Chapter 1

I wanted our future child to take my last name, but my boyfriend was dead set against it. "A kid who takes their mother's name is just asking for trouble," he argued. "They'll get bullied mercilessly."

I laughed and asked him a teasing question. "Why would they get bullied for that? You didn't go around bullying kids for their last names in school, did you?"

His expression instantly shifted into something uncomfortable and stiff.

A chill ran down my spine. Later that night, I secretly dug through his old high school photos. There, in the corner of a class picture, was a familiar, fragile girl.

That was my sister, Clara. Three years ago, she died at her high school. The official report said she committed suicide by jumping from the roof.

And Clara was the one who had taken our mother's last name.

1

My boyfriend, Silas Sterling, was my senior in college. He had a stable personality and top-tier grades. Right after his internship, he landed a job at a prestigious Big Tech firm. He was the definition of a catch.

I always thought our relationship was rock solid. That was until we casually started talking about our future children. Silas, usually the gentlest soul, suddenly had a deep frown. "The kid is taking my name. Period."

I didn't catch the intensity of his mood at first. I even joked, "Why does it have to be yours? Can't they take mine?"

His tone became chillingly serious.

"Are you joking or being for real? No one gives a kid their mother's name these days. Don't you realize kids like that get targeted? They get bullied until they break."

I was confused. Silas had always pampered me. Why was he acting like this over a hypothetical name? Was his good-tempered persona just an act?

I snapped back, feeling a bit irritated. "How would you know so much about who gets bullied? Were you the one doing the bullying?"

It was just a heat-of-the-moment retort. I didn't expect his face to turn ashen. He looked away, his eyes darting toward the floor.

I caught that look. Somewhere deep in my gut, I knew this wasn't simple.

He reached out and patted my head, awkwardly changing the subject. He muttered that we could discuss the name later. But a seed of suspicion had already been planted in my heart.

When I got back to my dorm, I started rummaging through the boxes Silas had left with me.

He had stored most of his high school memorabilia at my place. Among the old yearbooks and notes, I found a class photo.

I wiped the dust off the frame. On the back, several words were written in faint ink: Northcrest High, Class of 2021.

He actually went to Northcrest High?

To be honest, if it weren't for this photo, nobody would ever associate Silas with that place.

Northcrest was a notorious school. The students there weren't interested in books; they were interested in gangs and drugs. The halls always smelled like cheap cigarettes.

The teachers there looked the other way. It wasn't that they didn't care, but a few years back, a dedicated teacher had been stabbed by a student right in the classroom.

After that, the school became a lawless wasteland. Most of the staff were outsiders lured in by high salaries because no local would touch the place.

And my sister… she lost her life at Northcrest High.

Three years ago, when we got the news, my family rushed to the school. But her body was already gone. The school administration was incredibly vague and defensive.

They even had her cremated without our permission. We didn't even get to see her one last time.

My sister and I had different last names―she took our mother's and I took our father's―but we were closer than anyone.

After the incident, I fell into a deep depression. I spent months taking her photo to Northcrest, trying to find out what really happened. I refused to believe she just gave up on life.

But everyone I asked gave me the same script. "Don't know her. Don't care. Not my business."

Others were more aggressive. "They said it was suicide. What else do you want? Leave us alone."

I knew the principal had threatened them. He probably told them they wouldn't graduate if they spoke the truth.

I never found any concrete evidence. I eventually had to leave for college in another city, feeling like a failure.

My parents never stopped fighting, though. They are still trying to sue the school for justice.

Now, looking at Silas's class photo, I saw her. My sister's small, shrinking figure was huddled in the far corner. She looked almost invisible.

The seed in my heart began to sprout.

My sister took her mother's name. Silas says kids with their mother's names get bullied. Silas went to Northcrest High. A girl jumped from the roof there.

Could it really be such a huge coincidence?