Perhaps thinking of the past, Damine's expression darkened.

After a moment of thought, he still called my number.

But no matter how many times he tried, the line wouldn't connect.

His face flushed red with anger.

"Ha! She's got some nerve, ignoring my calls now. Then she can stay gone forever!"

The young assistant beside him hesitated, then picked up the missing persons report.

"Mr. Ashwood, I didn't find any matches in the recent disappearances list. But there's one name I think you'd want to know about."

The guard pointed to my name on the list. Before he could speak, Damine cut him off impatiently.

"Enough!"

"We're on duty. Don't waste my time with irrelevant garbage!"

Though I'd known this would be the outcome, my heart still ached with sorrow.

Anything about me was a waste of time. But he'd answer Sera's calls.

Maybe in his eyes, Sera was the sister he acknowledged.

And me, his actual blood sister, didn't matter at all.

Damine ignored the young warrior. He'd lost interest in examining the amulet that had fallen on the table.

He shoved it into a bag along with the phone.

After submitting the evidence to the forensics unit, Damine finally pulled out his phone during his break.

He opened the group chat that didn't include me.

[Pretty weird coincidence. This female body is about the same age as Jocelyn. Wonder where the hell she is now.]

Rowan sent a voice message. His mocking laughter came through immediately.

"Jocelyn Ashwood isn't the type to rough it. The money she stole from me is enough for her to live it up anywhere in the world."

Damine froze when he heard this.

Like he'd been awakened, embarrassment and rage flashed across his face.

Right. How could he forget?

Someone as cold-blooded and selfish as me would never make myself suffer.

I was probably somewhere having the time of my life, laughing at what a fool he was.

Sera's soft voice came through.

"Maybe Jocelyn was just acting on impulse. It's been a month now. However angry she was, it should've passed by now. Let me try calling her. Maybe she'll pick up for me."

Damine's head snapped up immediately. A flicker of light passed through his eyes, one he didn't even notice himself.

Rowan refused just as quickly.

"No need. Why bother calling her?"

But his eyes involuntarily drifted toward Sera's phone.

Sera's face stiffened for a moment.

This clearly wasn't what she wanted.

I could see the unwillingness and jealousy churning in the depths of her eyes.

She must be so jealous. After all, I was dead. She'd confirmed it herself. Yet I still occupied an irreplaceable place in these two men's hearts.

Sure enough, she gritted her teeth and opened her phone. Her finger slid across the screen and dialed my number.

Call after call Ashwoodt unanswered.

Her eyes quickly reddened, her voice catching with sobs.

"Does Jocelyn hate me this much?"

"I know my body is weak. Everyone says I probably don't have many years left. My only wish is to marry Rowan properly before I go, with my family's blessing."

"I just want to fulfill this one small wish. Why, why won't Jocelyn even give me this chance? Does she hate seeing me happy that much?"

Rowan's heart broke for her. He immediately pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Don't talk nonsense. Our Sera will live a long, long life. When Jocelyn comes back, I'll make her apologize to you immediately!"

Damine panicked too, rushing to comfort her.

"Sera, don't be sad. I love you most. You're the most important princess in the Ashwood family."

Damine reached out tenderly, as if he could wipe away her tears through the screen.

"I have to admit, your mom and dad saved the wrong person all those years ago. Otherwise none of this would've happened, and you wouldn't be suffering like this."

"That ungrateful wretch. From now on, we don't care whether she lives or dies."

I looked up in disbelief.

The place in my heart that was already full of holes felt completely crushed by those words. Even the pain had gone numb.

I stared at Damine's familiar face.

I could barely connect him with the brother who used to cry when I got even the smallest scrape.

This face had given me the warmest smiles. This same face now called me an ungrateful wretch who shouldn't have been saved.

I looked up in a daze and caught the secretive, triumphant smile on Sera's lips.

As if she were saying to me silently:

See, Jocelyn? This is what happens when you go against me. Even your own brother wishes you were dead.

Soon, the investigation group reported back.

The phone had been submerged in water for too long and wouldn't power on. There were no fingerprints on the amulet either.

But fortunately, the patrol guards seemed to have found surveillance footage of me before my death.

As the head of the guard force, Damine didn't need to accompany them and check the evidence in person, yet for some reason, he felt an inexplicable urge to go along.

When he saw my image in the surveillance footage, my brother was completely stunned.

He mumbled blankly.

"Why does this person look so much like Sera?"

The young assistant's expression darkened as he recalled my name from the missing persons report he'd seen earlier.

"Mr. Ashwood, is Jocelyn really still alive?"

Was I really still alive?

Damine's breath caught in his throat.

He didn't dare to dwell on it.

Fumbling with his phone, he scrolled for what felt like an eternity before finding my chat window at the very bottom.

The last message was from me a month ago.

"Brother, how is your eyes recovering?"

He pounded on the screen as if that could release the fear building inside him.

[Been playing dead for a month now? My patience has limits! Reply within three seconds!]

[Don't think faking your death will work, I'll disown you if you push me!]

[Answer me!]

But brother, I'm really dead.

My brother, however, thought I was provoking him.

He stared at the unresponsive screen, his heart pounding.

That mix of panic and anger made his mind go blank for a moment.

He gritted his teeth and coldly dialed the pack's bank.

"Cut off all of Jocelyn's pack credit cards immediately. No one is to transfer her funds without my permission! If she wants money, let her come to me personally!"

Almost simultaneously, his phone rang again. It was our father.

"Why did you cut off Jocelyn's cards?"

"She hasn't replied to any messages for a month. She's clearly developed a taste for disappearing. If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll never learn her place."

Father was silent for a few seconds before his voice hardened.

"Good! That girl is getting more and more unruly! Nothing like Sera's maturity and obedience! Always causing trouble, Jocelyn needs to suffer and learn a lesson!"

Father's words gave Damine a sense of validation.

Father continued his rant.

"You won't believe what she did a month ago. She actually called me crying nonsense about being kidnapped and demanded three hundred dollars in ransom. Can you believe that?"

"Three hundred dollars? What kind of rogues ask for so little? I think she's just making up another ridiculous excuse to cause trouble. She's bringing shame to our family!"

As he spoke, father sighed. "Well, if she asks again, give her some. After all, she's been spoiled all her life, definitely not used to hardship. The house is actually quieter without her."

Damine also agreed. "Yes, she used to be so good. She knew to say thank you and would even save her pocket money to buy me gifts. Those were the good days. How did she become so arrogant now? Maybe some hardship will do her good."

After hanging up, something suddenly occurred to him.

I saw my brother's face freeze as if struck by realization, remembering that day.

After father refused me, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone.

The rogue wolf sitting beside me slapped my cheek with a blood-stained knife, mocking me and saying I had two more chances.

I wanted to stay calm, to maintain my composure.

But I was so terrified.

So the moment I connected to my brother's call, I was barely holding back tears.

"Damine... please help me... can you transfer me three hundred? Just three hundred. I've been kidnapped, brother, please save me..."

I don't even remember what I said after that.

But I remember my brother's words clearly.

He said.

"Jocelyn, have you had enough fun? If Sera's parents knew what you were like like this, they would have regretted saving you."

"You're too cowardly to get into real trouble? Stop trying to cause problems!"

Without another word, he hung up the call.

That call...

I saw my brother's hands suddenly begin to tremble.

But before he could speak again, his assistant's phone rang.

After answering, the young assistant's expression also changed.

His face was complex, his voice trembling with emotion.

"Mr. Ashwood... the DNA... the DNA comparison results are in."

"The deceased... is your sister, Jocelyn Ashwood!"