Chapter 13: The Confession

After the door shut, my wife sighed in relief. "I’ll go start dinner."

I took the groceries. "Let me cook tonight. You go take a shower."

I knelt to speak to Ellie. "Go do your homework, sweetie. Daddy will call you for dinner."

She nodded, ponytail bouncing as she hurried off, humming the theme song from Paw Patrol.

Dinner was quiet. Ellie ate happily, but my wife seemed distracted, pushing her food around her plate. I squeezed her hand. "It’s alright. I’m here."

Seven o’clock—dishes done. Eight—picture books with Ellie. Nine—homework check. Ten—my wife fell asleep. Our routine, a patchwork of comfort.

At eleven, I drove to the police station.

"Is Detective Derek Marshall here? I want to turn myself in. I am the killer in the gifted class serial murder case."

The officer at the desk gaped at me, frozen in shock under the buzzing fluorescent lights.

I didn’t look back. In that moment, for the first time in years, I felt almost free.