Two Hours Until My Husband Murders Me

I never thought I'd die on my honeymoon. 160 feet down in a pitch-black underwater cave, Adam Hunter, my husband who has spent ten years courting me, kills me with a knife. When he returns home, he takes everything my family owns. The broke nobody turns into a billionaire powerhouse overnight. Meanwhile, my parents spend every last cent trying to prove he murdered me, only to die in bitter despair. When I open my eyes, I'm back at the moment before the dive. Adam lies beside me, holding me tightly as he sleeps peacefully. Only I know that he will kill me in the crushing darkness of the deep water. I have less than two hours to escape this death trap. I look at the clock. The countdown begins. Chapter 1 I coughed violently, as if seawater was still trapped in my windpipe. Beside me, my husband, Adam Hunter, scrambled up at the sound and patted my back to help me catch my breath. We weren't in a freezing underwater cave but a warm cabin. I froze, the words catching in my throat, leaving only ragged gasps. Adam propped himself up and pulled me into his warm embrace. "What's wrong, Vivian? Did you have a nightmare?" I stayed stiff in his arms. My mind went blank, then spiraled into utter chaos. The icy horror of drowning, the agony of running out of air, and the cold cruelty of Adam's final stroke with that knife… Everything felt so crisp and real. Was it really just a ridiculous nightmare? With trembling hands, I reached for my phone on the pillow and checked the screen. 5:10 am. In my dream, Adam's childhood friend, Ben Holland, would burst in right about now. With a loud bang, the cabin door slammed open. Ben's voice was high with excitement. "We found it! Adam! The low tide exposed the cave in the shallow waters! It's right where we calculated!" Adam instantly shot up and raced out with him to the deck to check the cave. Meanwhile, I shivered uncontrollably, so terrified I nearly passed out. The timing and the people were exactly the same as in my dream. I slapped a hand over my mouth and scrambled out of bed on all fours. My fingernails dug into the icy doorframe, keeping me from collapsing onto the floor. I dragged myself onto the deck, my heart hammering so hard it felt ready to burst. A loud ringing filled my ears, blending with the excited banter on deck that grew louder by the second. Looking past Adam and Ben, I stared out at the sea. A pitch-black cave entrance sat fully revealed in the shallow water. It was an exact match for the abyss that swallowed me whole in my memories. When Adam turned around and caught sight of me, his face glowed with sheer thrill. "Honey! Look! This is the ultimate goal of our honeymoon expedition! The final stop of our trip! It's perfect!" That was the very place I had entered with bright, sweet hope, only to never come out alive. Adam finally noticed how pale I was. Frowning, he asked, "What's wrong? You're shaking. Is the sea breeze getting to you?" The smiling man before me looked so affectionate, yet beneath that excitement lay a faint, almost imperceptible glint of calculation. My voice rasped out, dry and tight. "I'm suddenly feeling really sick. Can I skip the dive?" The cheerful chatter on deck vanished instantly. Adam let go of me. The warmth drained from his eyes in a flash. "Vivian, don't be ridiculous." Chapter 2 Adam continued, "Wasn't exploring this cave your idea in the first place?" He gestured around at his friends. "Do you have any idea how long everyone prepared for this? How many sleepless nights Ben and the team spent studying the tides? We've been drifting out at sea for a day and a night just to locate this spot!" I clutched my stomach and squeezed out a few tears, doing everything I could to make my performance believable. "But I'm in so much pain. I really can't go in the water." He took a deep breath. His tone dripped with blame as he said, "This is the only window we get in 80 years! Once it's gone, it's gone! And you're telling me you won't go down?" Ben crossed his arms, his tone laced with passive-aggressive snark. "Vivian, we all came out here just for you. Backing out at the last second seems a bit much, don't you think?" Adam's childhood friend, Lucy Stone, glared at me with a cold sneer. "Everyone's been catering to you this whole time. Now you say you're sick and expect all our hard work to go down the drain?" Ben chimed in again, "Do you know how many things Adam pushed aside for this expedition? How much effort and time he put into planning this?" They cornered me, hurling accusations, doubts, and resentment