Hanging in the living room is a drawing of Julia Graham's husband, son, and younger sister, Juliette Graham.

Julia's son tells her, "If I add a fourth person to the drawing, it'll be the younger sister that Aunt Juliette gives me."

Without hesitation or lingering emotions, Julia applies to become an undercover operative in the most dangerous mission to date. From this point onward, she severs all ties with them!

Deep within the tall building of Greendale's police headquarters, Julia Graham was having a private conversation with her superior, Lawrence Davis.

"Julia, I hope you understand how dangerous this mission is. You'll be going undercover in a criminal organization. If you're exposed, you'll suffer a fate worse than death.

"Even if you manage to infiltrate the organization, you'll have to join in on all the criminal activities to gather evidence, maybe even shoot at your own comrades," Lawrence warned, his expression grim.

"Not only will you suffer from the psychological effects of doing so, but no one knows how long you'll have to go through such torment. Moreover, you have a husband and a son, as well as your parents. Are you sure you can bear to leave them?"

Standing at salute, Julia replied, "I'm already preparing to divorce my husband. He'll have a new wife who will take good care of our son. As for my parents, they've reunited with their biological daughter and are very happy with her. I have nothing to worry about."

Her voice remained steadfast as she continued, "I'm willing to do what it takes to bring down these criminals and protect the safety of our nation as well as our people. I readily offer my life to the country, and I won't regret this!"

Lawrence seemed to want to continue dissuading Julia, but he didn't know what to say.

"I have to do this," Julia insisted. "My mentor, Captain Tolliver, mysteriously disappeared after making contact with this criminal organization. I have to find him, even if it's only to bring his body back.

"I've spent the last few years investigating these criminals. No one knows this case better than I do. I'm the only one who can take them down, sir."

Lawrence remained reluctant. "You should know that if you become an undercover operative, your name and contributions might never be made public. There's a safer path for you to choose. You don't have to live your life in constant fear…"

As if relenting, Lawrence finally says, "Since you've made up your mind… go ahead, then. I hope you'll get the chance to put on this uniform again. Once you leave, your name and identity will become classified information. You will no longer be you. I wish you good luck and all the best!"

He raised a trembling hand and returned the salute.

"I've always had good luck," Julia said with a faint smile.

…

When Julia emerged from the police building, she was already dressed in regular attire, the breeze tugging at the hem of her jacket.

It was rush hour. The light of the setting sun filtered through the tree branches, and the streets were packed with people heading to their respective homes.

The restaurants were bustling with hungry dinner crowds, while children played with their friends along the sidewalk. Life seemed so picturesque.

Julia stood dazedly on the street, not knowing where she should go.

Lawrence had said that it would take seven days to create a flawless cover identity for her. While waiting for that, he told her to spend time with her family and bid them a proper goodbye.

But she knew that no one in her family welcomed her.

Her husband, Elijah Sherwood, and their son, Coby Sherwood, were fond of her younger sister, Juliette Graham, who'd reunited with the family a year ago.

Out of guilt, her parents, Jerry Graham and Bertha Lewis, doted heavily on Juliette. At the same time, they now treated Julia as if she were a complete stranger to them.

All of a sudden, a notification popped up on Julia's phone. She tapped on it and saw a video that was shot in the home she'd put a lot of effort into decorating.

The video started with a scene in the kitchen, where Elijah—handsome and sophisticated-looking—was smiling to the camera.

"Hungry already, you greedy bunny? Your favorite grilled ribs are almost ready."

Juliette, the person taking the video, said coyly, "Let me try a piece! I want to see if you added too much salt again."

With an exasperated yet doting expression, Elijah picked up a piece of meat and blew on it lightly before feeding it to Juliette. "Careful. It's hot."

The camera panned down to show a young boy—Coby—jumping up and down in excitement. "Me too! I want some too! You're being unfair, Daddy. You don't like me anymore now that you have Aunt Juliette!"

Juliette ruffled Coby's hair while saying, "How is he being unfair? Didn't your daddy make you your favorite pulled pork?"

As expected, it was a video featuring Julia's husband, son, and younger sister.

Toward the end, the camera flashed past a crayon drawing that was hung up on the living room wall. There were streaks of glue lining the artwork, traces of where the drawing had been put together again.

The drawing depicted a blue sky dotted with white clouds, while a family of three—two adults and one child—stood hand-in-hand on the grass.

Two weeks ago, Julia was thrilled when she saw Coby making this drawing. She asked him, "Are you drawing you, Daddy, and me?"

Coby glared at her in displeasure and snapped, "That's Daddy, Aunt Juliette, and me! Don't you get it yet, Mommy? Even if I add a fourth person to this drawing, I hope it'll be a little sister that Daddy and Aunt Juliette give me!"

Although his voice still carried the innocence of a child, the words stabbed her in the heart. As they echoed in her ears, she looked up and saw Juliette lowering her head bashfully.

