On the day I was tortured to death by a criminal, my fiancé Jason Roberts was helping a schoolmate's cat deliver her kittens.

The last message he sent me before I died read as follows.

"Ebby's cat is having a difficult birth and needs my help. Worst case, we can get married in the city hall tomorrow. Don’t be so dramatic."

But for me, there was no tomorrow.

Three days later, my body was discovered, and Jason himself performed the autopsy.

The injury report detailed multiple comminuted wounds on the body, and many parts had been dismembered. The female victim had died after being cruelly tortured.

Jason's face showed compassion as he cursed the murderer as a beast.

Yet, he didn’t realize that the headless corpse on his table was me.

————

As the police officers cleaned up near the foul-smelling ditch, I couldn't help but look away.

It was hard to believe that I, who had planned to get married with my fiancé just three days ago, was now dead without a sound.

Failing to find all my remains, the officers showed visible sadness and anger in their eyes.

"The deceased has severe injuries．We need to re-investigate the scene."

The wind carried a foul stench, causing some younger officers to vomit.

It had been raining for several days, and the scene had been destroyed. It was extremely difficult to catch the murderer.

After the police collected my body, they transported it to the public security department overnight.

Jason, the most outstanding forensic doctor in the city in recent years, personally conducted the autopsy and determined the cause of death.

Perhaps it was because the body's shape was too similar to mine.

As he worked on my remains, his face turned pale with anger, and he took deep breaths several times.

Soon, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"According to the injury assessment, the deceased had multiple comminuted wounds and several body parts had been dismembered. This woman was brutally tortured before she died."

"At present, the head is still missing. All we can confirm is that the deceased is a woman around 25 years old."

"The murderer's methods were extremely cruel, almost beastly!"

Hearing these words, the other officers were equally enraged.

"Such a brutal attack suggests a revenge killing. We must identify the victim first, then investigate her relationships."

Hovering above the scene, I watched them discuss the case, unable to stop thinking.

How would Jason react if he knew it was me?

Sadly, he didn’t realize it was me even when he placed the body in the freezer.

As night fell, Larry from the police station patted Jason on the shoulder and said, "Go home. We'll have to wait for the DNA comparison results to make any progress."

Jason removed his gloves, disinfected them, and rubbed his temples. "It’s all we can do for now."

They walked out of the station with their arms around each other's shoulders. Larry suddenly sighed and spoke.

"We found a lot of wedding decorations near the crime scene, not far from the city hall. The girl was probably going there to get a married."

"A good person, taken just like that."

"By the way, didn’t you and Caelie get married a few days ago? Why didn’t you tell us the good news?"

Jason paused, his voice stiff, "No... we haven’t got married yet."

Larry pressed him, "What happened? Did you two have a fight? Listen, Caelie is a good girl. Don’t let her go..."

These words seemed to jog Jason's memory.

He pulled out his phone and tried to call me as if he suddenly remembered my existence.

A cold, mechanical voice responded him.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is out of service area. Please try again later..."

My phone had already been smashed by the murderer and flushed down the drain. There was no way he could reach me.

Jason, growing impatient, hung up abruptly.

"Every day, you’re driving me crazy!"

"I was just away for a few days. Is it really necessary to act like this?"

Seeing Jason's distress, Larry quickly advised, "She’s just having a little tantrum. Just try to calm her down."

"We need to remind her to be extra cautious when we get back. This case is horrific. If the murderer turns out to be a serial killer, it could be very dangerous."

Jason's eyes suddenly hardened, and his tone became icy. "A selfish woman like Caelie is the one who values her life the most.

"If it weren't for her, my sister Freya wouldn't have died so tragically!"

Larry's expression grew complicated. He hesitated for a moment before speaking carefully, "You can't blame Caelie for what happened back then. Besides, Caelie is the daughter-in-law approved by your parents, and now, she’s your only family."

Jason turned away, his eyes suddenly reddening. "That's why I wanted to give us a chance to start over, but when I went to get the marriage certificate with her, I found that I really... couldn’t do it!"

He punched an iron pole by the roadside, scraping his knuckles and making them bleed.

Hearing this, Larry continued smoking silently, then said goodbye to Jason and walked towards his home.

Thinking of Freya, I couldn’t stop my tears from falling.

She was always so cheerful and bright, calling me dearly since she was a child. She loved sharing everything fun and delicious with me.

Her death will forever be a painful wound in my heart.

At that moment, Jason picked up the phone again, this time calling Ebby.

The call didn’t go through.

Jason panicked and redialed repeatedly, muttering, "Where is she? Why isn’t she answering?"

He drove quickly towards Ebby’s place.

On the way, Jason ran three red lights and overtook several cars. After parking, he was still on the phone.