like heavy stones. Adam's brow furrowed tightly. Every last trace of tenderness vanished from his eyes. All that remained was the irritation of being crossed and the urge to push me forward. The suffocating terror of my past death gripped my throat once more. There was no way in hell I was setting foot in that cave again! I bent over sharply, clutching my lower abdomen so hard my nails dug into my skin. "Adam! It hurts so bad!" Adam's eyes flickered with subtle annoyance as he darted his gaze between my cold-sweat-drenched face and my trembling hands. The frustration of his plans being derailed clearly outweighed any concern for my pain. "What's going on? Weren't you fine just a minute ago?" Lucy shot me a sideways glance, her voice dropping to a cool whisper. "Didn't you just brag over breakfast about being the first one to dive in and take pictures? Are you just faking it to mess with us?" At her words, Adam and the rest turned their eyes back to me. Their suspicion and impatience grew sharper. Ben ran a hand through his hair in frustration and turned to Adam. "The tide starts coming back in two or three hours tops. Once it covers the entrance, this whole trip was for nothing!" Adam pressed his lips into a tight line, a complex shadow passing through his eyes. In the end, he made up his mind. After taking a deep breath, he crouched down and placed his hand over mine, where I clutched my stomach. His palm felt warm, but it sent a violent chill straight down my spine. Adam softened his tone, trying to soothe me with a voice that brooked no argument. "This chance is just too rare. If we miss it, we'll never get another one in our lifetime. "How about this? You just stay right at the safest spot near the entrance and snap a few photos so you can say you were here. I'll stay right beside you and make sure you're completely safe." He looked up at the others to seek their backing. "Let Vivian experience the shallow zone near the entrance. At least the trip won't be a waste." Lucy curled her lip, barely concealing the envy and contempt in her eyes. Ben exchanged looks with the rest of the crew. They clearly weren't thrilled with this compromise, but out of respect for Adam, they didn't object right away. I raised my tear-streaked face, which was slick with cold sweat, and looked at everyone in despair. Chapter 3 Every single person on this boat was Adam's friend. I was completely on my own. Adam and some of his friends held diving certifications, while I wasn't as experienced as they were. Once we hit the water, my life would be entirely in their hands. I slumped onto the deck, trying one last time to reason with Adam. "I'm really not feeling well. What if I throw up down there?" Adam squeezed my hand tightly and replied softly, "We'll stick right by the cave entrance. The moment you feel off, we head straight back to the boat." Ben paced nearby, checking his watch every few seconds in an obvious rush. Lucy finally snapped under the standoff. She snatched up her wetsuit and barked at us, "Forget it. I don't have time for her princess drama. Do whatever you want. I'm going down to check out the cave." The rest of the crew lost their patience too, turning back to prepare their gear. Frowning, Ben looked at Adam. "Are you really staying behind?" A chilling thought hit me. If everyone else dove in and left Adam on the boat with me, I'd be just as dead. Out here on the high seas, getting rid of me without a trace would be child's play for him. Diving meant certain death. Staying on the boat meant the same. And if I blurted out that Adam was planning to murder me, his friends would probably commit me to an asylum. Adam helped me up with a helpless smile. "I'll stay here and look after you. Get some rest." I could never overpower him on my own. With his friends around, he'd at least have to tread carefully. If it was just the two of us left on board, he might not even bother waiting. He could just slit my throat and dump my body in the ocean without leaving a trace. I steeled myself. My only slim chance of survival was down in the water. Pushing through the cold sweat, I grabbed Adam's hand back. