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?

Early the next morning, Mom and Dad were preparing to drive to the police station when a girl stopped them. I recognized her immediately. It was Nina Travers, my former high school classmate. We had made a pact to apply to the same university and start a relationship. Instead, I was sent to prison by my parents.

"Mr. Speck, Mrs. Speck, do you know where Scott has gone? Can you tell me?” she asked, her eyes were a bit red.

Judging from her words, she must have been searching for me for a long time. I really felt for her, but I could not make it up to her anymore.

Mom got out of the car. "Young woman, you’re so pretty, so why do you keep thinking about that terrible person? There are better men in this world. He’s not right for you."

"No, he’s not a terrible person. He’s my boyfriend," Nina said stubbornly.

My heart was full of emotion. I did not expect her to still remember our promise.

"Alright, alright, hurry up. We still have to investigate the case today,” Dad urged. With that, Mom said, “Don’t look for him anymore," and then they both walked away, my soul dragged along with them. It appeared that I was bound to them.

Before leaving, I looked at Nina, whose eyes were red. "Scott, I will definitely find you," she muttered.

At the police station, Mom was preparing to identify me using a DNA test. Dad and Captain Carter had gone back to the scene. They searched the place for a long time, but did not find any useful clues. They could only return fruitless. The DNA test report would be ready in a few minutes anyway.

Mom and Dad waited patiently at the door. "We'll soon know who the deceased is. With that, we can infer the murderer’s motive," Mom said with a sparkle in her eyes.

Dad, however, opened his phone and glanced at it. I noticed that he had sent me a text message. [Go find a job and don’t come back looking for us. We don’t want you anymore.]

I did not expect him to still be thinking of me, but what I wanted to say was that I could no longer return.

At that moment, Mom’s phone suddenly rang. It was a call from my sister, who had been dead for five years.

Mom covered her mouth excitedly and quickly answered the call.

"Mom, it’s Selene, I’m back."

"Y-You... where are you?" Mom’s voice was filled with emotion.

"Selene? Is it really you?" Dad asked hurriedly.

"Yes, it’s really me. I’m home. Hurry back, I miss you both."

When Mom and Dad rushed back home, they found my sister sitting on the sofa, next to a young man.

Mom and Dad were both so emotional at the sight that they cried.

"My Selene, it’s really you! You’re not dead." Mom rushed over and hugged her. Dad also went over, holding her hand and carefully inspecting her, his face covered in tears.

“Selene, where have you been all these years? We thought you were dead."

"I didn’t die. I managed to escape back then, and this boy saved me,” Selene said and held the man’s hand.

"His name is Faris, and he’s my boyfriend."

"Thank you so much, thank you."

This was the first time I saw Dad being so emotional. Mom just held Selene and cried, repeatedly telling her how much she had missed her over the years. "Then why didn’t you come back all these years?" Dad then asked.

Selene lowered her head. "I didn’t dare come back because I was still in college. I knew you wouldn’t approve of me having a boyfriend, so..."

I froze, my body stiff and my heart full of grievance and sadness. Because of her fear, I went through five years of torture. After she died, I was beaten and scolded by our parents. My skull was cracked open, I ate food meant for dogs, and I suffered at the construction site. None of this eased their hatred, they even sent me to prison. I was cut off from the outside world. I had to work every day, and was bullied by those inside the prison. My future was ruined, and now my life was gone.

Here, I was learning now that my sister had been pursuing her love. It was why she did not come back.

I had been in excruciating pain. Selene… why was she so selfish? Did she know how much I had suffered these past five years?