Bound by an unseen connection, my soul trailed Susan back to our home.

The room was brightly lit. Yuna hid beneath the covers until she heard Susan's voice, then she threw back the quilt and burrowed into Susan's embrace.

"Mom, I had a nightmare again. I'm so scared."

Her eyes were red. The tears on her face were like scattered pearls falling on Susan's arms.

Even in her tears, Yuna appeared so beautiful and pitifully lovely.

No wonder she was so adored.

Susan held her tightly. "Don't be afraid. I'm back. Everything is over. Those bad guys will be caught soon."

"Where's Vivian? I haven't seen her in a few days."

Her voice was soft, and her evasive eyes were full of feigned concern.

She was like a little lamb that cared about her family.

However, this seemingly harmless lamb showed no mercy when wielding a knife.

Yet, she had never killed anyone, though none of the more than thirty stabbings were fatal.

At the mention of me, Susan shifted from feeling heartache for Yuna to anger. "Don't mention her. She'd better die outside."

Yuna concealed her guilty and evasive demeanor, a smug smile emerging on her face when she was hidden in Susan's arms.

The first time I saw her smile like this was six years ago, on my sixteenth birthday.

My dad, Jack, was on a police call that day, and Susan went to attend Yuna's speech contest.

I waited with the cake until the next morning. But Susan still didn't come back.

When they finally returned, I learned that Yuna had performed well in the competition, so Susan took her out to celebrate.

They played till late, so they just stayed in the hotel.

I was angry, but Susan was even angrier.

"I forgot, so what can I do? Yuna is your sister. Why do you have to argue with her so much?

"You're already so old. What's the big deal about missing a birthday? Don't be so selfish."

I cried then, too, and in my sorrow, I threw the cake into the trash can.

Because I felt sad, I went to a nearby bar with my friends to drink that night.

"She doesn't like me? Okay, then I will do everything she doesn't like."

That day, I acted willfully on purpose, but the price was so high that it would take me a lifetime to atone for it.

As I was halfway through my drinks, Jack arrived.

He didn't scold me but held my hand tightly with his warm hand. "Let me see who this is. You even learned to drink?

"I'll take you to celebrate your birthday."

We sat at a street stall under the flickering candlelight, and Jack smiled so warmly and kindly. "Happy birthday to our little princess. May you live a long life.

"Vivian, I hope you can realize your dream in the future and become a policewoman surpassing me.

"I also hope that we can work together to fight crime and contribute to purifying our society."

Unfortunately, his wish did not come to fruition, and he didn't even have time to blow out the candle.

A vehicle suddenly approached us, knocking us down.

A dozen men in black advanced with sticks.

Jack tried desperately to protect me, but in the end, he was beaten to the ground.

I lost consciousness. When I awoke, I was in the hospital, surrounded by police officers.

Jack was nowhere to be found; he was missing.

When he was finally located, he was headless. His body was full of scars.

The murderer remained missing.

At that time, Susan's eyes were bloodshot. She pressed Jack's photo against her chest, screaming in despair, "It's all your fault. Why did you run away?

"Why are you so selfish? Your father lost his life because of your birthday.

"Why wasn't it you who died?"

I knelt on the floor, tears cascading onto the floor.

At that moment, I thought I should die.

I didn't attend Jack's funeral.

Susan wouldn't allow it.

"Get out. You only make me feel sick here."

Back then, Yuna wore the same expression she did now when she looked at me.

She was proudly satisfied.

Susan hugged Yuna tighter.

"Ignore her like she is dead. From now on, you will be my only daughter. You are my biological daughter."

Susan had told me to die countless times, but this time, I really died.

I died of my confidence.

Since I was admitted to the police academy, I had always been the top student in all subjects while in school, and I prided myself on my extraordinary abilities.

The other party asked me to go alone to rescue Yuan, so I did.

Yuna was kidnapped, and the other party called and asked me to go there alone.

Although I didn't like her, Susan did. Susan had already lost Jack, so I didn't want to make her sad anymore.

The most important point was that the man mentioned the truth about Jack's death.

I thought I was fully prepared, but reality turned out to be worse than I imagined.