"Ebby, where are you? Answer the phone..."

He rang the doorbell frantically, but there was no response from inside.

In desperation, Jason pulled out a key and unlocked the door, shouting, "Ebby!"

His voice was trembling.

But I floated at the door, looking at the house number in surprise.

This was Jason’s parents’ house.

We used to live here together, but after Freya’s death, he moved out with me.

A few months ago, I heard Jason was helping Ebby find a place, but I never imagined he would bring Ebby here.

It turned out, in Jason’s heart, Ebby had long been more important than me.

I wanted to cry, but the tears fell silently, and my heart ached.

Jason searched the entire house for Ebby, with a look on his face I had only seen when Freya went missing.

At that moment, Ebby emerged from the bathroom, her hair wet and carrying a faint scent of jasmine.

"Jason, why are you so out of breath?"

Jason’s eyes were red with tears. "You didn’t answer the phone. I was scared to death."

Ebby slowed her hair-drying and lowered her head shyly, "I was in the shower and didn’t hear it ring. Jason, don’t worry so much."

Jason looked exhausted but still managed to speak urgently to Ebby, "There was a particularly brutal murder in the city recently. The victim was tortured and dismembered. It was horrific.

"You need to be extra careful right now. Let me accompany you wherever you go."

Ebby nodded and poured a glass of water for Jason, then added, "Since something so terrible happened, you should hurry back to be with Caelie. She must be terrified to be alone."

Jason leaned back and snorted coldly, "Don’t mention her to me!"

Then I heard him mutter under his breath, "She doesn’t deserve it."

I stood in front of Jason, feeling sorrowful. "Jason, do you hate me that much?"

"It's just that we didn't get the marriage license the day before yesterday, and now she's throwing a tantrum and refusing to answer the phone. She's so annoying."

Ebby's eyes were filled with worry. "Is she angry because I called you today and interrupted your plans?

"I'm sorry, Jason. It's all my fault.

"If I hadn't insisted on calling you then, Caelie wouldn't be upset.

"I'll call her and apologize."

She said she wanted to apologize, but she didn't actually call.

Ebby looked lost, like a little girl who had been wronged. She claimed she wanted to apologize, but it was clear she was just seeking comfort.

Jason felt guilty seeing her like this and kept blaming me. "It's not your fault, Ebby. It's Caelie who's being unreasonable."

"Just wait. If I ignore her for a few days, she'll come over and apologize."

But Ebby frowned and advised him, "Jason, don't be like that. There have been terrible murders recently. You should remind Caelie to be careful."

This was the second time someone reminded Jason to be careful, but he didn't take it seriously.

"She has nothing to worry about. You're the one who needs to be cautious."

I looked at Ebby coldly, but she appeared genuinely concerned, showing no flaws.

She knew I was dead.

Yet, she deliberately pretended to care about me in front of Jason.

It was a shame she wasn't an actress.

A long time ago, I noticed that Jason, my junior schoolmate, paid special attention to Ebby.

But Jason said, "Ebby is the same age as Freya. I just see her as a little sister."

After Freya died unexpectedly, he began to resent me but directed all his care for his sister towards Ebby.

He loved and spoiled her, even letting her sleep in the room we once shared.

If Jason knew that Ebby, this seemingly innocent person, wasn't as kind as she appeared, how would he react?

Noticing Jason was in a bad mood, Ebby tried various ways to cheer him up. "Jason, Kittie has been very well-behaved today. Do you want to go see her?"

Jason finally smiled. "Okay."

Ebby trotted off to the cat's nest, calling, "Kittie, Daddy's here to see you."

Kittie was a stray cat she and Jason had adopted.

Jason called himself Kittie's dad, and Ebby was Kittie's mom.

I had expressed my dissatisfaction with this.

But Jason retorted, "It's just a nickname. Why are you so fussy about it? Look how kind Ebby is, rescuing stray animals. And you're always fixated on these little things."

Jason once gave me a puppy, saying we should raise it as our child.

But the puppy died of an illness.

I was so devastated that I couldn't eat for days, and I never kept another pet after that.

Because I was afraid of the pain of losing someone I loved.

On the day I died, Jason and I had planned to go to the city hall to get our marriage certificate.

But as soon as Ebby called, Jason left without looking back.

"We can get married any day, but Ebby's cat is having a difficult birth today. If we don't help, she might die!"

"You can take a taxi back later."

To Jason, marrying me wasn't as important as saving a stray cat.

At that moment, Ebby walked out of the room with an apologetic look on her face. "Jason, I accidentally broke something a few days ago."

She was holding a large photo frame.

But Jason just glanced at it and said, "It's not important. Just throw it away."