Elijah, however, simply chuckled and asked, "Do you want a little sister, Coby?"

It was at that very moment that Julia realized there was no longer a place for her in this family anymore.

Following the video was a taunting message from Juliette.

"When are you going to accept reality and give up, my dear sister?"

After a minute, the phone screen dimmed automatically, and a reflection of Julia's emotionless face could be seen.

None of it mattered anymore.

Pocketing her phone, she silently answered Juliette's question in her heart.

"I already have."

When Julia and Elijah first met, she was a reckless rookie who'd just joined the police force, while he was a brilliant young doctor who'd just returned from studying abroad.

She'd been a little too heavy-handed with a criminal, not only breaking his nose and bashing his face in, but even going as far as breaking a few of his bones.

Elijah, who'd been on duty at the emergency room, asked her in shock, "Did you do this to him? Is he your boyfriend? Did he cheat on you?"

"Ask any more questions, and I'll make sure you end up on a hospital bed, too!" Julia snapped ferociously.

…

Julia ended up at the hospital so often that she might as well call it her home. And every time, she'd run into Elijah. Thanks to their constant bickering, they got to know each other pretty well.

Once the two finally started dating, Alfred Tolliver, Julia's mentor, tearfully declared, "Finally! Someone has come along to keep this troublesome mentee of mine in check!"

Elijah had proposed to Julia when she was still lying injured on a hospital bed. He got down on one knee, and with both his and her colleagues as witnesses, vowed to hone his medical skills to guarantee that she would remain healthy and mobile no matter what.

Everyone laughed at that.

As the years passed, Julia became the captain of the detective division of Greendale's police force. Elijah, on the other hand, became the youngest associate chief of his department at Greendale Hospital.

They eventually had a son, so everyone said they were the perfect, blissfully happy family of three.

This all changed a year ago, when Juliette came knocking on the Grahams' door. Her face, which was identical to Bertha's, was the only evidence needed.

Juliette accused Julia of stealing her place in the Graham family, calling her shameless, amongst other things.

That was the day Julia discovered that she and Juliette had been born in the same hospital on the same day, just minutes apart.

However, something had gone wrong. Perhaps they'd been switched when they were being bathed. Either way, they swapped lives from that point onward.

Juliette was the true daughter and only child of the Graham family, while Julia was meant to live a harsh life out on a desolate island with nothing but the ocean wind to keep her company.

The Graham family made a public display of welcoming Juliette back into the family. As for Julia, she had no choice but to accept her new role and constantly yield to Juliette. However, that wasn't enough to satisfy Juliette, for she even set her sights on Elijah!

Julia had always believed that even if the whole world sided with Juliette, Elijah and Coby wouldn't hesitate to take her side.

Alas, they'd changed as well.

Time and time again, Elijah and Coby sided with Juliette, acting like her knights in shining armor.

In the second month of Juliette's return, they celebrated Juliette's birthday and completely forgot about Julia, leaving her alone in the house even though it was also her birthday.

During the fifth month, they went traveling with Juliette for an entire month. Meanwhile, Julia had been attacked from behind during a mission. When her life had been hanging by a thread, it was Lawrence who signed the surgery consent form.

When the eighth month of Juliette's return rolled around, the Grahams and the Sherwoods gathered for a Christmas Eve dinner, but no one informed Julia about it.

She'd specifically traded shifts with her colleague to spend the festive holiday with them. But in the end, her Christmas Eve dinner was a pack of frozen lasagna she'd found in the freezer.

Even after it was heated up, she barely had any appetite for it. Instead, she volunteered to do an extra shift at the police station and ultimately spent the night there.

The past year was filled with countless similar incidents.

Perhaps it was Coby's drawing and his words that proved to be the final straw for Julia. Her disappointment had been accumulating for a long time. On that day, she could no longer hold herself back.

Her emotions exploded out of her as she snatched the drawing and ripped it up.

Coby pummeled Julia with his fists as he wailed, "You're evil, Mommy! Give me back my drawing! I don't want you to be my mommy!"

Elijah admonished her as well. "Have you lost your mind? Why are you getting upset with a child? You may need to act domineering in your line of work, but don't bring that attitude back home!"

Juliette pulled Coby into her arms before seemingly attempting to ease the tension, though her words were thinly veiled mockery. "Children don't mean any harm, Julia. He's just saying whatever comes to mind."

Not once had Julia ever cried when she was shot, stabbed, or had her bones broken while fighting criminals. But that day, she fled the house in tears.

"Go on! Leave, and don't bother coming back!" Elijah shouted after her.

…

Lost in these memories, Julia wandered along the streets until she arrived at a bank without realizing it. She transferred all of the money she'd saved up over the years to a new account. It wasn't much, only 120 thousand dollars in total.

That was nothing to the Sherwoods, but she still wanted to leave something to Coby. He was, after all, her child. Even if she divorced Elijah, she would provide child support.

