Diana is already dealing with depression when she witnesses her worst nightmare — she sees her husband kissing her sister. She seeks the help of her therapist, Dr. Carrey. But what looked like a normal therapy session whispers horrors when Dr. Carrey finds a chilling detail on Diana’s phone.
Diana came home and heard her husband Hamilton and her sister giggling in the bathroom. When she peeked in through the slightly ajar door, she saw them kissing in the mirror reflection.
Her mind raced, and she took a step back. She felt her body shiver. No, this couldn’t be happening!
“Hamilton! I saw you two kissing! You and Evie, come out right now!” she screamed as she composed herself. When she didn’t get a response, she burst into the bathroom but found her husband alone.
“Where is she? Where is Evie?!” she demanded.
“She is not here, Diana,” Hamilton said. “This happens every single time you come home after visiting your therapist. You need to stop this! I was just getting things ready to surprise you and you ruined everything! Please stop doing this to yourself… and to me.”
But Diana didn’t believe him.
She checked the whole bathroom and couldn’t believe Evie was not there.
“Do you trust me now?” Hamilton asked. “There’s no one here.”
But Diana wouldn’t stop. She went to the other rooms and kept searching but found nobody. Hamilton suggested she might be stressed or imagining things, and Evie believed him for a moment. But right then, they heard a splash from the bathroom. Had Evie hidden in the bubble bath?
Diana rushed back to the bathroom but, again, found no one. “How?” she was confused. “I heard it… I heard the splash. Someone was here!”
Hamilton, hovering at the doorway, sighed. “There’s no one here, honey. Please! Relax!”
Diana’s shoulders slumped at his words. Was she really going crazy?
“I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I’ve just been so tired lately,” she admitted, embarrassed. “I was so sure I saw Evie here!”
Hamilton comforted her. “Let’s forget this, okay? We need to talk about what’s really bothering you. So, what is it?”
Diana sighed, shaking her head. “I keep feeling like I’m losing my mind,” she confessed. “I think I’m losing you to someone, maybe my own sister.”
Hamilton reassured her that he only loved her, urging her not to succumb to her fears. But Diana couldn’t listen to what he was saying. Her mind drifted to a baby… the child was crying. “I can hear her crying,” she whispered, lost in thought. “I can hear her crying, Hamilton.” She closed her eyes. My baby!
“Diana! Diana!” Hamilton’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Hey, why don’t you take a bath?” he suggested. “Look, you need to forget what happened that night. I’ll get your favorite bath bomb and prepare your bath. Alright?”
Seeing his concern, Diana agreed, but as she stepped into the bathroom, her mind raced with suspicions yet again. She spotted “Kiss me!” written in her sister’s handwriting on the fogged shower door.
Confused, Diana confronted Hamilton with the message, but when they looked again, it was gone. Hamilton tried to reassure her that he was not cheating on her, but Diana’s trust wavered.
The next day, Diana discussed her fears with her therapist, Dr. Carrey. “I think Hamilton might be cheating on me with my sister, Evie. There are signs, like her handwriting and her perfume — I can smell it sometimes when I get home.”
Dr. Carrey nodded, making notes.
“Anything else on your mind that you’d like to discuss?” he asked.
Diana’s gaze drifted, lost in a far-off memory. “I keep hearing this… sound. Like a baby crying in the rain… on the road. It’s unsettling. Keeps haunting me,” her voice trembled.
“A baby? Are you keeping up with your medication?”
Diana nodded. “Yes, every day. And I’ve invited Evie over for dinner. I thought seeing her and Hamilton together might… might clarify things for me.”
Dr. Carrey’s eyebrows knitted together in concern. “You’re planning a dinner with Evie? Tonight?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “I sent her a message this morning. She replied she’d come.”
“Diana, could you show me that text? The one you sent to your sister?”
Diana handed her phone to Dr. Carrey, who scrutinized the messages.
“What are you hoping to find out with this dinner?” he asked.
“I need to know if I’m imagining things or if there’s something between them,” Diana replied.
“These messages…” said Dr. Carrey, “you sent them to your sister?”
“Yes,” Diana confessed. “Hamilton and I, we’ve had twelve good years, doctor. It was all perfect until Evie came to the city. Had I known my own sister would try to steal my husband, I would’ve taken Hamilton somewhere far away.”
“It’s good to confront these doubts,” he advised. “Now, about these strange sounds, you’ve mentioned—this baby crying—how often do they occur?”
Diana looked away, lost in thought. “I can’t really say. It’s sporadic… when I’m alone, or even when Hamilton’s with me.”
Dr. Carrey leaned forward, offering a comforting smile. “It’s important to confront these feelings, not let them fester. We’ll work through this together, okay? You have nothing to worry about. Just try not to take too much stress.”
Diana nodded, a tentative smile crossing her lips as she stood to leave. “Thank you, doctor. I feel a bit lighter already. I need to get home early to prepare the dinner.”
***
At dinner, Diana observed Hamilton and Evie’s interaction, feeling uneasy. Hamilton praised Evie’s career success, and they joked about working together. Diana could feel they weren’t really joking about it.
