In order to protect my father, I was tortured for ten hours, but my father was busy celebrating his adopted daughter’s eighteenth birthday. With my dying breath, I called my father and said, “Dad, it’s my birthday today. Could you wish me a happy birthday?”

“You crazy monster! You got your mother killed in order to celebrate your birthday! How could you still ask me to celebrate your birthday? You should just die!”

With that said, he hung up.

The next day, my corpse was placed in different flower pots and put in front of a police station. My father was in charge of inspecting my corpse, and he could immediately tell that the murderer did this for revenge. What they did to me was cruel and made a mockery of the police’s authority.

But he did not manage to tell that the deceased was the daughter he hated.

After I was dismembered, I was stuffed into different flower pots.

Then, when it was night, my murderers put more than ten flower pots in front of a police station.

The first police officer who picked up a flower pot ran over to the side to vomit.

Screams soon followed.

After some investigations, the police became certain that large quantities of flesh were mixed with the earth.

Liam Lewis, the captain of the police force, immediately contacted Lucius Smith, my father.

He was the best forensic scientist in the police force and helped the police solve plenty of tough cases before.

He came in a hurry, and he still had cream from a cake on him.

While he put on gloves, he exchanged a glance with Liam.

Liam immediately understood and said, “We’ve checked the security cameras, but the circuits went haywire due to the storm, and they broke down over the past few days. Our strongest clue was ruined, just like that.

“But the murderers actually had the audacity to put the corpse’s pieces in front of the police station?! They’re mocking the police!”

The murderers’ insolence made everyone’s expressions sink.

“I know that you took leave today to celebrate Jade’s 18th birthday, but this case is important, and we can’t do it without you.”

When he heard my name, my father’s expression turned even darker.

“How could I possibly celebrate her 18th birthday? She’s not worthy of it.”

Sadness bloomed in me when I heard what my father said.

Ever since my mother died, I basically became an orphan.

My father no longer wanted me. He adopted a girl who was born on the same date as I was. She was even the same age that I was.

He forbade me from calling him “Dad,” but he let her do it.

My room became hers, and I was chased down to the basement.

Even though we both turned eighteen, my father only celebrated her birthday with her while I was tortured and brutally killed.

At that time, my father must have been smiling while wishing her a happy birthday.

But I never hated my father. I just hoped that he would forgive me before I died, but I never got his forgiveness.

In order to not ruin the few clues left on the pieces of flesh, they decided to not move my dismembered body to the autopsy room.

They examined my body on the spot.

I floated around my father. When I saw my dismembered body, the pain of being sawn apart tore through my body again.

In order to let my father be able to examine my body at ease, Liam had everyone leave the hall.

Over the entire night, Liam stayed by my father’s side while assisting him.

They had impeccable teamwork.

My father practically did not rest and kept himself going by drinking Red Bulls.

He finally managed to piece me together to somewhat resemble a human being.

After he wiped away the sweat on his forehead, he sighed. “The deceased’s wrists and ankles show signs of being bound. She has multiple bruises on her body, and her head has been hit plenty of times by a blunt weapon. This caused her skull to be cracked and horribly deformed.

“Before she died, she must have been tortured horrifically.”

When they heard this, the experienced police officers around him saw red.

Liam hissed, “Those murderers are monsters!”

Immediately after, my father said, “When the deceased was dismembered, she was still conscious. Some of the wounds were left because she could not endure the pain.”

Everyone fell silent.

The police officers were furious, and they clenched their fists tightly.

“Just what sort of grudge must the murderers bear to do such a thing? They’re not human!”

“This is just pure, inhumane slaughter!”

Liam frowned. His eyes burned with fury.

They were right. I went through inhumane slaughter in the name of revenge.

As I recalled what had happened, the intense pain still made me shiver.

I could still remember the moment they cut my stomach open with a knife. I had spasmed in pain, but I could not scream, because they had cut my tongue out beforehand.

It felt like hot oil had been forced into my mouth. It burned, and the pain shot through my entire body.

And in order to make sure that I remained awake, whenever they cut me, they would stop for a moment to let me catch my breath.

Then, they continued.

I was like a lab rat. I watched myself be dismembered. In the end, they picked up a bat and kept hitting my head with it.

Again, and again. I heard my own skull crack.

Fortunately for me, on the third time, I finally stopped feeling any pain, because I died.

At that moment, my father suddenly frowned and flipped my ear over.

My heart skipped a beat.

Was he about to figure out the truth?

I had a huge scar on the back of my left ear. It was due to being burned when I was young.

My father wiped away the dirt on my ear and tried to find the scar.

But there was nothing there.

I forgot. My murderers had already cut that scar off.

