Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - The Catacomb Reopens After Three Years, Unearthing Bleached Bones

Three years ago, I was the youngest lead archaeologist at Weston University.

While exploring a newly discovered centuries-old catacomb, I stumbled upon a dark secret.

My husband Jared's precious golden girl was colluding with a black-market antiquities ring, trying to smuggle priceless artifacts out of the country.

To keep her dirty secret safe, she stabbed me over twenty times and blew up the excavation site.

She even had the nerve to tell Jared that I was the one working with the smugglers.

She claimed I tried to kill her, that she barely escaped with her life, and that I had fled the scene.

Jared played the righteous hero and reported all my supposed "crimes" to the authorities.

From that day on, my name was slapped on the FBI's Most Wanted list, branded as a traitor who sold out her country's history.

It wasn't until three years later that the site was excavated again, finally unearthing my skeleton.

1

The reopening of the catacomb sparked a massive uproar across the country.

Three years ago, the news of Weston University's youngest archaeologist smuggling artifacts and trying to kill a witness shocked the nation.

Shortly after, her own husband stepped forward to report her crimes to the authorities, sealing her guilt in the public eye.

People were furious.

They used to worship her as a rising star in archaeology, but they quickly spat on her name, calling her a selfish traitor.

Today, three years later, that same husband and the very witness who survived were leading the team to re-excavate the site.

......

I floated in the air, watching a reporter detail the "crimes" I supposedly committed.

Millions of viewers flooded the live stream.

The screen was covered in blazing red comments calling me a traitor, and every single word pierced my soul.

Some people even guessed that I had taken a massive payout from the smugglers and fled overseas.

They wondered why else the police hadn't caught me after three years.

God, I wanted to scream and tell them the truth.

I didn't work with any criminals, and I definitely wasn't a traitor.

But I couldn't make a sound.

I had died three years ago.

When the catacomb collapsed in the explosion, all the truth was buried in the dirt with me.

My soul had been trapped in that dark vault for three long years.

It was only today, when they finally cleared the rubble, that my spirit could float out into the sunlight.

I originally thought this dig was to salvage the remaining artifacts and finally find my remains.

I never expected this harsh reality.

Three years ago, after Gia Miller brutally ended my life, she pinned all the blame on me.

And Jared Hayes, the man I had been married to for six years, blindly believed her lies and turned me in.

If Gia's words made people suspicious, Jared's testimony was the final nail in my coffin.

For three whole years, I had carried the heavy burden of a crime I never committed.

"Professor Hayes, this site was heavily damaged in an explosion. Why did you choose to re-excavate it now?"

As soon as Jared and Gia appeared, reporters swarmed them with questions.

"Three years ago, our technology wasn't advanced enough to safely dig through the blast zone. Now, we have the means to do it."

Jared answered the questions swiftly and professionally, just like he always did.

"We want to recover the remaining historical pieces and find clues about the smuggling ring."

"Has your wife, Jane, really not contacted you at all in the past three years?" a reporter asked.

At the mere mention of my name, Jared's face darkened instantly.

It was as if I was some disgusting plague he couldn't get away from fast enough.

"She is a wanted fugitive. She's probably hiding in some filthy rat hole right now. She wouldn't dare reach out to me."

"But," Jared paused, turning to stare dead into the camera lens.

His eyes looked like they were burning with pure hatred.

"If she ever tries to contact me, I won't hesitate to give her location straight to the cops."

"I, Jared Hayes, will never show mercy to a traitor."

The live stream chat went wild, praising Jared for his strong morals and cursing my supposed betrayal.

I stared blankly at the man I once loved, feeling like I didn't even know him anymore.

I already knew he was the one who reported me.

But hearing him say it with such absolute disgust still felt like a knife twisting in my heart.

We worked together for six years and were married for four.

It turned out I hadn't earned a single ounce of his trust.

Gia stood close by his side, flashing a sweet, innocent smile at the reporters.

"We all know my senior's character. I firmly believe he would never cover up for a criminal."

"We have a lot of work to do, so please excuse us."

Jared gave Gia a gentle nod.

Moving with practiced harmony, they put on their gloves and safety gear, walking into the excavation site together.

Watching them, my mind felt hazy.

Once upon a time, Jared and I were the perfect team.

But now, I was nothing but a wandering ghost.

The person standing next to him in the spotlight was Gia, the very monster who murdered me.

I drifted after them into the dark tunnel.

The moment we stepped inside, an assistant let out a terrified gasp.

"Professor Hayes! Gia! Come quick! There's a pile of human bones here!"