Once Winona was gone, he seemed to sense my consciousness. He stepped toward me and tilted my face up to meet his. His gaze was icy and unwavering, searching my eyes as if peeling back the layers of my very soul.

For a long while, he simply gazed at me. Then, he suddenly swung a fist into my face. The pain knocked the breath from my lungs. Following that, he brandished a small, curved dagger and dug out one of my eyes.

In that instant, I thought I would die. Sheer agony exploded through me until my vision finally surrendered to the dark.

Even when I fell unconscious from the pain, the man didn't stop. He used my phone to video-call Mom, wanting her to see the horrifying state I was in.

However, Mom rejected the call without any hesitation. When the man tried again, he discovered that my number had been blocked. He tossed my phone away with disdain; it shattered against the hard floor.

The next time I woke, it was to the man throwing a bucket of cold water over me.

Drenched to the bone, I shivered nonstop from the cold. I didn't know who this man was or why he was doing this to me. Nonetheless, I was in so much pain I couldn't make a sound. All I could do was silently endure the torture.

I didn't know how long I remained in the darkness before his voice rang out again. "Because of your father, I lost my son. All he did was steal some stuff—nothing too expensive. Was that crime deserving of death? The daughter will pay for the father's sins. In this case, you'll do."

With that, he picked up the dagger and began carving into my body, the blade mercilessly slicing into my flesh.

There were no words to describe the agony I was in. Though I felt I would go mad, I was helpless to fight back.

Eventually, the pain grew too much. My body shut down, growing numb. I simply waited quietly for death to claim me.

…

Mom was deeply focused on analyzing the crime scene when an urgent ringtone cut through the silence.

"Miriam, the DNA results are out…" Her assistant's voice came over the line, audibly shaking and rife with unease. "The victim… is your daughter, Samantha Langdon."

Each word struck Mom's heart like a sledgehammer. Her phone slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground, the screen seeming to dim.

At the same time, Mr. Lintell and her other colleagues also received the news.

The entire building was steeped in a silence so profound that one could hear a pin drop. It was as if the very air itself was holding its breath.

Mom looked as if all life had been sucked from her. She slumped to the floor, a vacant look in her eyes, muttering, "No, that's impossible. It can't be Samantha. How could it be her?"

Confusion and despair suffused her every word.

Suddenly, she seemed to recall something. She sprang to her feet and, with unsteady steps, charged toward the police station's evidence locker.

She searched frantically until she found the familiar bracelet. Turning it over, she scrutinized it carefully.

There, carved on the back of the pendant, was the name Samantha.