:11. Ethan entered the condo.
2:17. The camera lost power.
2:24. Ethan left.
2:27. The SUV exited the garage.
3:03. It returned.
3:15. Mochi injured the boy.
Ethan called from the living room.
"What are you doing?"
I closed my laptop.
"Looking at real estate listings."
He came into the office, and his expression finally softened.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
I looked at him.
"Are we really in this together?"
He paused.
"Of course. I'll be right here for you."
I could not help laughing.
"What?"
"Nothing. You managed to promise everything without offering a dime. I'm impressed."
He frowned. "You've been acting strange all day."
I stood and wrapped my arms around him.
His body stiffened. I had just come from a veterinary clinic, and he desperately wanted to push me away. He forced himself not to.
I pressed my face against his shoulder.
"Ethan, is Lily really just a client?"
His back locked.
Two seconds passed before he answered.
"Where is this coming from?"
"She spent the whole day defending you."
"She's a kind person."
"Right."
I released him.
"That's nice."
Relief crossed his face.
I went to take a shower. The second the bathroom door closed, I heard him hurry to the balcony. His voice was barely above a whisper.
"She doesn't suspect anything."
A pause.
"No. Don't come see me for a while."
Another pause.
"Video? There isn't any video."
I stood behind the bathroom door and listened.
The camera on my collar was still recording.
