Mom's voice rose several pitches. "What nonsense are you talking about? Did she become some sort of big shot whom we have to pester for a meeting?"

As she spoke, she took out a thick stack of banknotes from her expensive Hermès bag.

The stack of money crashed onto Alex. The banknotes were scattered all over the place—a few hung on the worn-out armrest of his wheelchair, others landed on his numb and injured leg.

Mom looked condescendingly at him. "Take it. This money is enough to last a lowlife like you for a while. Stop being ridiculous and tell her to come out and see me right now! Look at yourself now. How much longer do you want us to wait?"

Dad icily added, "Tell her this is her last chance."

I wanted to rush forward and throw that money back at their faces. I wanted to shout and tell them that I was dead! Their daughter had already died long ago! However, I could not do so.

After a long time, Alex's hand, covered in frostbite and scars, trembled as he picked up the banknotes one by one from the ground.

Seeing this, Mom smirked. "That's right. You have to accept your fate. I said you were doing it for money, and now, it seems I was right. "

I looked at Alex in despair. I begged him not to pick up the banknotes.

Alex could not hear me. He picked up the banknotes meticulously, not letting even the bills that had fallen into the mud go. After collecting the last bill, he clutched it so tightly that his nails seemed to be able to dig into his flesh. Then, he looked up at my haughty parents. "You really want to see her?"

His hands, which were clutching the money, trembled uncontrollably, his eyes bloodshot. "You can only go to the underworld to see her."

Mom's smirk froze as Dad's expression turned grim.

I floated behind Alex as I looked at his straight back, my heart aching.

Mom's shock quickly faded as she commented disdainfully, "Ridiculous! To avoid going home for an arranged marriage and to get money from me, she even lied about her own death. She's really got some nerve!"

Seeing how confident they were that I was lying, I only found it ridiculous. At the same time, it seemed only natural that they could not believe it. They only remembered me at this point in time to make me marry in Kelly's place.

Enraged, Dad kicked over Alex's wheelchair. "She wanted the hard way. Tell her to never come back if she doesn't want to. And she can forget about being buried in the Horner family's cemetery if she dies out there!"

I floated in mid-air. Watching Alex fall to the ground, still clutching the money tightly, my heart ached. I desperately wanted to rush over and hug him, but my soul passed through his body again and again.

Alex curled up on the ground, clutching the stack of warm banknotes tightly. He muttered, "Money... I have money to hire a lawyer for Naomi now..."

At that moment, my soul felt like it was being ripped apart.

Alex's eyes lit up again as he struggled to his feet and returned to his wheelchair with difficulty.

"I'll find the killer..." He gripped the wheelchair's axles with difficulty, the rusty bearings creaking and scraping.

"Stop!"

The roar of an engine came from behind, blocking Alex's path.

Dad rolled down the car window, his expression utterly gloomy. "You think you can just take the money and leave? Hand her over! Otherwise, I'll call the police right now and accuse you of fraud and extortion! I'll break your other leg too, making you a complete cripple!"

Alex pressed on the pocket containing the money, his body tense. I knew what he was afraid of. Now, this money was his only hope. For my sake, he could lose his dignity and even his life.

He gave a bitter laugh, his voice hoarse. "I won't return the money. Since you want to see her, don't regret it later."

After saying that, he ignored the shouts behind him and forcefully turned the wheelchair, wheeling himself deeper into the alley.

My parents exchanged a glance, sneered, and followed him.

Mom tidied up the expensive fur coat, her face full of disdain. "I knew it was just an act. Come on, I want to see just how miserable she's become and how long she plans to keep hiding!"

The alley became narrower as the road became uneven. Mom's high heels stepped on the dirty cobblestones. With each step, she frowned even harder. This place never got sunlight, and the air was filled with a musty smell mixed with the sewer stench.

"How could anyone live here?" Mom tightly covered her mouth and nose with that white handkerchief, muffling her voice. "Naomi asked for it. Instead of staying at the family villa, she insists on suffering here instead."

