Every night for two hours, my husband would lock himself in the bathroom. One night, I went to check with a flashlight and discovered a hole below the tiles, which contained odd sacks.
My hubby had been behaving strangely lately. I initially believed he had a mistress. He could sit quietly at home for extended periods of time, as though he were contemplating something, and he would go out in the evenings. But then I understood that it had nothing to do with another woman.
He locked himself in the bathroom every day. He could sit there for two hours, locked the door, and turned on the water to block out noise. He was undoubtedly not speaking to anyone because he never brought his phone with him. I repeatedly questioned him:
— Why have you spent so much time in there?
And each time I received the same scathing response:
It’s none of your business, nothing.
My worry increased along with my curiosity. What did he conceal? Why was he behaving so strangely?
One night, when he had fallen asleep, I decided to take the chance. In order to avoid waking him by turning on the light, I grabbed a flashlight and slipped into the bathroom. Everything appeared to be perfectly normal. White bathtub, spotless tiles, and the familiar scent of soap.
But then I became aware of an oddity.
There were fractures and marks on the wall behind the toilet. Where had they come from, though, given that we had just refurbished the bathroom?
I made contact with a tile. It swayed. A single motion caused a fragment to fall to the ground, exposing a dark hole in the wall. With my heart racing, I froze. Something was hidden inside. I extracted a plastic bag by reaching inside. Then another.
I had trembling hands. I ripped the plastic open and almost passed out in shock. There were
Women’s jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets, and rings, was found inside, but it was all stained a shade of brown and crimson. dried blood. A tuft of someone else’s hair was even adhered to one ring.
I felt nauseated. My husband had been taking these objects from crime sites, I found out later. I’m not sure how many women he had taken advantage of, but every piece of jewelry served as a trophy and a constant reminder of his horrible actions.
I quickly, almost in a frenzy, replaced the tile, hid them in the hole, and put everything back in the bags.
I didn’t get any sleep at all that night. The pictures of the blood-stained jewels flashed through my head as I laid beside him and listened to his steady breathing. I realized that the man who was lying beside me was a monster.
I said nothing the following morning. I immediately rushed to the police after packing my belongings and slamming the door. I think he was undoubtedly arrested, but I never saw him again.
