The Sniper Wife Chapter 1

My mother-in-law was dangling from the rooftop of a 28-story building. My wife, Seraphina, the best sharpshooter on the force, had a hundred percent chance of taking out the kidnapper with a single shot.

But the new intern, Hunter, looked at her with pleading eyes. He said it was his first time facing a life-or-death situation and he wanted to find the courage to take the shot.

Seraphina handed him her rifle.

The shot rang out. The bullet went wide.

The rope snapped. My mother-in-law's body plummeted, hitting the pavement with a sickening, final thud.

Seraphina wrapped her arms around Hunter, comforting him softly.

"It's not your fault. I shouldn't have let you."

She didn't even glance down at the street below. Only after she had calmed Hunter down did she finally walk over to me.

"Liam, honey, I'm so sorry. I couldn't save your mom."

I froze.

My mom?

But my mom was at home right now, cooking my favorite soup, waiting for me to come home.

* * *

Behind the police tape, I stared at the crimson stain on the asphalt, my mind a complete blank.

Only after she had thoroughly soothed Hunter did Seraphina finally remember I was there.

"Liam, honey, I'm so sorry. I couldn't save your mom."

There was no grief in her voice, no pain in her eyes. Only a hollow sense of duty, and a palpable wave of relief.

I remained rooted to the spot.

My mom?

My mom should be at home right now, wearing her apron, simmering the fish-head and tofu soup I loved, waiting for me to get back from work. That warm, comforting image clashed with the cold, bloody scene before me in the most grotesque way imaginable.

Hunter peeked out from Seraphina's embrace, looking at me with timid eyes.

"Liam… don't blame the Captain. It's all my fault… I was just so desperate to prove myself…"

Before he could finish, Seraphina pulled him back, her voice sharp.

"This has nothing to do with you! It was my decision!"

She turned to me, her tone hardening into something cold and brittle.

"The kidnapper was a maniac. Even if Hunter hadn't hit the rope, your mother was probably a goner anyway. She's gone. Can you please not make a scene?"

I finally understood.

She thought the person who had died was my mother. And she naturally assumed I would throw a fit, that I would take my anger out on her precious intern.

An arctic chill shot up from the soles of my feet to the crown of my head. I looked at this woman I had loved for five years, the woman I shared a bed with.

"Seraphina, that was your mother! She was the closest person you had in the world!"

I thought I had made myself perfectly clear, but she obviously didn't grasp the meaning of my words. Her colleagues around us cast sympathetic glances my way. Clearly, they all thought the same thing she did.

Seraphina’s brow furrowed in annoyance.

"Liam, stop with the spoiled tantrums. I told you, this is not Hunter's fault."

She reached out to take my hand. The same hand that had held a sniper rifle steady on a hundred training fields, the same hand that had gently straightened my tie.

Right now, it just felt filthy.

With every ounce of strength I had, I wrenched my hand away.