It was getting harder for me to keep my eyes open. The fragile skin on my lips cracked and split, peeling apart with every breath. Without even realizing it, I licked the blood that had seeped from my lips.

I was so thirsty, so hot, and in so much pain.

As my consciousness faded in and out, I suddenly heard Dad's voice. "You must live on, Chester! Do not give up on yourself, Chester! I'm begging you, stay alive!"

My eyes snapped open as if it were no longer a task. Greedily, I gasped for air.

Dad was right. I couldn't give up on myself yet. I had worked hard and studied religiously for three years. Wasn't it all for tomorrow's SAT? Getting into Sage University was both my and Dad's dream.

Gathering strength I didn't know I had, I forced myself back up and pounded on the door. "Mom, can you please… Let me out first? If you do, I'll… take you to Dad."

I desperately held back the tremble in my voice, trying to make myself sound as gentle as possible. Mom seemed satisfied with my attitude. Her expression softened, and she waved at the bodyguard.

"Open the—"

Before she could finish speaking, Joe suddenly grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Winona, don't make the kid go through all that at this hour. He has the SAT tomorrow. The trip there and back will take several hours.

"Why don't we let him get some proper sleep in there first?"

It wasn't until his "reminder" that Mom suddenly remembered. She immediately told the bodyguard to step away. "Joe is right, Chester.

"Get a good sleep. Tomorrow morning, I'll have the bodyguard wake you up. We'll find your father first, then send you to your exam."

After arranging everything, she left with Joe.

No matter how much I cried and begged for help, no one answered. I kept pounding on the door regardless, with only one thought in my mind.

I had to live.

I didn't know how long had passed, but someone finally responded from the outside. "Quiet!"

Oh. It was the bodyguard Mom left behind. He had gotten annoyed with listening to me and shouted at me. Then, suddenly, I heard the sound of a lock turning from outside the door.

Hope lit up my heart, yet that tiny flicker of faith burned out in the very next moment.

The bodyguard rushed in and wrapped tape around my mouth, then tied up my hands. Then he closed the door impatiently. "Go to sleep when you're told to. She's your mother. Do you really think she'd hurt you? Now, zip it!"

I sobbed, but no sound came out. The dark, scorching room held nothing but despair. The blisters on my body burst one after another. In the silence of the night, each tiny pop sounded painfully clear.

Suddenly, my phone rang. I struggled with my bound hands and used everything I had to grab the phone and answer it.

It was my godfather, Dad's best friend, Larry Brown. The moment I found out something had happened to Dad, I called him for help.

"Chester, I've already had your father cremated. I have his ashes with me. I'll give them to you now. Where are you? Hello? Chester, are you listening?"

The more he asked, the more anxious he sounded.

I forced myself to speak, though my mouth was wrapped with tape. "Mom locked me… in the sauna room. I can't… hold on much… longer."

Larry let out a horrified cry. He started cursing Mom nonstop, then repeatedly shouted my name to keep me awake.

I tried my best to nod, but the ringing in my ears was overwhelming. As my consciousness slowly faded, I felt like I saw Dad coming to take me away.

A pair of hands pulled me out of a space. I spun around and realized that my body no longer hurt. There were no wounds on me, either.

Then, I realized I was in Larry's car. The sauna room from before must've been just a nightmare!

He was driving at a terrifying speed, staring straight ahead, tears running endlessly down his face. I knew he was crying because of Dad.

"Larry…"

I reached out and tried to wipe away his tears, but my hand passed right through his face. I stared blankly at my transparent body, and only then did I realize I was dead.

By the time I came back to my senses, we had already arrived outside the Stone residence.

Larry kicked the door open and roared like a ferocious beast, "Come on out, Winona Stone! Where did you hide Chester? That kid's barely holding on! Release him right now!"

His voice trembled as he recalled how weak I sounded on the phone. He couldn't imagine what was happening to me.

Meanwhile, Mom casually walked out of the room. A few buttons of her pajamas were fastened incorrectly.

"Larry? Did Chester tell you to come here? I told him I'll let him out tomorrow morning after a good night's sleep. It's just a little quieter there. Why is he being so dramatic like his father?"

Larry closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. "The sauna room is over 160 degrees. This isn't a joke! You've already got Andrew killed in prison. If you have any humanity left, don't let your son become your next victim!"

The villa fell into a dead silence.

Mom froze in place. After a long while, she said with a cold smile, "He knew Chester couldn't fool me alone, so he told you to come here, too. Well, isn't it only a few years in prison? Must he act so dramatically?

"Besides, he'll still be my husband after he gets out."

