Chapter 3 A New Beginning

Ethan dropped the phone in shock and it fell on the bed.

'Hello, Ethan, are you still there?' Tania asked.

Ethan was too shocked to answer but he knew that if he did not answer, he was going to add to Tania's grief and worry so he forced himself to pick up the phone.

'Yes... Tania, I am still here.' He answered trying to calm her down.

'Did you hear what I just said?' She asked him.

'Yes, I heard you and I will be there very soon, just text me the address.' Ethan said.

'Alright, I will do just that.' Tania intoned and ended the call.

Ethan quickly got dressed and hurried out of the house. He was already in the car when he saw the address Tania texted to him. He was surprised to see the location. It was not even in the city where they stayed, it was in a small town and it made Ethan wonder what took Ella there but he knew now was not the time to ask that question. He needed to go and confirm if it was his beloved wife's clothes that were found.

It took him up to an hour to get to the river where the clothes had been found. Immediately Tania saw him, she ran to him and hugged him. She broke down in tears and her actions confirmed his worst fears. Ella was truly dead.

He gently released her from his embrace and together they both walked towards the police officers.

"Are you the husband of the person whose clothes were found?" They asked him.

"Yes I am, but I first need to confirm that it truly was my wife's clothes that you found," Ethan said.

"Alright, fine, come and check it out." One of the officers said to him.

They gave him a hand glove to put on and led him to where the clothes were. Ethan saw the clothes and his legs suddenly became weak and he almost fell but the officers were quick to hold him. It was the same clothes that Ella had put on before leaving the house the day she disappeared.

"Is it your wife's clothes?" One of the officers asked.

The words clogged in his throat and Ethan had to force himself to answer the officer.

"Yes, that was the same clothes she wore the last time I saw her," Ethan affirmed and broke down in tears.

Tania came to his side and held him. She started consoling him as the officers looked at him with pity.

"The body had not yet been found but the thing is, it has been three days already, there is every tendency that either the body had floated to the other side of the river or it had been devoured by sea creatures, but not to worry, we have sent men to check the other side and also divers who would check the other side of the river and also we have sent for divers who would go check inside the river and we will give you feedback of our investigations." The head officer there explained to Ethan.

Ethan could barely talk due to the shock so Tania had to answer on his behalf.

"Yes, we would like to leave now so please keep us updated." Tania requested the officer.

"That's no problem ma'am, we will keep in touch." The officer assured Tania and she managed to smile at him before leading Ethan away.

"I know you are too shocked to drive, so I will drive, you just sit down and try to relax. The body had not been found yet which means that there is still hope and chances that she would be found or maybe she is still alive somewhere." Tania consoled Ethan but deep in her mind she wished that Ella would never be found.

It was all her plans from the beginning. She had always been in love with Ethan. Though they had just been ordinary friends she had hoped that he would one day come to see her as more than a friend and so she endured until the day he met Ella, her sister who was only older than her by a year and Ethan had fallen in love with her at first sight.

To add salt to the injury, Ethan asked her to assist him in getting Ella to date him. Tania had thought that the relationship would just end after some time and not become serious but to her shock, Ethan came to her and asked her to assist him in proposing to Ella.

It was a huge blow to her but she managed to endure it all while planning on how to get back Ethan and now she finally succeeded. She had fabricated the voice recording. She made sure that Ethan was not home before Ella by sleeping with one of Ethan's clients and she told him to distract Ethan from coming home that day.

She knew her sister's weakness and she knew that her sister was going to get drunk, so she planned with the car driver to trail her sister and kill her. Now she had succeeded. She knew that there was no way that Ella was going to survive the attack and now looking at Ethan who had become dependent on her again, she knew he now belonged to her finally because even if Ella would be found, it would be her dead body. It was a win-win for her.

***

"Alright, thank you," Ethan said and ended the call.

It was the police officer, it was now one month of intense search with no results. The policeman had to call Ethan to let him know that they were dropping the case because it was evident that the body of his wife had been devoured.

Ethan was sitting down on the bed feeling dejected when Tania walked in. She sat down close to him.

"What's the update?" She asked him.

"The police called, they have decided to drop the case because it was leading nowhere and it was becoming a waste of their resources. They have decided to rule it as suicide." Ethan answered Tania feeling dejected.

"I have long ago accepted that my beloved sister had left me, honestly, it's painful to me," Tania said faking heartbreak.

"I still find it hard to believe that she committed suicide, she is not the kind of person to do so," Ethan complained.

"You cannot be so sure Ethan, she might have been depressed due to her childlessness," Tania said.

"But I told her I loved her with or without children, why would she still do that, besides, she said she had good news to tell me so why would she kill herself?" Ethan asked confused while trying to understand the whole situation.

"We don't know Ethan and we can't ask her. The only thing we can do now is to try to move on while still remembering her and carrying on her legacy." Tania advised.

"But it will be hard to do so, it will be hard for me to forget her," Ethan complained.

"And that's why we have each other and we will help each other pass through this phase," Tania said.

"Thank you, Tania, I wonder how I would have coped without you by my side," Ethan said in appreciation.

They stared at each other and Ethan leaned in and kissed her.

Five months later, Ethan and Tania got married.

***

Meanwhile, at a hospital in a different country, a young woman was lying on the bed unconscious while a doctor hovered over her. She suddenly opened her eyes and the doctor was surprised.

"Hello ma'am, can you hear me?" The doctor asked.

"Yes." The woman answered weakly.

"What is your name?" The doctor asked.

"Ella, my name is Ella." The woman answers with her voice barely above a whisper.

***