They cut all of the moles and scars on my body off.

…

“We’ve extracted the deceased’s DNA. Check the database for matches. We need to ID the deceased as soon as possible.” Once my father gave an order to his assistant, he went to his office.

Right after he sat down, someone hurried in. It was Yvonne, my aunt.

“Lucius, I spent the entire night yesterday waiting for Jade. She didn’t pick up her phone either. Could you contact her?”

I saw my aunt holding a cake in her hands, and it was my favorite strawberry cake.

Unfortunately, I could not eat it anymore.

When he heard my name, his expression immediately sank. “How would I know where she went? And why did you buy that for her? Mary died because she kept eating. She’s not worthy of eating strawberry cakes.”

Ever since my mother passed away, my aunt was the only person who treated me well, but my father would not let me get closer to my aunt. He said that I was a criminal and was not worthy of my aunt’s affection.

My father’s furious voice made my aunt worked up. “You’ve hated Jade for ten years. Isn’t that enough? She’s your daughter. You can’t treat her like that. She’s also a pitiful girl for not having a mother at such a young age!”

“Am I the one who caused Mary to pass? She got Mary killed because she’s a glutton! She should have been the one who died!” My father’s face and neck were red with rage. “I don’t want to hear anything about her anymore. Don’t come to me because of her either. The only daughter I have is Amanda.”

Amanda Smith, my adopted sister, was smart. No matter who she talked to, she always had a faint smile on her face.

My father loved her.

But he did not know that behind that angelic smile was a demon!

My aunt wanted to say something else, but my father cut her off impatiently. “Stop. I don’t want to hear it. She’s a cold-blooded monster. If she has even a bit of conscience left in her, she should just die.”

He left.

As I watched my father leave with no hesitation, I felt my heart clench in pain. My tears fell on the floor.

My aunt sent another message to me.

She was asking me to not run around.

“I’m sorry, Aunt Yvonne. I can’t receive your message.”

…

Due to the invisible bond between us, I was dragged back with my father.

“Welcome home, Dad.”

Right after he sat down, Amanda handed him a glass of warm water. My father took it and patted her head proudly.

“Thanks, Amanda. You’re such a good girl.”

I saw my father’s tired eyes become much brighter the moment he saw Amanda.

This made me remember something.

Once, my father had a high fever and was bedridden.

It was pouring outside, but I still went out at 3 a.m. to buy medicine for him.

When he saw me passing him the medicine, he immediately asked me to leave. He even said that I was faking my kindness.

This was the difference between us, I supposed.

No matter how much concern I showed him, he would always treat me as an enemy.

Meanwhile, after Amanda said some words of concern for him, she became a good girl in my father’s eyes. She did not even need any effort to do that.

To my father, no matter what I did, it was wrong.

“I’m sorry, Amanda. I was too busy and missed out on celebrating your birthday,” my father apologized to Amanda.

Smiling, Amanda shook her head. “It’s okay, Dad. I know that you’re very busy. Let’s go find Jade. She loves cakes too.”

Amanda pretended to be concerned about me.

The concern for Amanda instantly morphed into anger. “Why are you talking about her? I’d rather she never come back and die outside.

“Let’s just pretend that she’s dead. You’re the only daughter I have.”

Amanda hid that flash of guilt in her eyes before burying her face in my father’s arms. She had a cunning grin.

She always smiled this way after making me her scapegoat and making my father yell at me.

My father took a small cake out. “I was too busy and didn’t celebrate your birthday properly. Here. I’ll make it up to you. You love strawberry cakes, don’t you?”

After trying it, she said that it tasted bad, and she grumbled that my father did not know what she liked.

Even though she sounded displeased, my father was still smiling.

I was jealous of Amanda for being able to act all cutesy with my father and even throw a tantrum.

The one who was loved never had any reason to fear anything, I supposed.

How unlike me. Even if I did not cause any trouble, I could not get any love from my father.

Suddenly, my father retrieved a child’s necklace from his pocket with a flourish.

The moment I saw the necklace, I cried.

My mother put that necklace on me during my birthday.

After she passed, I took it out to stare at it whenever I missed her.

But my father took it away from me and said that I was not worthy of it.

I had asked him for it multiple times, but he said that he would only return it to me after I died.

I was not expecting him to give it to Amanda.

“No! Please!” I cried, but I could only watch as he put it around Amanda’s wrist, like a bracelet, because it was too small for her neck.

Amanda got what I wished for so desperately, just like that.

I curled up in a corner they could not see and hugged my knees while my tears fell.

The next day, my father went to the police station. Right after he walked through the door, he asked his assistant, “Has no family member come to claim the body?”

