Chapter 285

“Please wake up, my butterfly,” he tried waking her up as well but she didn’t respond as well. His daughter’s body was limp, her face peaceful in death.

He continued to shook their bodies, continued to plead them to wake up but none moved. He hoped, prayed, desperately prayed it was a dream. And the sudden realization of their death dawned upon them. His wife and daughter were gone, killed by his own hands.

His legs gave way beneath him, and he fell to his knees, his hands trembling as he reached out to touch his wife’s face.

“No,” he whispered, his voice a broken sob. “No, no, no, no, no. Please, no. Please, God, no.” The words tumbled from his lips like a desperate prayer, each one more frantic than the last.

He pressed his palms against her cheeks, trying to wake her, trying to undo what he had done. But her skin was already growing cold, her eyes staring sightlessly at the sky above. The bullet wound on her forehead was a perfect circle of red, a gaping h