I followed them and looked at the familiar alley. Yeah, this place was unbearable, but this had been Alex's home for three years. Over the years, he had given everything to find my killer, even having his leg broken.

Finally, Alex stopped in front of a rickety iron door. This was the basement, a foot and a half lower than ground level. It was damp and cold all year round.

"We're here," Alex said flatly. He laboriously bent down from his wheelchair and pulled a rusty key from under the doormat. The door opened. An even stronger musty smell wafted out, and I followed Alex into the house.

My parents took a half-step back in disgust, as if some plague lurked inside.

"Naomi! Get out!" Dad stood in the doorway, unwilling to step inside. He only shouted, "We're here. How long are you going to keep up this act?"

No one answered. Only the wind howled through the empty unit.

Alex wheeled the wheelchair and did not turn on the light, but he skillfully struck a match. The faint light flickered in the darkness, illuminating his ghastly pale face.

He lit two white candles on the table. The candlelight flickered, and the dim yellow light slowly spread, finally illuminating the less than 100-square-foot basement room and the black-and-white photograph placed on the table.

In the photograph, I had my hair in a ponytail, smiling with my eyes crinkling and two shallow dimples showing. Before the portrait lay several shriveled apples.

My parents, who had been yelling to make me come out, fell silent.

Mom's expression of disgust froze. Her eyes widened as she stared at the black-and-white photograph, her pupils contracting sharply. "What... What's the meaning of this?"

"Alex! Have you gone mad?" Dad's fury exploded. He rushed into the house in a few steps and pointed at the photo with trembling fingers. "How dare you put such a thing on display just to scam us out of our money? Where's Naomi? Tell her to come out! Don't hide and play tricks!"

He looked around while yelling, trying to find me. However, the place was small; it was so small that you could see everything at a glance.

Apart from Alex and that glaring old photo, there was no sign of any other living person.

Alex calmly watched them go nuts. The candlelight flickered in his eyes, which were just filled with gloom.

"She's not hiding." Alex raised his hand and gently stroked the cold frame of the photo. His movement was so gentle as if he were touching his lover's cheek. "She's right here. She's been waiting for you for three years."

Dad's yelling echoed in the small basement, making the flames of the two wax candles flicker wildly. "How dare you continue to pretend?"

He angrily rushed forward and swung his hand toward the table. The shriveled apples rolled to the corner, covered in dust.

I wanted to reach out and pick up the apples, but it was in vain.

"Alex, do you think we're fools?" Dad pointed at Alex's nose, almost spitting onto his face. "She was alive and kicking three years ago when she left, and now, you display a photo of her and say she's dead? Huh?"

Mom also snapped out of her daze, her initial shock turning to utter disgust. She avoided the porcelain shards on the floor. She looked like she was looking at filth. "I knew it! I knew that ingrate Naomi had no good intentions!"

She clutched her chest with a handkerchief, looking furious. "To avoid coming home and to make us feel guilty, she actually conspired with outsiders to stage a pity act! You photoshopped this photo, didn't you? Only a lowlife like you would come up with such a despicable scheme!"

I floated in the air, looking at the mess on the floor. My heart felt like it was being shattered. That was the offering Alex had saved up for days to buy for me. That was the photo he wiped clean countless times every day.

Now, my own father had swept it to the ground like trash.

Alex was calm. His expression did not even change. He simply bent over, silently picked up the apple that had rolled to the side of the wheelchair, gently wiped the dust off with his sleeve, and then placed it back on the table.

His movements were frighteningly slow.

"You don't believe me?" He looked up, his gaze falling on Dad's face that was flushed with anger before shifting to Mom's disdain-filled eyes.

"Do you believe this, then?" Alex wheeled himself out of his wheelchair and pulled a document from a drawer.

I recognized it as the autopsy report from back then. Mom picked up the document with disgust, but her expression changed drastically after opening it.