She Died With My Name on Her Lips novel Chapter 9

Stephen hadn’t slept a wink. As the sun began to rise, he gently moved Louise off his chest and stared out the window, a strange anxiety tightening in his chest.

It felt like something important had just slipped away from him—something he might never get back.

He rubbed his brow, trying to shake off the feeling. That’s when the housekeeper called.

“Mr. Barker, Mrs. Barker didn’t come home last night. Do you think she’s finally had enough and run away? Should I send someone to bring her back?”

Hearing the panic in her voice, Stephen’s face went cold.

“Find her. Now. Block every airport, every train, every single way out of the city. I don’t care how—nobody leaves until we find Louisa! She’s not getting away from me. Not now, not ever.”

He hung up, his chest heaving with anger, the unease inside him only getting worse.

Louise, half-awake from his shouting, wrapped her arms around him from behind. “Stephen, don’t stress. We’ll find Louisa sooner or later. Let’s eat something first, okay? I want you to cook for me.”

She tugged at his shirt, trying to sound cute. Stephen was about to shrug her off when his phone rang again—this time, it was the police.

“Hello, is this Mr. Stephen Barker, Louisa’s husband? I’m sorry, but there was a report early this morning—a woman’s body was found by the river up north. We’ve identified her as your wife, Louisa Thompson. We need you to come to the station and confirm.”

It felt like the ground dropped out from under him. The phone slipped from Stephen’s hand and crashed onto the floor.

He stood frozen, barely able to process it.

Louisa… Dead?

His eyes burned, filling with tears.

From the phone came the officer’s urgent voice: “Mr. Barker? Are you there? I’m very sorry for your loss, but we need you to come down as soon as possible.”

Still, she pretended to look worried. “Stephen, maybe you should go check. If Louisa’s okay, that’s great. But if she’s really… gone, you should handle her funeral.”

If Louisa was really gone, Louise would be over the moon—no one left to fight her for Stephen. From now on, she’d be the only Mrs. Barker.

Stephen didn’t even look at Louise. He pushed past her and rushed straight to the police station.

The moment they slid open the drawer in the morgue, he crashed to his knees. The body—swollen, pale, and cold—was Louisa. There was no mistaking her face, still marked with bruises from the day before. She was wearing the same clothes she’d had on when he’d last seen her.

Stephen stared at her, numb, unable to lie to himself anymore.

He touched her cheek, his hands shaking, trying to wake her up.

But Louisa’s eyes stayed closed. She was gone. She wasn’t ever coming back.