Her discomfort only grew as they laughed and flirted subtly. Diana had had enough. She excused herself and returned with an expensive wine, surprising Hamilton and Evie.
“Let’s toast to family ties,” Diana said, raising her glass.
Evie smiled uncertainly. “Okay, Diana, but why such a formal toast?”
Diana smiled sadly. “It’s just that I’ve been thinking about how much you both mean to me, especially now, as I navigate through my… difficulties.”
“That’s what family is for, darling,” Hamilton said. “We’re here for you, always. By the way, this wine has such a unique flavor,” he continued, sipping the alcohol.
“Yes, it’s quite the blend,” Evie added.
Diana chuckled. “This wine… it’s like the deceit hidden under the guise of family love.”
Hamilton and Evie exchanged a worried glance, the atmosphere growing tense. “What do you mean?” Hamilton asked as he nervously refilled his glass.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice? The secret messages, the laughter, her perfume… I saw it all.”
Suddenly, Evie began coughing. “Wait… wha-what did you do with the wine?” she asked tremblingly.
“It’s a special blend for you two. Merlot with a hint of retribution. Cyanide, perhaps!” Diana revealed nonchalantly.
As they realized the danger, Hamilton and Evie panicked, coughing violently. “Diana, this is madness!” Hamilton cried, rushing to the bathroom after Evie.
Diana, satisfied with her revenge, continued eating. “Justice is served,” she whispered, her tears following freely and her heart relieved.
Then, overwhelmed by the gravity of her actions and the haunting sound of a baby crying, Diana panicked, “Wait! What have I done? Did I kill them? Did I kill my husband and sister?” she muttered. Diana wasn’t herself as she called 911 and then Dr. Carrey, confessing her actions in a state of despair.
Dr. Carrey urged her to wait for him and not make any rash decisions. When he arrived, he found Diana distraught on the floor near the bathroom. “Diana, what happened?” he asked, trying to maintain his composure.
“I… I poisoned Hamilton and Evie. I thought they betrayed me! I felt it was the right thing to do!” And then, she burst into tears, pointing at their bodies on the bathroom floor.
Dr. Carrey consoled her, “There’s no one here, Diana. Remember, you live alone?”
Diana was confused. She insisted she was with Hamilton and Evie, and it was then Dr. Carrey revealed a harsh truth. “You’ve been alone for two years, Diana. Your mind has been playing tricks.”
Diana couldn’t believe his words. She mentioned texting Evie, but Dr. Carrey showed her the texts were to herself. He gently reminded her of the tragic accident two years ago that took Hamilton and Evie’s lives and how she survived but lost her unborn child. They were returning from a dinner, and Hamilton had insisted on driving their car, but Diana hadn’t agreed.
“I couldn’t save them…” she whispered. “I just couldn’t…”
Dr. Carrey looked into her eyes. “What happened that night, Diana, was a tragic accident. It was not your fault. You didn’t kill them. You’ve been creating a false reality to cope with your guilt and grief. But it’s time to accept the truth.”
Hearing the truth from Dr. Carrey began clearing the doubts in Diana’s mind. Her hallucinations and the belief that her husband and sister had betrayed her were her mind’s way to escape the pain of their loss. She could see it now.
Dr. Carrey then showed her her phone logs, proving there was no call to 911, only to him. At that point, she broke down, relieved yet grieving her lost child, husband, and sister.
She clung to Dr. Carrey, finding solace in his presence as the truth sank in. Her husband and sister were gone, and it was time to let go of the imagined sins that had tormented her.
A year later…
Diana found herself back in Dr. Carrey’s office.
This time, the weight that had burdened her for so long was noticeably lighter. Her eyes, once filled with grief, now held a glimmer of hope.
“Diana,” Dr. Carrey said with a warm smile, “it’s good to see you again. How have you been?”
Diana returned the smile. “I feel better, Dr. Carrey. I’ve been learning to live again, to honor their memory without the guilt.”
“So, how has your husband been?” he inquired, watching her closely for her reaction.
“It’s been three years since Hamilton passed away. I’ve not only lost him but also my beloved sister, Evie.”
Dr. Carrey nodded, convinced that Diana had indeed moved on from the trauma of her past. “You’ve done exceptionally well, Diana,” he said sincerely. “I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.”
Just as their conversation was coming to an end, the office door swung open, and a nurse entered, announcing that Diana’s appointment time had concluded.
“I’ll stay in touch, no matter how far I go, doctor,” Diana assured Dr. Carrey as she gathered her things.
As she stepped out of the office, she encountered a stranger holding a baby in his arms.
“Hi,” she greeted him with a warm smile, her eyes sparkling with delight. “Could I hold the baby for a moment?”
The door to Dr. Carrey’s office was still ajar, and he was engrossed in reviewing Diana’s latest reports. However, when he turned to the side, he froze in shock.
Diana was standing alone outside his office and appeared to be cuddling with an invisible baby in her arms.
A chill ran down Dr. Carrey’s spine. The patient he had thought had healed had, in fact, made very little progress. “We have a long way to go, Diana,” he muttered under his breath. “A long way.”