Once done with that, she found that she had nowhere to go. After she'd made her decision, Lawrence had taken her identification paperwork and documents so that they could be destroyed. This meant she couldn't even check into a hotel.

Julia had no choice but to head back home, even if no one there wanted her.

Along the way, she passed by a pet store with a basket of little kittens in the window who were mewling softly. Remembering how Coby had once said his birthday wish was to have a pet, she stopped and picked out a kitten.

The kitten would be the last symbol of her love for Coby. She hoped it would accompany him in her place as he grew up. Once she left, she probably wouldn't be a part of his life ever again.

The moment Julia opened the door, she was greeted by a cheerful atmosphere. Elijah was playing the piano, while Juliette was dancing along.

Coby sat on the couch, clapping enthusiastically. "You're so pretty, Aunt Juliette!"

They were the picture-perfect family of three.

Suddenly, Juliette lost her footing and fell to the floor in a graceful tumble. As soon as she did, the piano let out a jarring, discordant sound. Elijah rushed to his feet and scooped her up, placing her gently on the couch.

Coby hurried over as well, asking, "Are you alright, Aunt Juliette?"

Grasping Elijah's sleeve, Juliette whimpered, "My leg hurts, Eli!"

Elijah was crouching on the floor, and when he heard what she said, he quickly checked on her sprained ankle.

"It's okay. It's not a serious injury. Coby, go to my bedroom and bring me the ointment from the nightstand."

"Okay!"

Coby scrambled to the bedroom before running back to the living room moments later.

With a concerned expression, Elijah instructed Juliette to place her feet on his thigh. Then, he expertly rubbed the ointment between his hands before giving her a massage. His gaze was tender and helpless. Each time she winced in pain, he would press a little more gently.

Coby sat on the side and comforted Juliette as well. "I'll blow on it, Aunt Juliette, and it won't hurt so much anymore."

Amid all of this, Julia recalled that a long time ago, Elijah would tend to her injuries and massage her as well. Due to the nature of her job, she was no stranger to bruises and sprains. He'd bought that ointment specifically for her.

It was only when the kitten she was holding let out a mewl that the three people in the house finally turned toward the door.

"What are you doing here?" Elijah and Coby asked at the same time.

Julia's eyes flashed with self-mockery. She didn't know how to answer that question of theirs.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Julia," Juliette said, though she showed no intention of withdrawing her leg.

Elijah resumed his massage. Without even looking at Julia, he said, "You came back too late. We've already had dinner. There are still some leftovers in the fridge. You can heat it up and eat it."

Though only minutes had passed, Julia felt as if she'd been standing frozen in place for days. Moving her stiff legs, she walked toward Coby.

"You wanted a pet, right? I got you a kitten."

She bent down, letting him see the kitten she held.

After glancing at it, Coby looked up at her and said, "But Aunt Juliette already got me a parrot. It can even repeat the phrases I teach it. A cat can't do that. It just meows all the time. It's so annoying."

Julia believed she had a heart of stone, but she still felt a prick of pain anyway. Looking up, she finally spotted the bird cage out on the balcony. The colorful parrot seemed to notice that someone was looking at it, so it cried out, "I hate Mommy! I hate Mommy!"

She could sense that everyone else was checking her reaction, but she no longer knew what kind of expression she was supposed to have. Before she could say anything, Elijah said, "It's just a bird. You're not going to get upset with it, are you?"

Julia could tell that he was mocking her over the way she'd reacted to Coby's drawing.

Meeting his indifferent gaze, she smiled and said, "Of course not."

What was there to be upset about? No matter what she did, to Elijah and Coby, she was just kicking up a fuss over nothing. In any case, she was about to leave anyway.

Elijah seemed startled by how calm Julia was.

"Eli, you're hurting me!" Juliette yelped.

He quickly apologized and softly appeased her. It was only after he'd stood up that he realized Julia had gone to the kitchen.

Under the warm light of the kitchen, Julia got some of Coby's milk from the fridge and poured some into a bowl for the kitten. She was still feeding it when her phone rang with a call from Kayla Powell, one of her subordinates.

"What's going on, Captain Graham? Why am I attending next week's briefing? Aren't you the one who's supposed to be attending it? Why did I hear from Chief Davis that you'll be leaving Greendale for a training course? You're the best detective there is! What else is there for you to learn?"

Julia's departure was top-secret. She couldn't share it with anyone, not even her most trusted subordinate. Moreover, Kayla happened to be quite the chatterbox.

"I'm just following orders. Relax. You'll have to take charge of the squad from now on," Julia said.

She was feeling a little melancholic, but Kayla simply brushed it off with a carefree laugh. "Why are you making it sound like you're never coming back? I'm counting on you to give a speech at my daughter's birthday party, you know."

Out of nowhere, Elijah's voice rang out from behind.

"Who's never coming back?"