CHAPTER 326: GABRIEL KILLED JEANNE

Gabriel’s voice thundered through the room. "I only wanted a child from her. I thought of cutting all ties once the child was born. But you ruined everything."

His mouth twisted. "Your actions will bring disaster on me. So you’ll clear the air. Tomorrow, I’ll call the press. You will apologize; tell everyone it was just a misunderstanding, that I have nothing to do with Tania and her child."

He shoved his hands into his pockets, chin tilted high with arrogance. "Do this, and I’ll act as if nothing happened. We’ll go on with our lives like before. Once the child is born, I’ll bring it home, and you will raise it. There is no need for you to be insecure. I promise, Tania will never set foot in the Beaumont family."

Jeanne let out a bitter laugh, her chest tight with fury. "You..." her teeth ground together, "you really think I’ll raise your mistress’s child? Dream on."

His jaw clenched. "Jeanne, don’t make things difficult for me. Do as I say."

"Never," she snapped, meeting his glare with defiance. "I’ll never apologize. I won’t clarify anything."

"You—" Gabriel lunged at her, his hands locking around her throat.

His anger radiated from him like heat, his eyes burning with a murderous glint. "You foolish woman," he hissed, tightening his grip. "Why don’t you understand? I’m doing this to secure our future. Why don’t you believe me?"

Gabriel’s fury consumed him, his grip tightening further as if the sheer force of his rage could bend her will. He didn’t notice her gasping, didn’t hear her strangled silence. Her eyes rolled back, her body weakening beneath his hands, but his anger only grew, words spilling out like venom.

"I never thought of leaving you... You are the only one who deserves to be my wife. But you couldn’t give me another child... I had to swallow my pride and raise Denis..." His voice cracked with bitterness, his accusations shaking the air as he shook her violently. "Why can’t you just obey me?"

Jeanne’s body slackened, her breath gone. It was only then that Gabriel realized what he had done. For the first time, his fury faltered. His hands loosened, his feet stumbled back. She slipped from his grasp and crashed onto the floor like a broken doll.

Silence.

Gabriel gaped, frozen, horror seeping into his bones. "Jeanne..." he whispered, trembling. He dropped down, patting her cheeks, desperation cracking through his arrogance. "Hey, Jeanne... open your eyes. Please don’t scare me."

But there was no response. Her chest wasn’t heaving anymore.

Cold sweat beaded down his neck. With a trembling hand, he checked her nose for breath, hoping she was still breathing. But there was nothing. Just stillness.

Reality slammed into him like a blade. He jerked back, face draining of color, eyes widening with dread. "She is dead," he murmurs, his chest suddenly feeling hollow. His lips quiver, barely forming the words. "I... I killed her."

Anger replaced by terror and helplessness. The man who once roared with arrogance now crouches in disbelief beside the lifeless body of the woman who defied him a moment ago.

Gabriel staggered back, clutching his head. "What have I done? I killed my wife." The sight of Jeanne’s lifeless body on the floor seared into his mind. His breath came fast, jagged.

"What should I do now? Shall I call someone?"

The thought flickered, but almost immediately a darker voice inside cut it down. If anyone discovered the truth, he would be branded a murderer.

"No," he muttered, shaking his head violently, as though trying to dislodge the terror clawing at his chest. "I can’t go to jail. I-I have to do something."

His mind raced to find a way out of the chaos he was in. Only one idea clawed its way out of the storm—get rid of the body.

The thought itself made his stomach twist, but fear drowned out hesitation. He dared a glance at Jeanne sprawled across the floor motionlessly. His heart hammered, trembling with dread.

Tears blurred his vision. They had shared so many years together. They had their disagreements. At times, in his anger, he had even raised his hand against her. But not even in his worst nightmares had he imagined he would end up killing her. The weight of remorse and agony churned inside him, tearing at his insides.

"I’m sorry, Jeanne," he sobbed.

He reached out, his hand hovering over her face, but too afraid to touch. "I didn’t mean to..." His words broke, lost in the lump rising in his throat.

Then adrenaline surged, burning away grief with a raw instinct for survival. He wiped his eyes. "I can’t waste more time. I have to take her out before anyone finds out what happened here."