After his assistant said no, my father said angrily, “What monsters! Their child was tortured to death! What exactly are her irresponsible parents doing? When they come, yell at them for me.”

The assistant nodded.

“Are the DNA results not out yet? Ask the tech department to hurry up.”

Right after he finished speaking, his phone rang. My father answered it, and his expression turned darker.

Soon, my aunt came over. She anxiously asked him whether I had contacted my father.

Enraged, my father said, “Why are you worried about that disappointment? Do you know what her homeroom teacher told me just now?

“She skipped class! Her homeroom teacher said that the brat has not gone to school for three days!

“I work hard to pay for her classes, and this is how she repays me. She better not come back, or I’m never going to forgive her.”

You must be happy, Dad. I was never going to come back ever again.

My aunt snapped, “Enough! Jade has not gone to school for three days, and I can’t reach her. Shouldn’t you be worried about where she went?

“No matter what, she’s yours and Mary’s daughter. Didn’t Mary ask you to take good care of her before she died? Is your heart made of ice? Your own daughter has not contacted you for three days, and you’re not asking after her. How can you call yourself a father?”

As my aunt spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

Upon seeing how my aunt acted, my father could not say anything else. He just scoffed and sat down in his chair before he started reading a report.

At that moment, his assistant suddenly ran over.

“Mr. Smith, we have a new discovery! Come!”

My father got up. “Lead the way!”

Before he left, he said to my aunt, “Stop caring about that brat and leave her to her own devices.”

He shut the door and left my aunt crying inside.

I wanted to comfort her, but my hand passed through her body.

I could only sigh in resignation and float out.

When I came to the autopsy room, I saw my father reading a report with a stern expression.

I took a peek and saw that the police found the corner of a poker card in my stomach. It had the letter A.

I left that in intentionally. At that time, I knew that I could not escape, so while my murderers were not paying attention, I tore up the “A” of that poker card and ate it to leave some evidence behind.

My father stared at the corner of that poker card, and his gaze turned increasingly colder.

“A,” he mumbled.

Suddenly, he remembered. This killing method was really similar to a case he cracked five years ago.

At that time, there was a deranged serial killer who would stuff the corner of a poker card into his victims’ mouths after he killed them.

If it were not for my father, he would still be a free man.

At that moment, my father saw some black substances on the poker card.

When he inspected it, he found that it was coal!

I ingested it intentionally too to give them clues.

His assistant was puzzled and asked, “Why would there be coal on the poker card?”

My father stroked his chin. After some thinking, he came to a stark realization.

“Quick! Tell the team to search around the area for a coal mine!”

The assistant then understood. “That’s right! That way, we can find the scene of the crime!”

They had a new development in the case, and everyone praised my father.

My father laughed and pointed at my corpse. “The girl is the one who’s smart. She’s the one who is helping us.”

This was the first time my father praised me, and I felt flattered.

After searching the entire morning, the police called my father and told him that they might have found the scene of the crime. They found blood stains in an abandoned coal mine six miles away from the eastern suburban area of Zolepolis.

My father hurried over with his team.

When they arrived, they started searching slowly.

Suddenly, a room caught my father’s attention, and he approached it.

When I saw the room, my heart leaped into my throat. I was dismembered here.

Once he stepped in, the strong stench of blood made my father cover his nose.

My blood was everywhere on the dilapidated floorboards.

Two rats were on a wooden bed. They were chewing on some ropes that were stained with my blood.

One sharp knife was stuck in the bed.

That was the tool they had used to cut me up.

At that moment, I saw a strange look in my father’s eyes.

I looked over and saw what caught his attention—a small object under the wooden bed.

Once I saw what it was, I was shocked.

Wasn’t that my name tag?

It had my name on it!

It seemed like my father had finally discovered that I had been murdered.

He walked over, and every step he took felt like a blow to my heart.

As he drew closer to my name tag, I held my breath. It felt like my heart was about to leap out of my mouth.

But at that moment, the rats on the bed were shocked and scurried down the bed. They nabbed my name tag and ran out.

My father was stunned by this, but he did not chase after them. He just shook his head and sighed.

I did not know whether to laugh or cry about this.

At that moment, my aunt suddenly barged in.

Her face was pale, and she looked really worked up. “Quick, Lucius! They found Jade’s school uniform outside!”

Both of us were shocked.

When my father saw my school uniform, I noticed his expression change, but he soon composed himself. “That’s impossible. Nothing could have happened to her. It can’t be her!”

He walked over and picked up my school uniform. A small hair clip fell off it.

My aunt saw it and immediately recognized it as mine.

“That’s Jade’s hair clip!” she cried out. “I gave it to her as a birthday present last year!

“Is she… dead?”