The Swiss Murder | Completed

20. The Letter

"To whoever it may concern,

I am deeply saddened and traumatised as I write this. I feel a great burden on me, a burden which can be lightened by writing my confession, which is ironically also my own death sentence.

I killed Eric...

I'm too ashamed to say why but somehow, I did it. I killed him.

However, I didn't really think I would be caught. His death was suppose to be  undetectable.

In my defence, I didn't actually want to kill him. Just wanted to do some damage to his brain, I don't have it in me to intentionally kill anybody.

But here I am, writing this. Deep down I knew the dosage was too high, knew he would die, but still did nothing.

Love and jealousy drove me to do this. Never underestimate the power of these emotions. They are capable of killing.

I regretted my action as soon as the glass touched Eric's lips, but there was nothing I could do. The sickening deed was already done.

Hence, I became extremely afraid and terrified. I cannot describe the state I was in... the state in which I am now.

I'm unable to handle the burden anymore, the crushing weight of the realization that I actually killed a human, one of my close friends.

The guilt is eating me alive. It's eating away at my conscience, my brain, my entire being. Even after I've accepted my fate.

The burden is too much for my broken soul, and I don't have it in me to face the consequences.

Just the thought of facing trial makes me want to puke.

I'd rather kill myself than suffer through the public humiliation of court and then Jail.

Which is why, I've already poisoned myself.

As I write this letter, the poison is already doing it's job, killing me slowly.

I wanted to go the same way I sent Eric to his grave. I want to feel the same pain as him, the same panic just before dying.

I want myself to suffer.

To my friends, I'm extremely sorry for what I've done. Don't think of this as a suicide letter, think of it as an apology.

I'm truly sorry for all this. Sorry for killing Eric. Sorry for killing myself. I feel no pity for me, and neither should you.

I have one last wish should you wish to fulfil it. Cremate my body and throw my ashes in the Swiss mountains, for I do not deserve a grave.

End this chapter of your life here.

I hope you all find it in yourself to forgive me.

Regretfully,
Carter."

Anthony's hand trembled with the sheer force of which he was controlling his anger. His jaw clenched and then unclenched, an action which caused a deep throbbing in his skull.

He wanted to scream and cry out at the same time.

The letter had crumpled by how tightly Anthony held it in his hand.

Not being able to look at the neat, cursive handwriting anymore, Anthony slowly raised his eyes from it and scanned the whole room carefully.

By the windows, Emma was sobbing quietly, as usual, and Scarlett was comforting her, her expressions set in stone.

But her eyes gave away what she was feeling. They were at the brink of bursting with tears.

His eyes shifted to Levi who was sitting on the bed. The same bed where Carter's dead body was lying.

Somebody had the courtesy of covering his face, only his left hand was dangling by the bed, exposed to the air.

Anthony clenched his hand into a fist at the sight of Carter's dead body, his nails digging painfully into his palm, leaving their mark.

Levi was sitting on the bed, his back to Carter as he slowly massaged his temple with his fingers, lost in thought.

A million thoughts ran through his mind as he assessed the situation he was thrust into headfirst.

For some reason, Levi was extremely disturbed by Carter's death.

He sat there frozen, unaware of his surroundings when he felt a warm hand squeezing his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.

Looking up at Charlotte, he took comfort in her features, the way she weakly smiled at him.

How she was able to handle herself in situations like these was still a mystery to him. The only mystery he wasn't willing to solve.

Breaking eye contact with Charlotte, Levi turned and looked at the dead body again, eyes zeroing on his dangling hand.

He felt himself slipping into a trance when Emma's voice disturbed the silence.

"Show me," Emma whispered, gathering everybody's attention. Her hand was reaching out towards Anthony, silently asking him to give her the letter.

It was after much thought that Emma had decided that she was strong enough to read the letter.

Anthony walked over to her and wordlessly handed over the incriminating letter.

Scarlett joined in on the reading, her eyes running over the paper, her grimace turning intense the longer she read.

But before they could both finish, Levi got up and walked over smoothly, reaching them in three long steps.

Snatching the paper from Emma's hand, he looked at it for one whole second before crumbling it into a ball and casually throwing it over his shoulder.

Scarlett jumped from her seat at the same time Emma's eyes almost fell out of her sockets, her mouth agape. Right infront of them, Anthony's eyebrow shot into his hairline.

"I was reading that!" Scarlett dangerously fumed.

"You can't just throw away someone's suicide letter. That's evidence!" Emma seethed.

"She's right," Anthony mumbled weakly.

"I can do whatever I want." Levi directed the words toward Emma, his voice low.

"Besides," Levi continued, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

"It's fake."