Five years ago, my brother's fiancée died because of me. Five years later, I'm burned to a crisp and laid out on his autopsy table.

My elder brother, Michael Summers, had always wished that I could just die.

"You're just a cold-blooded monster, Ruth! Elena cared so much about you, but you heartlessly locked her out so that she would be stabbed in your stead! Don't you feel ashamed to be alive?"

Five years ago, Michael's fiancée, Elena Brooks, had died because of me.

Five years later, my burnt corpse lay quietly on Michael's autopsy table.

Michael's wish finally came true.

However, he lost his mind when he learned that I was the one who had died.

…

The burnt corpse on the autopsy table was in a distorted posture.

"Sorry, Dr. Summers," Charles Johnson, the captain of the police force, said apologetically, "I understand that you can finally get off work early and have dinner with Ruth today, but…"

"I don't want to hear that monster's name ever again." Michael glared at Charles with a hint of disdain in his cold gaze.

I hovered in the air above them. There was a bitter smile on my lips. After Elena's tragic death, I had become a cold-blooded monster in Michael's eyes.

He had refused to listen to my explanations, and he didn't even want to see me.

After completely cutting off ties with me, Michael had moved out and begun to take care of his new younger sister instead.

She was Elena's younger sister, Shirley Brooks.

I had to admit that Shirley looked more like Michael's sister than I did. She was a talented medical student, and she loved reading and drawing. She always had a response to the topics Michael brought up, too.

I was nothing like her.

I was 23 years old, and I had been selling vegetables for a decade.

I couldn't understand most of the things Michael talked about, and I wasn't very good with words. I had only ever asked him if he had enough money, or if he had bought something nice for Elena.

With just a slight nudge from Michael, the left arm fell cleanly off the corpse and landed on the floor with a thud.

Charles was stunned. "What…"

Michael explained, "Before the victim was burned, their arm was already violently broken. Only their skin and tendons remained connected, so after the high-degree carbonization, the arm would fall off.

"The carbonization level was quite severe, so we can't extract the DNA to verify their identity. The culprit must know a lot about forensic anthropology."

I expected nothing less from Michael.

He was the most outstanding forensic pathologist in the police force, after all. He had already found the key clue in such a short time.

"Also, the corpse was purposefully abandoned at a filthy and messy landfill," Michael added.

In other words, the culprit was both cruel and cunning.

Charles was so furious that he punched the autopsy table. The head and the remaining three limbs on the corpse fell off as well. Even the torso broke into several pieces.

Charles' angry shouts immediately echoed in the autopsy room. "I'll kill their whole family!"

Meanwhile, Michael frowned as he picked up the head, which had rolled onto the floor. "Also, the victim might very well be alive when they were burned," he observed.

I couldn't help shuddering. I hadn't realized that even in spirit form, I was capable of recalling fear and pain.

On the first day, my left leg was broken.

I lost my right arm on the second day and my left arm on the third. My right leg was gone on the fourth day, followed by my spine on the fifth. On the sixth day, my face was slashed.

She would give me nutritional injections every day, and she would even administer some pain relief.

On the seventh day, she had slowly hacked away at my neck bone with a scalpel. However, she had avoided my trachea on purpose…

After that, she had filled my stomach with gasoline.

I wondered if Michael could still figure that out at this point.

"Hm?" When Michael was placing the head back on the body, he suddenly frowned as he examined the corpse's chipped front tooth in detail.

I began to drift around in panic.

When I was 12, Michael suddenly had a high fever in the middle of the night.

I had run out in the rain to get medicine, but I hadn't noticed a puddle under me, so I had slipped and fallen. I had chipped my front tooth then.

Michael must have recognized me by now, right?

"The victim has deep periodontal pockets. They might have had tooth problems," Michael observed.

Turning to look at Charles, Michael recovered his calm and said, "If there are no missing person reports, we can go through the treatment records at various dental clinics. We may be able to identify the victim that way."

I smiled bitterly.

Charles nodded in silence. After turning around, he kicked the door so hard that half of it was broken off. He barked, "Get here, all of you! No one gets to go home until we've found the culprit!"

Out of habit and respect for the dead, Michael gently placed the head above the torso. Then, he bowed his head, saying, "Don't worry. I promise I'll bring justice to you."

I felt a dull pain in my heart.

Would Michael still behave like that if he had known that the corpse was mine?

Just then, his phone rang. It was a WhatsApp voice call.

Michael glanced at the profile picture and the contact name "Dave (Seafood Seller)" on the screen. He frowned a little, but he eventually decided to pick up.

The caller, Dave Clark, spoke up. "Hello, Dr. Summers. Sorry for bothering you, but have you seen Ruth recently? She hasn't opened her stall for a week or so, and she's not answering any calls. No one answered the door when I went to her place, either. Is she with you?"

Dave's stall was right next to mine at the marketplace. I used to call him Mr. Clark as if he were an old man, but in reality, he was just two years older than me.

His family ran a huge seafood business, but he kept a low profile. He was very friendly too, and he always tried to help anyone in need.

Before Elena passed away, Michael and I would always buy fish from him.

I tilted my head backward. I could barely endure the stinging in my eyes.

Elena and Michael loved the fish dishes I made, but ever since that fateful day, Michael had stopped eating fish altogether.

"That monster doesn't deserve to be with me," Michael replied.

He would feel physical disgust whenever he heard my name. If he could, he would probably just toss his phone into the trash can after hearing my name on it and disinfect his hands over and over again.

