I tried to piece it together, but logic failed me. Nothing made sense. My instincts screamed that something was dreadfully wrong, yet I was powerless to decipher the truth hidden beneath layers of confusion and fear.

Eventually, the officers emerged, their faces grim. One approached me, the rain cascading off his hat as he spoke. “We’ve confirmed the situation,” he said, his tone gentle but firm. “What you saw… it wasn’t your wife. The medical examiner will need to identify her properly, but we believe there’s been a significant misunderstanding.”

I nodded numbly, the words not fully registering. My world had been upended in a matter of moments, and the reality of it was too overwhelming to grasp.