At the age when I should have been attending university, I was framed by my biological parents and sent to prison. My sister had been cruelly killed by her kidnappers when she tried to save me, and they blamed me for her death.

On the day of my release, I was kidnapped and had one of my ears cut off. When I found the opportunity, I immediately called my father, asking him to save me. Instead, he snapped, saying, “You’re no longer my son! Don’t contact me!” I was then burned alive.

After I died, my sister returned. However, when my parents found out that the charred corpse was mine, the family crumbled.

"Oh my God, how much pain must the deceased have suffered in life?" Dad whispered, covering his mouth as he stared at the charred remains of the body on the ground.

I was indeed in pain at that time, my entire body engulfed in scorching flames. I was burning, but I could not scream, nor could I die immediately. Even when I was being reduced to a pile of ashes, I was alive enough to feel the pain. In that final moment, I heard the killer's voice, "Haha, it hurts, doesn't it? I just want you to suffer."

When I came to, Mom had already put on gloves and a mask as she stepped forward to examine my body. She was frowning slightly.

"It’s too badly burned. We'll take it back to the station for an autopsy."

My parents, who had once loved me so much, did not even recognize me.

I laughed self-deprecatingly, my soul hovering in the air. However, no one could hear me, because I was already dead. My body was packed up and taken away in a car.

On the way, the squad leader, Captain Carter, drove while talking to Dad, "The murderer’s methods are very similar to Selene’s case years ago."

Selene was my older sister. Back then, I had begged her to take me out to buy figurines and we encountered kidnappers on the way. She fought them to save me. She told me to get the police. When I returned, she had already been burned to death.

It was exactly how I also just died.

Mom immediately fainted when she arrived back then, while Dad slapped me across the face. “You beast, you killed your sister!”

Those words haunted me for three whole years. They all blamed me for her death. On the day I was accepted into a college, they even framed me, making claims that I engaged in obscene activities online, and sent me to prison. I served two years there.

"It’s not just similar. It’s definitely the same person."

Dad's expression instantly turned serious, his fists clenched tightly. He had been trying to find my sister’s murderer all these years, but the person had never shown themselves.

Now that the murderer had resurfaced, he was likely feeling very pleased.

"Really? Then, Mr. Speck, please make sure to catch this killer,” Captain Carter said, his face filled with anger.

Dad was originally a criminal investigation professor at the police academy, but because of his strong investigative abilities, he had been recruited by the police department to handle cases.

Over the past five years, he had only encountered two major cases. My sister's case...

And mine.

My body was sent to the autopsy room. Mom put on a mask and began the examination. Her assistant suddenly asked her, "Hey, it’s almost New Year. Has Scott still not come back? It’s been two years."

My parents framed me and sent me to prison two years ago. They kept this secret from everyone, only telling them that I had gone to work in another city.

When Mom heard my name, a look of disgust immediately flashed across her eyes. "Don’t mention her. She disgusts me.” She and Dad hated me deeply because they believed I killed my sister. I will never forget how my life changed after my sister left.

At the start, they kept me from school before sending me to work at a construction site. When I came back, they made me eat scraps meant for the dog at the doorstep. I cried as I ate, feeling nothing but grievance in my heart.

"Does it hurt?” Mom had taunted. “But did you suffer as much as your sister did? She was burned alive in that fire! She was only 19, and in the prime of her life!"

Dad was standing beside her, equally furious. "Scott, if you hadn’t insisted on going out to buy figurines, your sister wouldn’t have died. I wish it was you who had died back then!"

They both wished for my death, but could not kill me themselves. As such, they framed me and sent me to prison. In the two years I was there, they never visited me once. Now, I’m finally dead. I wonder if they will finally be happy now.

"What is this?"

The assistant took a half-burned safety charm from my palm. It was a safety charm I had carried with me since I was little. After being thrown into the fire earlier, I held onto it tightly, hoping to protect it. Still, it got burned.

Mom took a glance at it and then set it aside. "It must be something important to the deceased. It must be why the deceased held it so tightly in their palm.”

A cold chill ran through my soul. I could not believe Mom did not recognize the safety charm she had made for me with her own two hands.

Mom flipped my body over and began carefully examining my remains. My abdomen was free of burns, but fragments of my clothes clung to it. They were the clothes I had worn when I entered prison. I remember Mom had bought them for me.

She had told me then, "We’re cutting ties with you from now on. This is the last time I’ll buy you clothes." I was 19 years old then, and had just been accepted into a prestigious university. I had a bright future ahead of me, but they destroyed it.

Mom still did not recognize that the clothes were mine as she used tweezers to move the fragments aside. Then she examined me and reported, "The deceased was likely between 19 to 22 years old and male. It appears that he has previously undergone surgery on the skull, as there is a hole."

Mom and Dad had been the ones who gave me that hole. At that time, my sister had just passed away. I felt very guilty and wanted to look at a photo of her. I went into her room looking for a photo, but was discovered. Dad slapped me across the face. “You have no right to be here!”

