Diana was grappling with depression when she stumbled upon her worst fear realized — she caught her husband and her sister sharing a kiss. She turned to her therapist, Dr. Carrey, for support. However, what seemed like a routine therapy session revealed a horrifying detail from Diana’s phone.
Diana arrived home to hear laughter from her husband, Hamilton, and her sister in the bathroom. Peering through the slightly open door, she saw their reflection as they kissed in the mirror.
Her thoughts whirled, and she recoiled in shock. This couldn’t be real!
“Hamilton! I saw you two kissing! You and Evie, come out right now!” she yelled, gathering her courage. Receiving no reply, she burst into the bathroom to find her husband by himself.
“Where is she? Where is Evie?!” she demanded.
“She isn’t here, Diana,” Hamilton replied calmly. “You always do this after seeing your therapist. You need to stop. I was preparing a surprise for you, and you’ve spoiled it! Please, stop torturing yourself… and me.”
Diana refused to believe him.
She scoured the bathroom, incredulous that Evie was nowhere to be found.
“Do you trust me now?” Hamilton inquired. “There’s no one here.”
Despite his words, Diana persisted. She searched other rooms but found no one. Hamilton suggested she might be stressed or hallucinating, and for a moment, Diana believed him. However, a splash from the bathroom reignited her suspicion. Could Evie have hidden in the bathtub?
She rushed back but found the bathroom empty again. “How?” she puzzled. “I heard it… I heard the splash. Someone was here!”
Hamilton, standing by the doorway, exhaled deeply. “There’s nobody here, honey. Please, relax!”
Feeling defeated, Diana slumped. Was she losing her mind?
“I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve just been so exhausted,” she confessed, ashamed. “I was certain I saw Evie here!”
Hamilton soothed her. “Let’s put this behind us, okay? We need to address what’s really troubling you. So, what’s going on?”
Diana sighed and shook her head. “I keep feeling like I’m losing my grip,” she admitted. “I think I’m losing you to someone, maybe even my own sister.”
Hamilton assured her of his love, imploring her not to give in to her doubts. But Diana was distracted by a distant sound… a baby crying. “I can hear her crying,” she murmured, her mind adrift. “I can hear her crying, Hamilton.” She closed her eyes. My baby!
“Diana! Diana!” Hamilton’s voice brought her back. “Hey, why not take a bath?” he suggested. “You need to forget what happened that night. I’ll get your favorite bath bomb ready. Alright?”
Moved by his concern, Diana agreed. Yet, as she entered the bathroom, doubts resurfaced. She noticed “Kiss me!” written on the fogged shower door in her sister’s handwriting.
Confused, Diana confronted Hamilton with the message, but when they looked again, it had disappeared. Hamilton tried to reassure her of his fidelity, yet Diana’s trust faltered.
The following day, Diana shared her suspicions with her therapist, Dr. Carrey. “I think Hamilton might be cheating on me with my sister, Evie. There are signs, like her handwriting and her perfume—I sometimes smell it when I arrive home.”
Dr. Carrey nodded, jotting notes.
“Is there anything else on your mind?” he inquired.
Diana’s gaze drifted, lost in a distant memory. “I keep hearing this… sound. Like a baby crying in the rain… on the road. It’s disturbing. It haunts me,” her voice shook.
“A baby? Are you keeping up with your medication?”
Diana nodded. “Every day. And I’ve invited Evie over for dinner. I thought seeing her and Hamilton together might… might clarify things.”
Dr. Carrey’s brow furrowed with concern. “You’re having dinner with Evie? Tonight?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “I sent her a message this morning. She replied she’d come.”
“Diana, could you show me that text? The one you sent to your sister?”
Diana handed over her phone, and Dr. Carrey examined the messages.
“What do you hope to learn from this dinner?” he queried.
“I need to find out if I’m imagining things or if there’s really something going on between them,” Diana responded.
“These messages…” Dr. Carrey started, “you sent them to your sister?”
“Yes,” Diana admitted. “Hamilton and I, we’ve had twelve wonderful years, doctor. It was all perfect until Evie moved to the city. If I had known she would try to steal my husband, I would’ve taken him far away.”
“It’s good you’re confronting these suspicions,” he advised. “Now, about these sounds you’ve mentioned—the baby crying—how often do you hear them?”
Diana looked away, contemplative. “I can’t really say. They’re sporadic… when I’m alone, or even when Hamilton’s with me.”
Dr. Carrey leaned forward, offering a reassuring smile. “It’s important to address these feelings, not let them fester. We’ll work through this together, okay? You have nothing to worry about. Just try not to stress too much.”
Diana nodded, a slight smile forming as she prepared to leave. “Thank you, doctor. I feel somewhat lighter already. I need to get home early to start the dinner.”
At dinner, Diana watched Hamilton and Evie interact, feeling uneasy as Hamilton complimented Evie’s professional achievements, and they shared light-hearted jokes about working together. Diana sensed an underlying flirtation.
Her discomfort escalated as they laughed and flirted subtly. Unable to bear it any longer, Diana excused herself and returned with an expensive bottle of wine, surprising both Hamilton and Evie.
