Chapter 1

It has been three years since I died.

My husband's first love is suffering from kidney failure, and it is now life-threatening.

To save her, my husband has gone insane, torturing my parents to force them to reveal my location.

"You old fossils! Where is Ava? She was a perfect match for Fiona three years ago. Is she hiding now? You're a family of selfish rats! If you don't talk, you can all rot in the ground with her!"

My elderly parents could not withstand the brutality.

My mother died on the spot.

My father was in critical condition, clinging to the last shred of life.

On his deathbed, my father finally gasped out the truth.

"Child... Ava died three years ago just to save you..."

...

It has been three years since I passed away.

The dilapidated old house in the suburbs has lost its peace because of me.

My husband, Caleb Rhodes, stands outside with a group of thugs.

Inside the room, my mother has already been beaten until her face is bruised and swollen.

Caleb brandishes a whip, pointing it at her and roaring.

"You old hag, talk! Where is that bitch Ava hiding? If you don't tell me today, I'll end you!"

My mother pulled an old handkerchief from her pocket.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked at Caleb.

"Caleb, it is not that I won't tell you. There is a reason for the silence. But stop looking. Ava will never appear again..."

But before she could finish, Caleb raised the whip again.

It lashed down cruelly against my mother's frail body.

She was so thin and old; there was no way she could survive such a beating.

She collapsed straight to the floor.

Watching my mother being tortured like this, my heart throbbed with a piercing pain.

I wanted to rush forward and hold her, to tell her to stop hiding the secret for me.

But I knew she wouldn't speak.

I remembered what she said the day I left this world.

"Ava, we couldn't help you achieve your dreams, and our bad health only held you back. So, we will make sure your final wish is honored..."

"Never appear again? Then I'll keep hurting you! Isn't Ava supposed to be a devoted daughter? I don't believe she'll stay hidden while her mother suffers!"

Caleb's words dragged me back to the cold reality.

Hearing him mention my devotion, my mother cried for the first time.

Ignoring her injuries, she leaned against the wardrobe to stand up and looked at Caleb.

"Caleb, all these years you were with Ava, her father and I treated you like our own son. Now that she's gone, we still have to raise her daughter. Please, stop this. I beg you."

My mother was right.

During all those years of marriage, my parents really did treat Caleb better than they treated me.

I used to joke that Caleb was their real child and I was just the daughter-in-law.

I thought her words might spark a bit of conscience in him.

But Caleb only grew angrier.

He shoved my mother down again.

He pointed a finger at her nose and cursed.

"Your own son? Your whole family is so fake! Whatever I had with Ava is long gone! If Fiona didn't need a massive amount of money and a donor, I'd never want to see you people again!"

"And that brat of a child... I regret letting Ava give birth to her! She's just like the rest of you!"

Because of Caleb's violent shove, my mother's head slammed into the sharp corner of the wardrobe.

Blood began to flow instantly.

Caleb stepped forward and grabbed her by the throat, pinning her against the wood.

"Now! Call Ava right now!"

With one hand choking her, he used the other to take her phone and dial my number.

A familiar ringtone suddenly filled the house.

I was shocked.

I didn't realize that even three years after my death, my mother had kept my phone active.

Hearing the ring, a smug smile spread across Caleb's face.

His grip on my mother's throat tightened.

"I knew it! None of you are any good! Tell me! What time is Ava coming home?!"