As she spoke, her eyes landed on the urn in Larry's arms. She sneered. "Your lies didn't fool me. So, what now? Are you going to tell me these are his ashes?"

Larry stared at Mom, so livid that he almost laughed. He was about to shout at her when Joe came out of the room and screamed, "Winona!"

He covered his head and hid behind her like a frightened kitten, trembling as he pointed at Dad's urn. "That thing he's holding—it must be some voodoo thing! I can't look at it! It's giving me the chills!

"Is Andrew doing this to get back at me?"

He looked so petrified that anyone would feel sorry for him. Mom immediately frowned with concern. She turned to the bodyguards and instructed, "Discard that urn!"

I panicked. Floating in the air, I instinctively wrapped my transparent body around Dad's ashes.

Larry looked at Mom in disbelief. His voice nearly tore apart as he shouted, "These are actually Andrew's ashes!"

He hugged the urn even tighter, protecting it with everything he had. The bodyguards rushed over, but he knocked them down one by one.

Behind Mom, Joe trembled in fear. Seeing him like that, she lost her patience.

She walked forward with a dark expression and snarled, "I really underestimated Andrew, didn't I? Not only did he send you two here to deceive me and make me feel sorry for him, but he also tried to terrorize Joe with that thing.

"Well, guess what? I won't let him have his way!"

With that, she gestured for the bodyguards to restrain Larry. Then, she snatched the urn away herself.

I spun frantically in the air, trying to reach out and grab the urn from her hands, yet everything I did was futile. I couldn't touch anything.

Mom walked away and stopped before a faucet. With a tilt of the urn, she did the unthinkable and washed Dad's ashes down the drain.

I stared at the rushing water, frozen in place. They were gone. Dad was gone. She didn't leave a single trace of him.

I knew I didn't have a heart anymore, but why did my chest still ache so much?

Rage filled Larry's eyes. Even as the bodyguards held him back, he struggled against them, swinging his fists and kicking at empty air. He was losing his mind—for a good reason.

"You're a monster, Winona! You screwed Andrew over, and now, you won't even let him rest in peace!"

Mom calmly wiped the water from her hands, her voice cold. "Enough with the death talk and whatnot. I didn't believe it before, and I definitely won't believe it now. Go on and tell Andrew. No matter what, he has to take the blame for Joe again.

"If he keeps making a scene, I'll forbid him from seeing Chester for the rest of his life."

Larry's eyes widened in shock. Everything had happened so quickly that he had forgotten he needed to save me. He knew someone as crazy as Winona wouldn't tell him where I was.

After failing to protect Dad's ashes, he realized I was the last thing Dad had left in this world. So, he practically crawled out of the villa and immediately drove off, searching the entire city for me.

Finally, after bringing in more people on the search, they located the sauna room just as dawn was breaking. Stumbling like a man who had lost his soul, Larry fell to his knees before the iron door.

Picking up a stone, he slammed it against the lock relentlessly. "Chester! Chester, can you hear me? Give me a sign, okay? Please!"

I floated in the air, softly responding to Larry, but he couldn't hear me. He cried until his shoulders shook.

Just when he was about to break down in despair, he saw Mom driving over. There was still a trace of grogginess in her eyes. When she saw him, she was startled at first. "You actually tracked him down."

Larry couldn't care less. He turned toward her and screamed, "Open the damn door now! Chester's dying inside!"

His hands never stopped trying to break the lock.

Mom clicked her tongue in annoyance. She glanced at her watch, then strode forward and grabbed Larry by the collar before slamming him to the ground.

"Quiet! It's not the time yet!" she hissed. "What are you doing, waking him so early? Are you trying to mess up his SAT performance later? Let him sleep a little longer!"

Larry was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what he had heard.

"The heat coming from the inside is unbearable, even from the outside," he said, pointing at the sauna room. "You locked him in there and called it letting him sleep? Open the damn door now!"

Mom laughed out of anger. "This sauna room belongs to me. The heating system is broken. Do you really think I wouldn't know what temperature it is? I'm his mother. How could I ever actually hurt him?

"Unlike Andrew, I'm not full of lies, and I'm not crazy enough to do anything just to get what I want."

Larry didn't have the luxury of arguing with her. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and enunciated, "Open… the door!"

She looked at the murderous look in his eyes, licked her lips, and nodded with a knowing smile. "Fine. If Chester messes up his SAT, you'll take full responsibility!"

With that, she waved at the bodyguards behind her, signaling them to open the door.

Just then, a call came from the prison.

"Hello, is this Andrew Miller's wife? We've been trying to reach you. With your husband's tragic death, we require a family member to come forward and sign another confirmation document acknowledging the situation."

At the same time, the sauna room door creaked open.