Chapter 1

While my killer was butchering me alive, my husband was at the clinic holding hands with his first love.

I called him, begging for help.

He only sneered into the receiver, "Stop with the pathetic drama. Haven't you played this game enough? If you have the guts, go ahead and drop dead for real!"

Five days later, an extra, fresh human heart showed up on his operating table.

He worked closely with the police, determining that it belonged to a young woman and had been violently ripped out while she was still breathing.

Yet, he never figured out that the murdered woman was me―the wife he loathed the most.

***

Before the scheduled cardiac transplant at the hospital, a nurse discovered an extra heart sitting inside the cooler.

One heart was pristine, ready for the recipient.

The other organ was already beginning to decay. That rotting organ was mine.

The killer had torn my chest open and arrogantly planted my heart inside the hospital cooler.

The young nurses had never witnessed such a nightmare, gagging at the foul stench of decomposing flesh.

As the chief cardiothoracic surgeon, my husband, Sean, had to remain calm. He needed to examine the organ's features and assist the detectives.

Sean put on several surgical masks, suppressing his nausea as he scrutinized my heart.

Floating in the air, I felt thrown back to that horrific day. The icy blade slicing through my chest, the pain so excruciating I could not even scream.

The moment his gloved fingers touched the tissue, Sean suddenly paused. A strange, sharp ache bloomed in his own chest.

Sean, can you feel that it is mine?

Less than ten minutes later, Sean pulled down his mask and delivered his professional assessment.

"Judging by the anatomy, the victim was a young woman between twenty-four and twenty-eight years old."

"There are clear tissue tears along the exterior. Pathological signs show it was extracted while her vital signs were active."

"In other words, she was cut open alive."

The nurses gasped in horror. How could someone rip a heart out of a living human body?

"Is the killer a monster? That is pure evil!"

The responding officers were equally shaken. They quickly stretched yellow police tape across the room to secure the crime scene.

"I have worked homicide for years, but I have never seen a live heart extraction," one detective muttered.

"To kill someone, dump the organ in a secure hospital cooler, and wipe all the surveillance footage..."

"The suspect is either hospital staff or someone extremely familiar with this facility."

A trembling nurse asked, "What could possibly be the motive?"

Sean stared at the discolored flesh and answered coldly, "There is only one explanation. This is a personal provocation. It is pure revenge."

The nurses exchanged terrified glances, too frightened to speak.

While hospitals dealt with angry relatives, their cardiology department had a stellar reputation. They had never had hostile incidents.

Sean, when will you finally realize the truth behind this?

Sudden applause broke out beyond the cordon as Detective Carter Reynolds walked into the unit.

"As expected of our star surgeon. Now you are doing the medical examiner's job too?"

Sean removed his gloves and stepped outside, letting the forensics team take over the secondary examination.

Catching up with his old friend, Carter bumped Sean's shoulder. "Chloe invited me to your birthday dinner a while back. I didn't expect us to meet over a murder case first."

"Do not mention her name," Sean said with disgust. "She makes me sick."

Carter frowned. "You two still haven't made up? What happened to your sister was a tragic accident. It wasn't Chloe's fault, so don't be too hard on her."

Carter pulled his phone from his jacket. "Speaking of Chloe, she sent me a weird string of numbers a few days ago. I thought it was a phone number, but it didn't go through. Want to take a look?"

Carter showed him the screen. Sean barely glanced at it before turning his face away in contempt.

"She sits at home all day acting like a lunatic. She either calls claiming she is dying or spouts nonsense."

"Now she is spamming my friends just to get my attention. It is pathetic. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets committed to an asylum."

Hovering in the air, my ghostly soul felt pierced by invisible blades. The agony suffocated me.

In his eyes, I was nothing more than a crazy, manipulative psycho.

Everything I ever did for him was reduced to a cheap trick to beg for attention.

Sean, I stood by your side for ten whole years.

Did all those years mean nothing compared to Cynthia, the woman who abandoned you back then?

Carter still looked uneasy. "Chloe isn't the type to do that. Why don't you call her and ask what these numbers mean?"

"You are just paranoid because of your job. Why would you believe a crazy woman?"

Annoyed by Carter's nagging, Sean pulled his phone out and unblocked me. He fired off several harsh voice notes.

"You talk about dying every single day, so why aren't you dead yet?"