Everest's Guardian Hubby Watched Me Freeze My Ghost Knows Where He'll Burn novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Benjamin’s face drained of color so quickly it was as if the blood had been sucked right out of him. The phone slipped from his trembling fingers and crashed to the floor with a sharp, unforgiving crack. His entire body trembled uncontrollably as he snatched it back up, panic fueling his every move. Without a word, he dashed toward the police station, his footsteps echoing loudly in the quiet street.

I followed behind him, a cold, calculating smile curling at the corners of my lips. The chill in the air seemed to sharpen the tension between us.

When we arrived, the climbing team was already there—detained and waiting, their faces a mixture of defiance and unease. They had believed they could get away with their crime, convinced that no one would ever uncover the truth.

But the infrared cameras had captured everything. Every cruel moment—their deliberate abandonment of us on the mountain, even their cold return to check my lifeless body. This wasn’t an accident. It was premeditated murder, plain and simple.

Benjamin stormed into the station, his eyes bloodshot and wild with fury. The second he spotted the climbing team, his clenched fist shot forward like a bullet.

“You bastards!” he roared, his voice raw with pain. “Why did you leave them up there? Why didn’t you help? You murdered her!”

“I’m pressing charges. This ends now!” he added, his voice cracking but resolute.

The team leader took the blow squarely to the jaw, collapsing to the floor with a grunt, a tooth clattering out of his mouth. Despite the pain, he looked up at Benjamin with a bitter, mocking grin.

“You’ve got some nerve coming at us like that,” he sneered.

Benjamin’s eyes narrowed. “Aren’t you supposed to be the head of the rescue team? The so-called ‘Guardian of Everest’? Then why didn’t you save them?”

For a moment, Benjamin froze, a sharp pang of pain flashing across his features. Before he could react, an officer stepped in, restraining him gently but firmly.

“Want the truth?” the officer asked, voice low. “Victoria Sterling told us to leave them up there.”

His voice trembled, barely above a whisper. “He’s lying, right?”

Everyone in the room knew about Benjamin and Victoria Sterling’s close bond. Childhood friends, inseparable once upon a time.

Victoria was well-known for running an environmental nonprofit, a fiercely independent woman Benjamin admired deeply—so unlike me, the stay-at-home wife who lived in the shadow of her husband’s world.

Victoria was the picture of elegance and refinement. Surely, she wouldn’t stoop to hiring someone to commit murder. Would she?

The officer regarded Benjamin with something close to pity. “Victoria was careful. She used burner phones to communicate with the climbing team online. But they discovered her identity. This was her doing.”

He paused, then added quietly, “And one more thing—her name isn’t Victoria Sterling. Her real name is Gabrielle Blackwood.”