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, after all. I'll go down with you." Adam studied my face, his expression unreadable. "You're not feeling sick anymore?" I shook my head, fighting to keep my emotions locked down. Adam pulled me up and turned to help prepare our oxygen tanks. When Lucy saw him walk over, her face lit up. "Adam! So, you are coming with us!" Adam offered a gentle smile and pointed back toward me. "Vivian changed her mind. I'll just stick with her near the entrance and take a few pictures." At those words, Lucy's smile instantly melted into a scowl. She let out a contemptuous scoff and said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "Classic rich heiress. Always changing her mind on a whim." A few guys chuckled. "What's wrong, Lucy? Are you jealous?" Lucy let out a harsh laugh. "Jealous? I'm not the kind of high-maintenance heiress who treats her husband like a pet." Ben bumped Adam's shoulder, teasing him, "Look at you, playing butler for her. She says go, you go; she says stop, you stop." Another wave of laughter broke out. Adam shrugged, cutting Ben off. "Cut her some slack. She's just not feeling well." Lucy chimed in instantly, "She was fine the whole trip. Now she suddenly falls sick right at the finish line? She just wants all eyes on her. You guys are so clueless, letting that manipulative woman play you like a fiddle!" After saying that, she threw a blatant roll of her eyes in my direction. Normally, I would have argued back, but right now, I didn't have the energy to fight with her. My mind was racing, frantically trying to recall every detail of the underwater cave from my past life. The more familiar I was with the cave once we went underwater, the better my chances of surviving. Gritting my teeth, I walked over to them. Chapter 4 On the deck, Adam was helping everyone check their oxygen tanks. We were prepping to enter the water, and everyone was changing into professional heavy-duty wetsuits. When Lucy saw me amble over so slowly to change, her hostility grew even sharper. "What, do you need someone to help you change, too?" I didn't even spare her a glance. These petty provocations were completely trivial compared to my life. After the initial wave of panic, the surging adrenaline actually brought a wave of icy calm over me. The entrance was about ten feet wide, sitting exposed in the shallow sea where the tide had pulled back. A distinct eddy swirled around the opening, flanked by pitch-black coral reefs. Once inside, it sloped down steeply before opening into a wider passage where the first fork appeared. The left path was a completely closed main chamber, which made it a dead end. The right path led deeper down into a darker, more ominous tunnel, with a narrow fissure half-hidden by waterweed at the far side. I forced myself to recall every single detail, striving to make every route crystal clear in my mind. This was my only advantage. I had to remember every notch where I could temporarily hide, every potential shortcut to dodge Adam and get back to the boat. Lucy picked up a cheap wetsuit and shoved it into my arms. Noticing me ignoring her, she let out a short, contemptuous snort. "What are you standing around for? Put it on already and stop wasting everyone's time." I ignored her completely and just put the suit on by myself. No one had ever explored that narrow fissure. Getting stuck in there could mean instant death. As I was lost in thought, Lucy seemed thoroughly enraged by my silent treatment. She suddenly reached out and violently yanked up the zipper on my back. With a harsh zipping noise, the zipper jerked closed. The rough teeth scraped across the delicate skin of my back, causing a sharp pain. Watching me crouch down in pain, she tugged hard on it again. "Oh, so you do need someone to help you? I'll do you a favor, then!" I spun around abruptly and shoved her away. "Let go!" Startled by my violent reaction, Lucy stumbled back half a step. "Are you crazy? I was being nice!" I swallowed my rage and spat back, "I don't need your help. Mind your own business." Adam finally stepped over, positioning himself between Lucy and me with a frown. "What now? Lucy, give it a rest." Lucy huffed, not daring to disobey Adam. She muttered curses under her breath as she returned to the group after shooting me one last venomous glare. Adam helped me adjust my wetsuit. The tight rubber clung to my skin, making it hard to breathe. He offered a quiet, reassuring word. "Lucy's just like that. Don't mind her." I let out a soft sigh. Facing a matter of life and death, I couldn't care less about her petty games. What truly panicked me was that even after hitting the water, I still hadn't figured out a way to break out of this death trap. Adam wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. "Honey, don't be scared. I'll be right beside you the whole time." I snapped my head around, almost sending my diving mask flying off. That single line clicked everything into place. I found my breakthrough.