While I Slept, They Planned My Death

Ever since my wife’s cousin moved into our home, my body had changed dramatically. I was unbearably sleepy every day, and my weight kept climbing. A hospital blood test revealed chlorpromazine—a drug used to sedate pigs and fatten them up! I was stunned. I had no idea how something like that had gotten into my system. Until one day, I opened a door… My name is Ethan Carter. I worked as a programmer for a private company, and I had a beautiful wife at home. Life was pretty good. Lately, though, I couldn’t stop sleeping. No matter how much rest I got, it never seemed to be enough. My alarm kept ringing. Half asleep, I checked the time and realized I was already two hours late. I hurriedly got dressed and climbed out of bed, ready to rush to work. But as I stepped out of our bedroom, I saw my wife, Claire, coming out of another room. Her face was flushed, her clothes were disheveled, and a thin sheen of sweat covered her forehead! Confused, I asked, “Honey, what were you doing in your cousin’s room?” His name was Ryan Brooks, and he was supposedly Claire’s cousin. He’d wanted to save some money by staying with us for a while. He promised he would move out as soon as he found a job. Since he was family, I’d reluctantly agreed. But almost a month had passed, and he still didn’t have even a hint of a job lined up. Who knew when he would finally leave? At the sound of my voice, Claire froze. “Well, Ryan went out to look for work. I figured I wasn’t doing anything, so I might as well clean his room.” I didn’t know what to say. “You had time to clean his room, but you couldn’t wake me up? You know I lose my attendance bonus if I’m late!” I had a mortgage to pay and an unemployed wife to support. Every dollar I earned mattered. Our company offered a five-hundred-dollar monthly attendance bonus. The thought of losing all that money for nothing made my chest ache. “I’m sorry, honey. You’ve been so exhausted lately. I just wanted to let you sleep a little longer.” “Since you’ve already lost the bonus, why don’t you take today off? You’ve been working yourself to death. It hurts me to see you this tired.” I knew she was only looking out for me. Some of my frustration faded, and my voice softened. “I can’t. I still have some code to finish. I need to get to the office.” I quickly washed up and left without even eating breakfast. I yawned the entire way to work. I’d never felt so drained. When I arrived, my boss called me into his office. He was a decent guy. He’d planned to give me a lecture, but when he saw the state I was in, he let it go. He even approved a few days off so I could go home and rest. No lost pay, and no lost attendance bonus. I was incredibly grateful. Just as I was about to leave, he stopped me. He looked me up and down, shock spreading across his face. “Ethan, have you been gaining a lot of weight lately? “Your face looks noticeably bigger than it did last month!” “You need to start watching your weight.”I froze, unable to believe him. “I… I’ve gained weight? That can’t be right.” My boss had been trying to lose weight himself, so he kept a digital scale in his office. I stepped onto it and stared in disbelief. I’d gained fifty-five pounds in a month! How was that possible? I’d spent the whole month in such a fog, and Claire had never once mentioned my weight. I hadn’t noticed any changes in my appearance at all. How could my weight have shot up so drastically in just one month? What was happening to me? My boss looked at me seriously. “Ethan, I really think you should see a doctor. Don’t wait until you end up with diabetes or fatty liver disease.” I nodded. After leaving the office, I went straight to the hospital for a full examination. The results shocked me. All kinds of readings were dangerously outside the normal range. Worst of all, the doctor found traces of chlorpromazine in my blood! Chlorpromazine could make a person extremely drowsy and reduce their desire to move. Unscrupulous livestock farmers, especially pig farmers, sometimes used it to fatten their animals. As I stared at the results, my ears rang. It felt as though my whole world was collapsing. I’d been eating normally all month. Every meal had been cooked by my wife, and I drank plain water. As far as I knew, I hadn’t come into contact with anything containing chlorpromazine. Yet there it was in my system. I couldn’t make sense of it. I went home with that question weighing heavily on me. But the instant I closed the front door, I heard the sounds of a man and a woman having sex in Ryan’s room. His voice was excited, hers breathy and seductive. There was no mistaking what they were doing. Ryan had brought a woman home! He really was treating this place like his own! I was already in a terrible mood, and this only made it worse. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. This distant relative of my wife’s was doing whatever he pleased under my roof. Still, he was her cousin. I had to show him at least a little consideration. Once they were finished, I was throwing him out, whether Claire objected or not! Before long, the noises finally stopped. Then I heard my wife’s voice coming from inside the room!