When I was 12, I went hiking with Zack.

As the mountain was dangerously steep, and with the sudden downpour, he slipped and tumbled over the guardrail.

In a moment of panic, I reached out my right arm and grabbed Zack's hand, gripping it as tight as I could.

I held on for a full three hours, only letting him go when the rescue team arrived. We were both taken to the hospital afterward.

Zack was mostly unharmed—but my right arm had suffered a permanent fracture. I would never be able to exert any strength with it again for the rest of my life.

Was he about to realize that it was me?

I instinctively held my breath despite being a soul, my heart caught in my throat.

Zack said, "The victim's right arm shows signs of fracture. Based on the scarring, it likely occurred during childhood. You can use that to narrow down the search for the victim's identity."

Hearing his words, a deep bitterness welled up within me. I didn't want him to recognize me—but I couldn't help but feel heartbroken when he actually didn't.

Zack had been overwhelmed with guilt after I sustained that injury. He busied himself tending to each of my needs, taking care of me with utmost tenderness.

He told me that from now on, he would be my right arm. But it seemed like he had forgotten all about it now.

I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

At that moment, Officer Wright, who was standing by the side, said solemnly, "That's definitely a critical lead—I'll get my team to take note of this."

"Alright." Zack nodded as he continued to examine the reassembled body. "Based on what we have so far, the victim was female, likely between 18 and 22 years old."

His gaze was filled with fury and despair when he said, "She was so young—at the prime of her life, and yet subjected to such inhuman cruelty!"

"I'll definitely catch the killer!" Officer Wright slammed his fist hard against the wall.

The other police officers present also wore sorrowful expressions.

"Other than this, how else can we confirm the identity of the victim?" Officer Wright asked.

Zack fell silent for a moment. "At this point, our only option is to run a DNA test or attempt a facial reconstruction from the skull. But the skull is partially damaged, so it'll take some time."

"Got it." Officer Wright sighed before saying, "I'll keep assigning people to search the area—maybe we'll recover more of the missing remains."

"You have to find these monsters!" Zack said with a trembling voice, his fists clenching instinctively. "The victim's lower body was severely torn—indicating she was assaulted more than 50 times."

I froze. As expected, he didn't overlook a single detail.

Those drug dealers took turns assaulting me—52 times in total.

The nauseating stench mixed with their frenzied thrusts overwhelmed me completely. I struggled desperately, but to no avail.

Instead, they started taunting me.

"As expected of the younger sister of a forensic pathologist—she's wetter than any other woman."

"I wonder if Zack Smith had touched his sister before this? Do you think the reason he remembers all those muscles so well is from feeling his younger sister up?"

"This woman is so promiscuous—look at how well she's taking all of us!"

They continued to humiliate me.

In the end, I was completely numb. The only thing I could do was to close my eyes and count the times.

Officer Wright let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, his expression changed just as he recalled something.

"Do you think this could be a case of revenge, like what happened with your mom, Zack?" he asked.

My mom? Didn't Zack say she died because a drunk driver hit her when she was out buying cake for me? How did drug dealers get involved in this?

I turned to look at Zack in disbelief.

"It's possible. After all, only heartless scums like drug dealers would do something this cruel!" His expression changed suddenly. "Shit! Madie is alone at home!"

Zack immediately dug out his phone.

Officer Wright turned to the others and said, "You all should quickly get in touch with your families too."

Zack made several calls, but no one picked up. He immediately started panicking, his hand began to tremble uncontrollably while holding the phone.

"No…No…surely nothing would happen to Madie!" he mumbled before turning to bolt out of the door.

Officer Wright hurriedly yelled, "Stop him!"

"Let me go!" Zack struggled desperately. Despite his thin frame, he managed to knock down three burly police officers.

"I'm going to look for my sister! Stop blocking my way!" He angrily pushed away those blocking him, eyes red.

I was stunned seeing how Zack was losing it. He wasn't this out of control even when Mom had her accident.

It turned out he cared a lot about Madison.

My chest felt unbearably tight as a deep ache settled within me.

At that moment, Zack's phone suddenly rang.

"Hello, Zack?" Madison's somewhat lazy tone came through, and he immediately relaxed.

After ending the call, Zack turned to apologize to the others. "Sorry, guys—I got a little carried away earlier."

I felt upset seeing how he'd calmed down once again.

I was also his sister. Why wasn't he worried about my whereabouts too?

I bit down on my lips, yet tears rolled down my cheeks.

At that moment, a police officer walked over. "We found more human remains, Officer Wright."

He then placed the black plastic bag on the autopsy table. As soon as it was opened, a foul stench of blood mixed with decay hit everyone.

Everyone couldn't help but frown in discomfort.

Zack was the only one who seemed like he didn't notice the smell at all, calmly taking the bones and chunks of flesh out of the bag.

After a good six hours, he finally stopped to look at Officer Wright. "This is probably the victim's entire body."