“Let’s toast to family ties,” Diana proposed, raising her glass.
Evie smiled uncertainly. “Okay, Diana, but why such a formal toast?”
Diana responded with a melancholic smile. “It’s just that I’ve been reflecting on how much you both mean to me, especially now, as I navigate my… difficulties.”
“That’s what family is for, darling,” Hamilton reassured her. “We’re here for you, always. By the way, this wine has a unique flavor,” he noted, sipping the wine.
“Yes, it’s quite a blend,” Evie agreed.
Diana chuckled softly. “This wine… it’s like the deceit hidden under the guise of family love.”
Hamilton and Evie exchanged a worried look, the atmosphere growing tense. “What do you mean?” Hamilton asked nervously, refilling his glass.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice? The secret messages, the laughter, her perfume… I saw it all.”
Suddenly, Evie began coughing. “Wait… what did you do with the wine?” she asked, trembling.
“It’s a special blend for you two. Merlot with a hint of retribution. Cyanide, perhaps!” Diana revealed nonchalantly.
As the realization dawned on them, Hamilton and Evie panicked, coughing violently. “Diana, this is madness!” Hamilton exclaimed, rushing to the bathroom with Evie.
Satisfied with her revenge, Diana continued eating. “Justice is served,” she whispered, tears flowing freely, her heart relieved.
Then, overwhelmed by the gravity of her actions and haunted by the sound of a baby crying, Diana panicked. “Wait! What have I done? Did I kill them? Did I kill my husband and sister?” she muttered, distraught. In her turmoil, she dialed 911 and then Dr. Carrey, confessing her actions in a state of despair.
Dr. Carrey urged her to wait for him and not to make any rash decisions. Upon his arrival, he found Diana distraught on the floor near the bathroom. “Diana, what happened?” he asked, trying to stay calm.
“I… I poisoned Hamilton and Evie. I thought they betrayed me! I felt it was the right thing to do!” And then, she burst into tears, pointing at their bodies on the bathroom floor.
Dr. Carrey consoled her. “There’s no one here, Diana. Remember, you live alone?”
Confused, Diana insisted she was with Hamilton and Evie, prompting Dr. Carrey to reveal a harsh truth. “You’ve been alone for two years, Diana. Your mind has been deceiving you.”
Diana was stunned. She mentioned texting Evie, but Dr. Carrey showed her that the texts were sent to herself. He gently reminded her of the tragic accident two years ago that claimed Hamilton and Evie’s lives and how she survived but lost her unborn child. They were returning from a dinner, and Hamilton had insisted on driving their car, but Diana hadn’t agreed.
“I couldn’t save them…” she whispered. “I just couldn’t…”
Dr. Carrey looked into her eyes. “What happened that night, Diana, was a tragic accident. It was not your fault. You didn’t kill them. You’ve been creating a false reality to cope with your guilt and grief. But it’s time to accept the truth.”
As the truth from Dr. Carrey began to clear the doubts in Diana’s mind, her hallucinations and the belief that her husband and sister had betrayed her were revealed as her mind’s escape from the pain of their loss. She could see it now.
Dr. Carrey then showed her her phone logs, proving there was no call to 911, only to him. At that point, she broke down, relieved yet grieving her lost child, husband, and sister.
She clung to Dr. Carrey, finding solace in his presence as the truth sank in. Her husband and sister were gone, and it was time to let go of the imagined sins that had tormented her.
A year later…
Diana found herself back in Dr. Carrey’s office.
This time, the weight that had burdened her for so long was noticeably lighter. Her eyes, once filled with grief, now held a glimmer of hope.
“Diana,” Dr. Carrey said with a warm smile, “it’s good to see you again. How have you been?”
Diana returned the smile. “I feel better, Dr. Carrey. I’ve been learning to live again, to honor their memory without the guilt.”
“So, how has your husband been?” he inquired, watching her closely for her reaction.
“It’s been three years since Hamilton passed away. I’ve not only lost him but also my beloved sister, Evie.”
Dr. Carrey nodded, convinced that Diana had indeed moved on from the trauma of her past. “You’ve done exceptionally well, Diana,” he said sincerely. “I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.”
Just as their conversation was coming to an end, the office door swung open, and a nurse entered, announcing that Diana’s appointment time had concluded.
“I’ll stay in touch, no matter how far I go, doctor,” Diana assured Dr. Carrey as she gathered her things.
As she stepped out of the office, she encountered a stranger holding a baby in his arms.
“Hi,” she greeted him with a warm smile, her eyes sparkling with delight. “Could I hold the baby for a moment?”
The door to Dr. Carrey’s office was still ajar, and he was engrossed in reviewing Diana’s latest reports. However, when he turned to the side, he froze in shock.
Diana was standing alone outside his office and appeared to be cuddling with an invisible baby in her arms.
A chill ran down Dr. Carrey’s spine. The patient he had thought had healed had, in fact, made very little progress. “We have a long way to go, Diana,” he muttered under his breath. “A long way.”
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