Chapter 1

Mom, trying to get me to the hospital when I had a high fever, was attacked by some homeless guys.

She couldn't live with it and drowned herself in the river.

Because of that, Dad and my brother, Liam, took all their hate out on me.

They made me go to the riverbank every day, kneel down, and beg for forgiveness.

Turns out, those same homeless guys started watching me.

After hours of what they did, they dumped me deep in the woods.

I looked for any chance to escape, the whole way.

Right before my phone died, I made one last call to Liam.

But Liam just scoffed, "You're faking it. Keep pretending! Even if you really got kidnapped, you deserve it! It should've been you who got attacked back then!"

That's when I lost all hope.

The local folks caught me, called me "unfaithful," and then they tore me apart, broke my bones.

Later, Mom came back, safe.

She'd been on some secret mission.

When she found out my bones were among those they brought back...

She completely lost it.

……

When Liam got called to the police station in the middle of the night, they hadn't managed to clean up the face on the security footage yet.

Blind spots and the thick darkness made it hard to see the victim clearly.

The officer looked Liam up and down, his eyes sharp.

He put a watch on the table, his voice low.

"We found this at the crime scene."

"It's got scratches, old and new, and your fingerprints are on it."

"More importantly, we checked. You ordered this watch yourself from the store."

Liam frowned, looking at the old watch.

The crystal was shattered.

The band was slashed by something sharp.

He flipped it over gently and saw the letters engraved on the inside.

"I bought it, yeah. But this watch..." He paused.

He must have remembered me.

A flicker of disgust crossed his eyes, his voice turning cold.

"My sister, Chloe, threw this away. If she's committed a crime, go find her. Her business has nothing to do with me."

With that, he stood up quickly, about to leave the station.

But his eyes got caught on the looping footage of the homeless attack playing nearby.

The screen showed the exact moment I was being brutally assaulted by several men in the shadows.

Blood trailed off, a line with no end in sight.

"Bang!" Liam slammed his fist on the table.

His eyes were bloodshot, shimmering with tears.

His whole body started to tremble slightly, shaking with rage.

"Bastards! Those damn scumbags! A whole group of them, ganging up on one woman!"

"Sons of bitches!"

I felt a little happy.

Could this count as Liam crying for me?

After Mom died, I hadn't seen him like this in so long.

The video kept playing.

After the homeless guys were done, they snapped my leg bone and dragged me into a blind spot.

Hoarse screams and cruel laughter mixed together.

Fear, despair, agony – it felt like it was swallowing me whole.

Just before I disappeared from view, a blurry half of my face showed.

Everyone in the station looked pained; an officer patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"This is a new attack by homeless individuals. A lot of women have been targeted recently. You have a sister, right? Protect her."

"Don't let her end up like this girl. It's been two days since it happened, and no one's even reported her missing. We can't even figure out who she is."

Liam didn't say anything, just stared stubbornly at the screen.

I smiled bitterly, looking down at my own shattered soul.

Liam hated me. How could he protect me?

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been dead for two days without them even noticing.

It hurt so much.

After a while, his voice came out hoarse, a little mocking.

"The watch fell off this girl. So, the victim might be someone my sister knows. I'll ask her when I get back."

"Both attacks are connected to her. She has to know something!"

"As for protecting her? Does she even deserve it?"