Chapter 1

1

To protect his precious childhood sweetheart, my husband forced me to act as her decoy to lure out a psychopathic killer.

I told him I didn't want to go.

He stroked my face with chilling affection. "If you don't go, I'll pull the plug on your mother's ventilator," he said in a freezing tone.

Later, I was stabbed twenty times and left to die in that dark alley.

When the police called him to identify my body, he just sneered.

"Useless. She couldn't even stop a freak! Stop faking, Lyra. Get back to the alley tonight and lure him out again."

......

After my death, my soul lingered beside Jasper Garrison.

I watched as he gently poured a bowl of chicken soup. He carefully blew on the spoon before feeding Seraphina Blair.

"I spent three hours simmering this soup myself. The doctor said it would help you recover."

He fed her one patient spoonful at a time. His eyes reddened as he looked at Seraphina's bandaged right hand.

"It's all Lyra Sterling's fault. If it weren't for her, that killer would never have targeted you. Now she has the nerve to play missing!"

Whenever he mentioned me, his tenderness vanished, replaced by an unrestrained look of disgust.

My heart throbbed with sharp, suffocating pain.

In our five years of marriage, I never let him step foot in the kitchen because he said he hated cooking.

I wouldn't even let him touch cold dishwater.

I never imagined that the first time he cooked would be for another woman.

Seraphina smiled weakly at him. "It's fine, Jasper. It's just my hand."

Jasper immediately countered, "Your hands are meant for saving lives! Lyra is a curse! At least she was somewhat useful as your decoy this time."

"Still no word from Lyra? What if something happened to her?"

Seraphina frowned, barely hiding the smirk tugging at her lips as she feigned concern.

Jasper let out a cold laugh. Before he could speak, his phone rang.

I stood behind him and saw my own name flashing on the screen.

But I was already dead. Who could be calling from my phone?

Jasper waved the phone with a mocking brow. "See? Only two days and she can't hold out anymore."

As if to prove his point, he let it ring for ten seconds before answering. He didn't even wait for a hello before snapping.

"Lyra, you useless brat. You couldn't even stop a freak! Don't forget, Seraphina took that hit for you!"

"Stop playing tricks. Get back to that alley tonight and lure him out."

There was nothing but the sound of faint, heavy breathing on the other end.

Jasper raised his voice impatiently. "Are you even listening to me―"

The call was abruptly disconnected.

Jasper's face darkened, his teeth grinding. "Fine! You want to play hardball with me?"

"I'm calling the hospital right now to stop her mother's life support. I'll see how long Lyra Sterling can stay hidden then."

My pupils shrunk, and my body began to shake uncontrollably.

"Jasper Garrison! Don't you dare!" I screamed at him hysterically.

He had used my sick mother to threaten me into being Seraphina's decoy in the first place. Now, he was doing it again.

Seraphina reached out with her uninjured left hand and gave him a pale smile.

"Don't be so harsh. It's understandable if she's scared. It is dangerous, after all."

Jasper blurted out, "No! Only by catching that maniac will you be safe for good."

"Don't worry. As long as her mother relies on my money to breathe, Lyra has no right to say no."

Jasper sat back down with total confidence. He peeled an orange for her and fed it to her lovingly.

A flash of triumph crossed Seraphina's eyes, though she quickly masked it.

I clenched my fists, my eyes turning bloodshot at the sight.

From start to finish, Jasper never even considered that I might be in trouble.

I wasn't hiding. I couldn't.

My corpse was still lying in that cold, damp alley.

Twenty stabs. The feeling of flesh and bone being torn apart was a pain I would never forget.

I closed my eyes and laughed at my own stupidity. My life wasn't even worth one of Seraphina's fingers to him.