The call was cut off as soon as I dialed Susan.

The dagger was cold. It hurt me.

Yuna kept stabbing me with the blade.

"Don't stop. Stab her 32 times before I let you go.

"Guys, I've revenged for you today.

"If you dare to spill a word out, her fate today will be yours tomorrow."

Yuna left, but I continued to suffer the torture until the next night.

While the criminals were sleeping, I fished out my broken cell phone and called Susan.

After a long time, Susan finally answered the phone with a tone full of disgust, "Yuna is having a birthday. Don't spoil her fun. She was frightened and needs to relax."

Then, she hung up the phone without waiting for my response.

She also cut off my only way to survive.

The next day, there was a bouquet of carnations on Susan's desk.

Mike smiled and said, "Today is Mother's Day. Vivian sent it to you."

Susan rolled her eyes and threw it out the window. "Do you want me to check the surveillance camera?"

"Vivian must be busy with something. Otherwise, she would definitely send it. It has happened every time in recent years."

Yes, I did it every year.

But without exception, the flowers were all thrown out of the window.

Mike handed over a cup of coffee and stood side by side with Susan. "You two have a big conflict this time. Vivian hasn't come to my team for several days. She used to come frequently and claimed she was visiting me, but we all know who she was visiting. It's you.

"Sometimes, when you have work, she would stand in the hallway waiting for hours."

"No one has forced her to do so. What does it have to do with me?"

Mike had been through danger a lot. He had worked as a police for decades and witnessed too many deaths.

"When I was young, I was also impulsive. I had a huge quarrel with my friend because of some different ideas. But what was the result?

"Before we had the chance to talk about that matter, he died on a mission.

"If God gives me another chance, I will definitely not argue with him. A few drinks will make everything fine. Unlike now, I have to go to the Martyrs' Cemetery to see him."

This matter had always been a knot in Mike's heart.

Every year, as long as he had no missions, he would visit his friend's tomb and drink.

Seeing that Susan didn't say anything, Mike sighed.

"In fact, you really should get to know Vivian better. She has suffered so much over the years.

"The guilt she carries is too heavy for us to imagine. She almost couldn't get over it many times. I don't think Jack wants to see you two end up in such a fight because of him. He would definitely be heartbroken if he knew."

As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes, a sight most unexpected since he usually acted as a strong leader.

Unable to contain my sorrow any longer, I burst into tears.

Mike, having a report to deliver, bid farewell with these words. "Life spans a few decades. I impart these words to you because I don't want you and Vivian to harbor any regrets.

"The sewage pool on the outskirts is not the initial crime scene. I shall trouble you to conduct another post-mortem examination later to ascertain if any useful clues may be unearthed."

Susan remained silent, merely nodding subtly.

Then, she retrieved her mobile phone with a hint of impatience and navigated to her messaging interface with me.

I had not sent her a message, but it was my custom to send her a message every Mother's Day.

[Happy holidays, Mom. Take care of yourself.]

At last, she watched the call from me five days prior and angrily pocketed the phone.

Johnson, having just commenced his duties and unfamiliar with such grim spectacles, shook his head and sighed upon seeing my corpse once more.

"How lamentable! She is in her early twenties and likely does not graduate. Who are her parents?

"If her parents were to learn of this, their hearts would be rent asunder."

Susan was a senior forensic physician who had grown indifferent to the tragedies she encountered. "If you wish to advocate for the victims, then work diligently and hasten the resolution of the case."

The second autopsy commenced, and I watched with a calm numbness akin to observing a pile of decaying flesh.

Johnson suddenly paused and extracted a mucus-enshrouded ball of paper from my stomach. "Ms. Chase, we have a novel discovery."

Once the paper ball was processed and unfurled, there were several large words inscribed upon it: [Guess who I am?]

Susan hesitated and quivered suddenly. The veins on her hands, grasping the table, protruded.

The familiar handwriting rendered her incapable of maintaining her composure.

Indeed, those words were penned by me.

Meanwhile, Mike entered the forensic chamber. "I got a call from Vivian's school, informing me that Vivian has been absent for several days."