On the other end of the line, Dave was stunned. He seemed to have hesitated for a while before sighing and saying, "Dr. Summers, I know I'm just an outsider, so I have no right to interfere. Still, I'm very sure that Ruth isn't a heartless woman.

"Moreover, the police have already confirmed that under those circumstances, Ruth definitely had no malicious intentions. She wasn't leaving your fiancée to die on purpose. I know that you're suffering from the loss, but you and Ruth—"

"Enough!" Michael coldly cut Dave off as anger welled up in his eyes. "If you're aware that you're just an outsider, then you should watch your mouth. Also, that monster is not my sister anymore!"

With that, he ended the call and blocked Dave.

When he looked up, he saw Charles standing at the entrance with a complicated expression.

"Uh, I dropped my cigarettes." Charles pointed to the area below the autopsy table, where a box of cigarettes lay.

After retrieving the cigarettes, Michael walked over to Charles and handed the box to the latter. Then, he locked the door.

Charles said, "I know it's hard for you, Dr. Summers, but the evidence at the scene was personally evaluated by your mentor, whom you respect the most. He has never made any mistakes throughout his career, so you should be well aware of what that means."

He tightened his grip on the cigarette box as he continued, "Please stop torturing Ruth. She's been suffering all this while."

Michael scoffed. "Who hasn't been suffering, then? Elena? Me? Or poor Shirley? Because of that monster's selfishness, Elena was stabbed 56 times at the door, and the culprit is still on the loose!

"You people have no idea what it's like, but you want me to forgive her? Listen here. Even if she were burned to ashes right in front of my eyes, it still won't appease my hatred!"

Michael's furious voice echoed in the corridor.

My heart ached as if it were torn apart.

I honestly had no idea why the door was locked after Elena had shoved me into the bathroom, nor did I understand why the door wouldn't open, no matter what I did.

It had happened all too suddenly, and I had dropped my phone outside.

Even now, I could still hear Elena's terrified screams in my ears.

I had cried and shouted so much that my throat bled, and in the end, I had fainted from exhaustion.

When I had woken up, the interrogating police officers had told me that the door was locked from the inside. Michael had almost strangled me to death right then and there.

And now, I was indeed burned, albeit not to ashes. Still, if they figured out my identity, Michael would probably feel a little happier.

Anyway, right now, solving the case was more important to him.

Charles calmed down a little. "Sorry, I've spoken out of turn. You've been quite busy these days, so hurry home and get some rest."

Ignoring him, Michael turned and went downstairs.

Just then, his phone rang again. Michael would always reject calls from unknown numbers, but this particular caller was quite persistent.

After several rejected calls, the caller finally sent a message.

"Hello, I'm from the bank. Ms. Summers has failed to pay the mortgage within the deadline this month. We've tried contacting her and visiting her in person, but we still couldn't get in touch with her.

"After looking into the records, we found that you're her brother, so please tell her that continued defaulting on her mortgage will negatively impact her personal credit."

After reading the message, Michael had an extremely dark look on his face.

He furiously called back. "Now listen here! I have nothing to do with that monster, and I don't care about her loans! Also, don't ever call me again if it's something about her! I'll sue you for harassment!"

Charles was walking into his office then, but he backed out when he heard the commotion. Rubbing between his tense eyebrows, he asked, "What's this about Ruth's loans?"

"That's none of my business." Michael stared coldly at him. "Charles, if you still want to solve the case, you'd better watch your mouth."

Charles frowned again, but this time, he just let out a deep sigh before returning to his office.

Just then, a man's cries rang out downstairs.

"Please help me, officer! My younger sister is missing! She said that she was going shopping with her classmates when she went out this morning, but she still hasn't come home even at this hour. I can't reach her on her phone, either. I… I can't afford to lose her!"

Once again, Charles came back out and rushed down the stairs.

Michael seemed to have thought of something as he followed suit.

"Please calm down. Can you show us a photo of your sister, preferably one where she's showing her teeth?" Charles asked the man.

It wasn't hard to figure out the intention behind Charles' words.

The man was panicking so much that he didn't realize that something sounded off. He was sobbing as he frantically scrolled through his phone. "Our parents died a long time ago, and my sister is my only concern. If something happens to her, I'd be too ashamed to face my parents in the afterlife!"

With a bitter smile on my face, I drifted over to see the photo.

She was an adorable girl. She looked quite happy in the photo as she hugged her brother's neck and made a peace sign with one hand.

I used to have such happy times, too…

Charles was shocked as he exchanged glances with Michael. A long while later, he said slowly, "We found a burnt corpse today. We couldn't identify the victim, but the teeth…"

The girl in the photo had a chipped tooth as well.

"My sister!" When the man heard that, he instantly broke down. He fell to the floor and began wailing. "What am I supposed to live for now?"

Michael frowned again as he looked away.

I knew what he was thinking. Even if he witnessed the close bond between other siblings, he would only hate me even more.

Charles sighed. "My condolences, sir. To completely verify her identity, we'll need more of your sister's details and characteristics."

With that, he gestured toward a police officer who had come downstairs with him. "Get a statement from him."

Michael obviously didn't want to stay there, but he was a forensic pathologist, and anything the man was about to say might become their key to solving the case. So, he had to stay behind and listen.

He even had to record the statement and listen to it repeatedly. Thanks to this unique habit, he could obtain more clues from the corpse.

"My sister is…" The man opened his mouth in despair, but he couldn't utter another word.

Just then, his phone rang.