Gabriel forced himself to stand. His legs felt heavy, but he bent down and seized Jeanne’s limp body, dragging her across the floor. Her limp form scraped along with him. At the front door, he propped her against the wall, her head lolling to the side. His chest heaved as he cracked the door open, peering out, his pulse drumming in his ears.

It was empty.

Heart hammering, he hauled her outside. When he reached his car, his hands trembled as he yanked the trunk open. With much effort, he pulled her up and dumped her inside before he slammed the lid shut.

Sweat dripped down his temples, dampening his shirt. He bent backward, groaning, palms pressed against his aching waist, elbows jutting out for support.

"My back hurts," he muttered, wincing.

But time was slipping. He straightened abruptly, urgency snapping him back into motion.

Rushing into the storeroom, his eyes darted frantically until they landed on a shovel leaning in the corner. He grabbed it and hurried back, shoving it into the trunk alongside Jeanne’s body before slipping into the driver’s seat.

The engine roared to life, and he sped away, knuckles whitening on the wheel. His eyes stayed glued to the road ahead, yet his thoughts spun out of control.

Every heartbeat screamed murderer. The thought of his wife’s dead body lying inside the trunk clawed at his sanity.

All he could think of was disposing of the body as quickly as possible and covering the evidence.

"I can’t falter now," he reassured himself. "I need to stay calm. Everything will be fine."

Yet the dread coiling around him like a noose refused to loosen a bit.

After what felt like hours of driving, Gabriel finally veered off the road. He pulled the car over in a lonely stretch, where tall trees loomed like ghosts on either side. The darkness wrapped the place in an eerie stillness.

But Gabriel’s only thought was to rid himself of the body.

He jumped out and opened the trunk. He glanced around, nerves raw, but the road ahead and behind lay empty. A fleeting relief washed over him.

However, he didn’t notice the car tucked at the turn.

With a grunt, he heaved Jeanne’s limp body from the trunk, her form thudding against the ground. He dragged her into the dense line of trees.

Once he was in the middle of the forest, he saw a clearing covered with grass and moss, dropping her body. He wiped the sweat away from his face with his sleeve as he ran back for the shovel.

Grabbing the shovel, he returned to the clearing. Without wasting a second, he started digging, sweat pouring down his brow.

He stripped off the suit jacket and tossed it aside, his shirt sticking to his back. He kept digging, completely absorbed in the task, unaware that someone nearby was secretly filming his every move.

The shrill ringing of the phone sliced through the stillness, startling him.

Gabriel froze, the shovel slipping in his slick hands. His pulse spiked. It was not his phone’s ringtone. His eyes darted to Jeanne’s still body from where the sound was coming. The cold glow of the screen lit up her pocket.

He crouched beside her and pulled the phone out. The name flashing across it made his stomach lurch.

Denis.

His skin prickled as chills crawled up his spine. It was as if the night air had turned to ice.

"Why is he calling her?" The phone in his hand continued to buzz. Not knowing what to do, he disconnected the call and turned it off.

"He shouldn’t find out...No one should know about this."

Gabriel shoved the phone into his pocket and forced himself back to work.

When the grave was finally ready, his knees gave way, sending him collapsing to the ground. Every muscle protested, screaming in fatigue. His arms felt like lead, his hands trembling. All he wanted was to lie down and give in to the weariness.

When his eyes fell on Jeanne’s lifeless form, a surge of instinct pushed him upright. He had to finish this quickly, before anyone discovered him.

Dragging his aching body forward, he moved toward her. His face twisted with the strain as he hauled her body into the grave. He rolled her over and pushed her down, his chest rising and falling in ragged gasps.

He paused, leaning over the edge of the grave. A single tear slipped down his cheek as he watched her lying there in a heap.

"I am sorry, Jeanne. Please forgive me," he sobbed. "This is not what I wanted. I really thought of growing old with you, raising the child together. But..." He lowered his head, his shoulders shaking from sobs.

"Everything is spiraling out of control. I thought things were happening as I planned. And then this..."

Though remorse clawed at him, a part of him still pointed fingers at her. "If you were upset with me, you should have come to me directly. Why did you make such a scene? If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have lost my temper. None of this would have happened."

He drew a long breath, blinking his tears away. "Now you should rest in peace. Don’t trouble me again."

With grim determination, he began shoveling the soil over her, one heavy scoop at a time.