A Ring for Marya

Originally Aired: December 28, 1950 Suspense #409, "A Ring for Marya," John, a struggling immigrant store owner, presents his wife Maria with a beautiful diamond ring as part of his carefully orchestrated plan. Burdened by business failures and trapped in a loveless marriage to a woman he wed only for her father's money, John convinces Maria to commit insurance fraud by burning down their failing store. He manipulates her devotion masterfully, even pretending to lose his nerve at the last moment so that Maria volunteers to set the fire herself while he establishes an alibi with his friend Frank. But when Maria calls from a phone booth after midnight, everything has gone terribly wrong. She's been burned in the fire, wandering the streets in pain and confusion, and can't remember if she locked the store door as planned. As John realizes his scheme is unraveling, he must decide how to handle his injured, desperate wife whose blind loyalty may have just destroyed them both. The ring that sealed Maria's devotion now binds John to the consequences of his cold-blooded manipulation.