Lily's phone suddenly rang with an alarm.

Normally, by this time, she'd already be working on practice problems.

High school seniors don't have much time to spare.

Wiping away my tears, I picked up the phone and turned off the alarm.

The next second, the phone screen automatically showed the call log.

Several of the most recent calls were between Lily and John Miller.

The earliest one was from six in the morning.

I remembered the police saying that monster entered Lily's room around six too.

That meant Lily had tried to call John for help.

But why did things still end like this?

I quickly opened the voice recorder app, found the call recordings, and pressed play.

Lily's voice was full of fear: "Dad, where did you go? A man just came in; he said you sent him."

John Miller's voice was icy: "Yeah, I did send him; you're staying in the hotel today, and this man will keep an eye on you."

Lily sounded close to tears, frantic: "But I have the physics competition today!"

"Stanford has always been Brandon's dream; you shouldn't compete with him for it."

"Just stay put, and if you don't behave, this uncle will hit you!"

The recording cut off there.

There were a few more recordings after that.

They were all of Lily sobbing hysterically, begging John for help.

But each time, he was completely cold, saying she was just faking it to get the guaranteed spot.

After listening, I covered my mouth, trembling all over.

So, John Miller had deliberately sent that monster to watch Lily and stop her from leaving.

He did it so Brandon Scott could get the guaranteed spot.

Because there was only one spot available.

John chose to sacrifice Lily's future so he could help Brandon get the spot.

I could only imagine how desperate Lily must have felt at that moment!

Furious, I called Brandon Scott.

This time, he answered, but it was his mom, Sarah Jenkins, John's first love, who spoke.

"Honey, John's picking out a gift for Brandon; is there something you need?"

"Put John Miller on the phone!"

My teeth were rattling with anger.

Lily was dead, and he was still buying gifts for Brandon!

"Look, honey, are you hard of hearing? I told you John's picking out a gift for Brandon; if it's not urgent, wait until he gets back."

Sarah just hung up on me.

I was so mad I almost smashed the phone.

What an awful couple!

You two just wait; I swear I'll make you pay for my daughter's death!

I'm a lawyer; I knew recordings alone wouldn't be enough proof.

And that old man hadn't said a single word about John Miller's involvement.

So, I had to keep gathering evidence before I could go to the police.

The next day, Lily's homeroom teacher called me.

She said Lily had some things left at school to pick up.

Today was Monday; John Miller would definitely be giving a speech at the weekly assembly.

An idea started forming in my mind.

After packing up Lily's things at school, I saw the assembly happening on the field.

John Miller, the principal, was on the stage, giving an impassioned speech.

"Let's congratulate Brandon Scott from Senior Class 1, who won first place in the Physics Competition yesterday and earned our school's only guaranteed spot at Stanford."

"As they say, 'you reap what you sow'; all success comes from hard work and effort."

"Students, you should all work hard too."

I clenched my fists.

It felt utterly ridiculous.

He stole Lily's first place; how dare he talk about hard work and effort?

Just then, the two reporters I'd arranged to meet arrived.

They were former clients of mine; I'd won their cases for them, so they were happy to help me out now.

I gave them a signal.

They immediately rushed towards the stage.

"Mr. Miller, we heard your daughter, Lily Miller, was also preparing for the Physics Competition yesterday and had excellent grades; however, she tragically died in a hotel incident. Could you please comment on her death?"

At those words, John Miller on the stage suddenly froze solid.

His face drained of color.

"You... what did you say?"