In the third year after I've run away from home, my parents finally remember my existence.

But the reason is that the fake heir, Jayson Norman, is displeased with his marriage partner in the upcoming marriage alliance. That's why my parents instantly think of getting me to replace Jayson in the marriage.

When Mom sees Katrina Cobb, the woman whom I've eloped with, rummaging through the trash in a wheelchair, she feels extremely satisfied.

"Back then, Joshua refused to stick to his role as the heir of the Norman family. He even went as far as to push Jayson down the stairs just so he could elope with this wretched woman! I bet he must be riddled with remorse by now!"

With hazy eyes, Katrina mutters, "Yeah, he was filled with remorse. He regretted going back to that place you call 'home' with you."

Dad lets out a cold huff. "Well, that's enough tantrum on his part! Tell him to get his ass home for the marriage alliance, and we'll consider the past water under the bridge!"

Having noted Katrina's silence, Dad wastes no time in kicking her wheelchair over.

"You wretched cripple! Where have you hidden my son?"

I can only float in mid-air as I gaze down at Katrina, who's wailing in pain on the ground. At that moment, I feel as though my soul is getting ripped apart.

"Mom, Dad, I've been dead for three years. How am I going to take Jayson's place in this marriage alliance?"

Three years after my death, my soul was still trapped next to Katrina Cobb.

I witnessed how that once vibrant and bright young woman eventually turned into a cripple. She was hunched over, rummaging through a pile of rotting garbage.

I floated above her head, looking at her messy, straw-like hair, my heart aching for her. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't shed a single tear.

"Trina, please, stop picking at the trash. Your hands are all cut…"

My ghost-like fingers went right through her filthy cheeks.

Yet, she couldn't hear me. She just numbly turned her wheelchair around, preparing to rummage in the next garbage can.

Just then, a black car got in her way. The car window slowly rolled down, revealing two familiar faces.

It was Mom and Dad, my biological parents, whom I hadn't seen for three years.

In that instant, I felt my soul tremble involuntarily.

"Oh, isn't this that poor little girl from back then?"

Mom took off her sunglasses and pulled a handkerchief from her bag, covering her nose with it.

"How did you end up like this? Weren't you so tough when you ran off with Joshua?"

She glanced at Katrina with disdain, her tone laced with condescension.

Dad was sitting in the driver's seat. He didn't even bother to get out of the car, simply scoffing coldly as he said, "I told you that you'd never amount to anything. That stupid son of mine was blind indeed, giving up a perfectly good life as a rich heir to suffer with someone like you."

I floated mid-air, watching their condescending attitude and feeling a chill run down my spine. They thought I was hiding from them in shame, but they didn't know that I was long dead.

I died on the day they thought Katrina and I "eloped".

Three years ago, Katrina's mom, Sally Krueger, fell seriously ill and wanted to see me one last time. She was my adoptive mother and she'd cared for me for over 20 years before I was found and returned to the Norman family.

Back then, I rushed to the hospital with Katrina, only to be stopped by the fake heir, Jayson Norman.

In a moment of panic, I yelled at him, and he tumbled down the stairs. Mom and Dad happened to come home just then and saw us. I had no way to defend myself, and my mind was also preoccupied with the thought that I had to see Sally as soon as possible. So, I left the villa without getting the chance to explain anything to Mom or Dad.

Later, Jayson twisted the truth in front of Mom and Dad, accusing me of pushing him down the stairs so I could elope with Katrina.

Of course, Mom and Dad believed him without a doubt. To this day, they still believed that I had eloped with Katrina.

"Where is he?" Mom urged impatiently. "Tell him to stop hiding and get out here right now. We have arranged a marriage for him. The woman is a little older, but she doesn't mind his past. If he agrees to the marriage, he won't have to suffer here with you anymore."

"Yes," Dad chimed in, his tone full of condescension. "We're only doing this because we're soft-hearted. Look at Jay and how sensible he's been these past few years. He even tried to persuade us to forgive Josh for years. If it were anyone else, they would have disowned him a long time ago."

I heard them say my name, and I suddenly began trembling very hard.

Ever since the day I was found and brought home, Jayson had seen me as a thorn in his side, deliberately putting me in situations that would make Mom and Dad despise me.

I waved my arms angrily in the air, but no one could see me.

Katrina slowly raised her head, her bloodshot eyes fixed on the two people in the car.

"You will never see him again."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Mom's voice rose several octaves as she screamed at Katrina. "Does Joshua think he's some big shot now? Does he think we have to beg to see him or make appointments to meet him now?"

As she spoke, she pulled a thick wad of 100-dollar bills from her expensive Birkin bag and threw them at Katrina.

The bills were scattered all over the ground, with some getting caught on the armrest of her worn-out wheelchair and some landing on her numb, crippled leg.

"Take it," Mom said, looking down at her. "This should be enough for scum like you to live on for a while. Now stop putting on those ridiculous airs and tell him to come out and see me! Who do you think you are now? How long do you expect us to wait?"

Dad added coldly, "Tell him that this is his final chance."

I wanted to rush forward and throw the money back in their faces. I wanted to scream that I was dead. Their son had died a long time ago!

But I couldn't.

After a long while, Katrina picked up the bills from the ground, one by one, with trembling hands covered in chilblains and scars.

