The Man Who Faked His Own Death

The sterile white walls of the hospital room were my first sight, a blinding canvas reflecting the nothingness inside me.

Just days ago, I was Scarlett, a nurse, a wife; now, I was a widow, grieving the hero firefighter who died saving me from our burning home.

My childhood friend, Liam, found me after my desperate attempt to escape the crushing silence left behind, dragging me back to a life I didn't want.

As I struggled for water, voices drifted from the hall-Mark, my husband' s colleague, and then him.

"You're a lucky bastard," Mark chuckled. "A hero's funeral, the whole nine yards."