Mom also hit me hard, and she even bit my arm. “You beast! How dare you taint my daughter’s room!”

“Mom! Dad! I just want to look at a photo of Selene!” I cried as I endured the pain.

Dad still would not let me in. He said that I killed Selene and that she did not want to see me.

I was missing her so badly the next day that I snuck into her room. I did not expect to see Mom in there, hugging her clothes and crying. She screeched, grabbed a baseball bat and hit me. Dad had rushed in to help her, ugly words leaving their mouths nonstop. They said I deserved to die, that I was an animal, and that I was worthless trash.

In the end, Dad got so mad that he hit my head with the bat. My skull cracked, the blow splitting the hard cranium.

Mom reported the conclusion of her autopsy to Dad and Captain Carter, who were standing at the door.

“This murderer is really cruel. Just like that, a young boy died,” Captain Carter said.

“Speck, this murderer targeted Selene and Scott before. I'm worried that he might go after the boy. You should let him know not to go out much for the time being.”

“It's better if he dies,” Mom said angrily.

“I actually hope he gets killed. Selene would be avenged then,” Dad said coldly, “He just called me. He'll be fine.”

‘But Dad, you don't know that was the last call I would ever make to you. You will never hear my voice again,’ I thought to myself.

It did not matter, however, as they hated me so much. They would probably rather not hear my voice anymore. I actually feel quite relieved that I was dead. Now that I was, I no longer had to be hated by them. I no longer had to live with the guilt of killing my sister. My life had been really tough over the last few years.

“Hey now, Scott was also a victim. Don't think like that.”

Captain Carter was the only one who comforted me back then. “Good boy, it’s not your fault, so don’t blame yourself,” he had said. His words kept me going for a long time. I thought I could live well and take care of Mom and Dad in place of my sister, but now I’m dead too.

‘Mom and Dad, from now on, you’ll only have each other to take care of,’ I thought.

“Captain Carter, Dr. Speck, these are the deceased’s belongings I found at the scene.” A police officer rushed over, holding a backpack. Inside it was a singular book. When I was struggling in prison, I would read this book. The protagonist of the story was also disliked by their parents and sent to a special training school.

Dad was the first to take the backpack. He opened the book and glanced through it. My handwriting was inside it.

[Mom and Dad, I miss you so much, can you forgive me?]

[Mom, I really want to eat the fried fish you made.]

[Mom and Dad, I can’t hold on much longer.]

Dad sighed, "It seems like the boy’s parents weren’t very good to him."

"Ah, which parent in the world doesn’t love their child? He must have misunderstood his parents,” replied Mom from one side.

Is that so? I really wanted to ask her if that was true. If it was, then why did they not love me? However, I could not ask them anymore, nor could I ever ask them again.

Captain Carter patted Dad on the shoulder. "Alright, you two should go back and rest. We’ll work on the case tomorrow. It’s too late for more today."

As my parents left, my soul was pulled along with them.

Seeing the house after two years felt surreal. When I was a child, Dad and Selene would play with toys in the living room with me. Mom would also make me delicious cakes. We were so happy back then, but now all of that was gone. Bitterness filled my heart.

Dad walked into my room and turned on the light. I noticed everything in my room was gone, replaced by a pile of miscellaneous items. Dad casually picked up a bottle of liquor and opened it.

I smiled bitterly. So they really did not want me anymore. Even my room was gone.

"Don’t drink too much. Selene would be heartbroken if she saw you from heaven,"

Mom reminded him.

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Mom turned to open the door. When she opened it, she saw Mrs. Zara from next door standing there, holding a cake. Her hair was gray, and she was smiling.

“Scott should be back now, yes? It’s his birthday today, so I made him a cake.”

At that moment, my eyes and nose were sore. I wanted to cry, but could not. I had forgotten that today was my own birthday, but Mrs. Zara remembered. The saddest part was that I had died on my birthday.

"Mrs. Zara, Scott has cut ties with us. Please don’t come looking for him anymore," Mom said coldly.

Zara looked dejected. "How could he cut ties with you? He was such a good boy…”

Before she could finish, Mom had already closed the door. As she walked away, she complained to Dad, "This is just unbelievable. I’ve heard that b*stard’s name several times today. Just hearing about him annoys me.”

Dad drank his liquor, his face filled with frustration. “It’s no different for me. I even got a call from him today, asking me to save him. He was putting on a show just to get us to pity him.”

At that time, one of my ears had already been cut off and I was pale-faced from the pain. The killer, dressed entirely in black, had yanked my hair and said, “The next part will be your tongue.”

I was filled with despair. While he went to sharpen his knife, I desperately took out my phone and called Dad for help. All he said was, "I don’t have a son like you anymore. Don’t contact me ever again!" before hanging up the call. That was when my nightmare began.

I was suddenly very curious. I wondered when Mom and Dad would find out that the body was mine? Would they cry when they did? Then again, I thought about how they had already cut ties with me. In that case, why would they feel sad because of me?