Mom immediately ran toward the source of the voice. "Jack! My grandson!"

The child was my nephew, Jack Carter—Julian and Lindsey's son. He was only five years old.

The moment his voice rang out, I only had enough time to see the hand grab his leg and yank him into the water. It happened so quickly—without any kind of warning—and before we knew it, Jack was already underwater. Even if we had wanted to save him, it would have been impossible.

His small body was instantly swallowed by the raging flood, disappearing without a trace.

Lindsey was even more frantic than Mom. She no longer cared about staying hidden and ran to the water's edge.

"Jack!" she screamed.

Then, she ran into the deep water—and vanished.

The people around us looked increasingly clear-eyed, their expressions growing more relaxed. "That's five people now. First, she said there were only two of them, then three, and now it's five. It looks like they really are the family of seven."

"They brought disaster upon us. Serves them right for dying one after another!"

I wearily opened my eyes and stared straight at Alex, who stood there like a detached spectator. Stumbling forward, I stopped about three feet in front of him and asked, "Why? Why is this happening?"

We had done nothing wrong. Why were we being punished like this?

I'd never crossed anyone before, and I'd always followed the law and treated others kindly my whole life.

And today… was the most unbearable day of my life.

"Regardless of the reason… I want to make a deal with you. Let me die, and let my family go. Please?"

He remained expressionless. His eyes were distant and impossible to read.

I dropped to my knees, terrified yet desperate. "I'm begging you. Let me die. I want my family to live. I want my mom to live."

Tears blurred my vision as I rubbed my hands together, begging over and over, hoping that if I pleaded long enough, there might still be a chance.

"But this has nothing to do with me," Alex said calmly. "You really are being haunted by an evil ghost."

To convince me, he pulled out a stack of talismans and tossed them into the air.

All of a sudden, the wind roared to life, and clouds gathered into a tornado-like funnel above.

Even though it was daytime, everything turned pitch black.

I stared at the scene before me in shock.

"This isn't something humans can control," Alex said flatly. "I can't control it either, so there's nothing I can do."

My legs felt rooted to the ground. Mom, unable to stand up anymore, collapsed to the ground about 15 feet away.

The people around us remained cold and indifferent. "They must've committed a lot of evil deeds in their past life, so they're suffering retribution in this one. There's nothing that can be done. As long as they don't drag us down with them, it's fine."

"There are still two of them left. Hopefully, that hand can take care of them all at once."

"The remaining two still need to be found," Alex announced, raising his voice. "You all have ten minutes to find them, or the innocent will suffer in their stead."

Panic spread through the crowd again. I glanced helplessly at Dad and Julian. They were still hidden among the crowd, trying not to be noticed.

I moved over to Mom's side. "Mom, are we all going to die today?"

Her wrinkled face looked even more haggard. "Yes, we're all going to die. But I hope your dad and brother can survive. I hope they won't die."

I had nothing left to say and just waited for death to take me. I was exhausted.

The people around us continued to search… until they found Dad.

When he was singled out, he protested loudly, "What does this have to do with me? Am I supposed to be part of that family of seven? I don't even know them!

"Who's so heartless to drag an old man like me out? Are you all trying to gang up and get me killed?"

Dad remained relatively calm. At least he could string together a complete sentence and even sounded indignant. His mental fortitude was impressive.