"Any new findings?" Officer Wright asked anxiously.

Hearing this, Zack's expression turned serious. "The victim is missing a kidney."

My breath caught upon hearing that I was missing a kidney.

I smiled bitterly. It wasn't missing at all—after all, it was inside Zack.

Back then, he developed kidney failure at a young age due to a hereditary condition. I managed to donate one of my kidneys to him in secret with Mom's help.

Zack completely lost it after learning the truth. He even held a knife against his neck, threatening the doctor to return the kidney to me.

I had to beg him not to hurt himself—or I would kill myself following him as well. Only then did he drop the knife.

Zack then hugged me tightly and cried. "I'm sorry, Sandy. It's all my fault—I never should've let you go through so much pain. That anesthesia shot must have hurt a lot! What would you do without a kidney now?"

Since then, he grew even more attentive and caring for me. That was the happiest moment in my life.

I wondered if Zack still remembered that.

At that moment, he seemed to have recalled something. His expression grew anxious when he said, "I know it now!"

My heart stopped for a moment. Did Zack finally realize that I was the one lying on the autopsy table now?

"I just remembered—could this be connected to those organ traffickers they never caught?" Zack asked seriously.

I was instantly disappointed.

Zack had actually forgotten about it. It seemed like he really despised me.

At that moment, his phone suddenly rang. The caller ID showed that it was from me.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Didn't I ask you to repent at Mom's grave? Why are you calling me now?" Zack answered the call irritably.

An obnoxious male voice answered, "You finally remembered you've got a sister after all this time now, Dr. Smith!"

A shiver ran through me. I was overwhelmed with fear and anxiety.

I'd recognize that voice anywhere—he was the drug lord.

He was the one who sent people to capture me and allowed his subordinates to torture me. He was also the one who recorded the entire process while those bastards assaulted me, saying that it would be a surprise for Zack.

I couldn't help but tremble violently. I hadn't expected him to still have my phone.

I turned to look at Zack, my nerves so rattled I forgot everything else.

Zack's expression turned sombre upon hearing a man's voice on the other end of the line. "Who are you? Where's Sandra?"

"Sandra? She's currently sleeping," the drug lord replied nonchalantly.

Zack's expression darkened immediately after hearing that. "Who are you to her?"

"Me?" The drug lord chuckled before replying, "I'm your future brother-in-law, of course! Honestly, your sister is truly mediocre. I wouldn't have even slept with her if it weren't for the fact that she has some big shot forensic pathologist brother like you!"

Zack's breathing quickened. He yelled angrily, "I don't have a younger sister as shameless as Sandra—much less a brother-in-law like you!

"Do me a favor and tell her—she doesn't have to kneel and repent in front of Mom's grave anymore! I don't want that disgusting girl tainting Mom's resting place!"

My eyes widened in disbelief, taken aback by what he said.

Zack called me a disgusting girl tainting Mom's resting place. How could he humiliate me like this just based on something the drug lord had said?

He hadn't even seen the man on the other end of the line. He didn't even ask me what exactly had happened—he just jumped to a conclusion.

I was his biological younger sister!

Memories of the past years flashed through my mind.

When I was two, Zack held me every night to help me fall asleep.

When I was seven, he cried like a baby on my first day of school.

When I was 13, when a boy gave me a love letter, Zack punched him until he got a black eye.

It could be said that my entire childhood—all the way through adulthood—was spent with him by my side. He was there for me even more than Mom was.

But everything changed on the day Mom died.

I became the person Zack despised the most, while Madison—an adopted daughter—became his favorite younger sister.

I could still remember the day Mom first brought Madison back. Worried that I might feel jealous, he'd kicked her out—but look what was happening now.

A self-deprecating smile tugged at my lips.

Perhaps love would really fade away.

I looked at Zack, watching him end the call without hesitation. He refused to pick up the call when the drug lord called again—instead, he turned off his phone.

"There's no need to be like this, Zack. I believe Sandy isn't that kind of person. There must be some kind of misunderstanding," Officer Wright said, concerned.

"That's right, Dr. Smith. Sandy seems so well-behaved—there's no way she'd do something like that!"

"That's right! Aren't you seeing things too one-sidedly, Dr. Smith?"

"Sandy is such a nice person. You should treat both your younger sisters equally, Dr. Smith."

The other forensic pathologists and police officers all chimed in.

Warmth filled my chest. It turned out that there were still many that would believe in me.

"That's enough! I don't want to hear another word of it!" Zack yelled. "If all of you like her so much, then take her as your younger sister! I'd never acknowledge her even if it costs my life!"

A heavy silence fell across the room. Everyone looked at him with complicated gazes.

I felt even more crushed seeing what had happened.

At that moment, a young police officer walked in. "Officer Wright! We found this near the victim's body!"

He then held up a Heart of the Ocean pendant for everyone to see.

Zack froze on the spot.