The Framed Wife's Reckoning

e first, a sharp, acrid scent that

. I wasn't in a prison cell. I wasn't bleeding out on a

ndo I bought with my own money

en. "Jen! Jennifer, get out here

ce, thick with manufactured panic, was

floor. My body felt light, young, and whole. The years of pr

ne in the other, still recording a TikTok dance. On the stove, the electric ket

ed, finally putting her phone down. "It could have burned

ught the wrong bread. The overflowing sink was my fault because I must have clogged it. It was never her fault, never her respons

I said, my voice eerily

my quick surrender. "Wel

betic medication from our neighbor, Mrs. Gable. Today was

n't my first

ping choices. Then, she glanced at the clock. "I'm just ste

ulling out my pho

t she wouldn't notice me, my phone already recording. I saw her pause at Mrs. Gable's

ht her muttering under her breath, "Serves her right, sp

rge purse and walked back towards

i, and created a new, anonymous Facebook account. I uploaded the video to the condo comm

ack to my con