Seeing this, Mom's lips curled into a sarcastic smile. "That's right. People like you can only accept your fate. I told him back then that you were only in it for the money. See? I was right all along!"

I looked at Katrina in despair.

"Trina, don't pick them up… Please, don't pick them up…"

But she couldn't hear me.

She picked them up meticulously, making sure she got every single bill even if they were half-submerged in the mud.

After picking up the last one, she clutched the money tightly in her hand until it felt like her nails were digging into her flesh. Then, she glanced up at my parents, who were still looking down condescendingly at her.

"Do you really want to see him?"

The hand clutching the money trembled uncontrollably, her eyes bloodshot.

"You can only see him if you go to hell."

The sarcastic smirk on Mom's face froze at once, and Dad's face turned grim. I floated behind Katrina, watching her straight back, feeling my heart aching for her.

"Bullshit!" Mom yelled, her shock fading quickly and getting replaced by disdain. "How dare he come up with such a ridiculous and stupid lie just to avoid going home for a forced marriage and demand money from me! He's really got some nerve!"

I looked at their faces. They were so certain Katrina was lying, and I found it utterly ridiculous.

But of course, why would they ever believe me or her anyway? After all, they only remembered that they still had another son when they were desperate to find someone to replace Jayson in the forced marriage alliance.

Dad flew into a temper and kicked over Katrina's wheelchair. "Listen here, you brat! Since you refuse to tell the truth, you're going to have to suffer the consequences.

"Tell him that if he doesn't want to come back, then he's never, ever coming back again! And if he dies out there, he can forget about getting buried in the family graveyard at all!"

I floated mid-air, watching Katrina fall to the ground while still clutching the money tightly in her hands. I felt terrible for her. I desperately wanted to rush over and hug her, but my soul simply passed right through her body.

Katrina curled up on the ground, still clutching the stack of 100-dollar bills tightly in her hand. "I have the money now..." she murmured. "I have the money to hire a lawyer for Josh now..."

At that moment, my soul felt like it was being torn to shreds.

Katrina's eyes lit up with hope again. She struggled to her feet and clambered back into her wheelchair.

"I'll find the killer..."

She gripped the wheelchair's axles with difficulty, the rusty bearings creaking and scraping in her hand as she maneuvered it around.

"Stop right there!"

The roar of an engine came from behind, and the car immediately blocked Katrina's path.

Dad rolled down his window, his face as spark as thunder. "Did you think you could just take the money and leave? Hand Joshua over immediately! Otherwise, I'll call the police right now and have you arrested for fraud and extortion! I'll break your other leg too, and make sure you can never walk again!"

Katrina kept a hand strictly over her pocket in which she kept the money, her body tense.

I knew what she was afraid of. This money was her only hope now, and she was willing to forgo her dignity, even her life, just for my sake.

She chuckled bitterly and said hoarsely, "I won't return the money. You'll only regret it if you insist on seeing Joshua."

She then ignored the shouts behind her and forcefully turned her wheelchair around, wheeling herself deeper into the alley.

Mom and Dad exchanged glances with each other before following her with a cold smile on their lips.

"See? I knew that it was all just an act," Mom said, adjusting her expensive fur coat, her face full of disdain. "Come on. I'd love to see just how pathetic he's become, and how long he'll keep trying to hide from us!"

The alley narrowed, with the surface becoming more uneven and filled with potholes.

Mom's high heels clicked against the filthy cobblestones, and her brow furrowed deeper with each step.

This place never saw the sun. The air was thick with the smell of mildew mixed with the stench of the sewers nearby.

"Is this a place fit for humans to live at all?"

Mom covered her mouth and nose tightly with a handkerchief. "Joshua's such an idiot for leaving home to suffer here."

I followed them, looking at the familiar alleyway.

Yes, this indeed wasn't a place fit for humans to live. But this was Katrina's home for three years. Over the years, she had given everything up to find my killer, even having her leg broken because of that.

Finally, Katrina stopped in front of a rickety iron door.

This was the basement of a building about three feet lower than ground level, and it was perpetually cold and damp down there.

"We're here." Katrina's voice was flat.

She laboriously bent down from her wheelchair and pulled a rusty key from under the doormat. The door clicked open, and an even stronger, mustier smell wafted out.

I followed Katrina into the basement.

Mom and Dad took a step back in disgust, as if some plague was lurking inside.

"Joshua! Get out here!"

Dad stood in the doorway, unwilling to step inside. He simply shouted into the void. "Don't tell me that you're still going to act all prude and arrogant when we've already come here to get you ourselves!"

Yet, no one answered. There was only the sound of the wind howling through the empty rooms.

Karina pushed her wheelchair in and didn't turn on the lights. She struck up a match instead. The faint light flickered in the darkness, illuminating her pale face. Then, she lit two white candles on the table.

The candlelight flickered in the dark. The dim yellow light slowly spread, finally illuminating the basement that was less than 100 square feet.

It also illuminated the black-and-white photograph in the center of the room, placed on the table.

I was in the photo, looking bright, happy, and handsome, with two small dimples at the corners of my mouth.

A few white flowers were lying before the portrait.

Mom and Dad, who had still been yelling at me to come out and greet them, suddenly fell silent.

Mom's expression froze, her eyes widening as she stared intently at the black-and-white photograph. Her pupils contracted sharply.

"What… What is the meaning of all this?"