On the day my body gets blasted into pieces, Amanda Stone, my wife and a police captain, is busy riding the merry-go-round with her childhood sweetheart, Mark Horton, and his son, Keith Horton.

Three days later, she finally remembers our son, Evan Johnson, and me.

"It's been three days! Is he still mad that I used him and Evan to exchange for Mark and Keith? He's even trying to get the entire police squad to play along with this fake disappearing act of his, huh?"

"Captain Stone, Caleb has died in the line of duty. Evan was also injur—"

"That's impossible! What I did was only a temporary measure. I set up three layers of defense. There was no way anything would've happened to Evan or him!"

Lara Chase, Amanda's colleague, turns away. She can no longer bear to look at Amanda.

"Mark did it. He lied about the situation and used your authorization to move everyone away. We've already identified the kidnappers. They're the remnants of MW Syndicate. This was all part of their attempt to get revenge against you.

"We also found out that, when you were trapped at the border three years ago, it was Caleb who led the rescue attempt and risked his life to bring you to safety, not Mark's deceased wife…"

"What kind of benefits did Caleb offer you to convince you to join him in lying to me?" Amanda Stone's icy voice filled the office, cold enough to make one's blood freeze.

Lara Chase stood across from her, her eyes red. She was so frantic that a vein in her neck strained as she cried out, "I'm not lying, Captain Stone! Caleb has really—"

"That's enough!"

Amanda jumped up from her chair and snatched the casualty report Lara had handed her. She tore it to shreds without even looking at it.

The scraps of paper fluttered in the air, like petals over a grave.

"Three years ago, I watched Caleb aim a gun at me," she said, pointing to her chest, where a scar from an old gunshot wound still showed. "I saw it with my own eyes! And it was clearly Rachel who came with the reinforcements. I saw the ID number on the bulletproof vest. There was no way it was Caleb!"

As my soul hovered in the air, taking in the look of conviction and contempt on her face, I chuckled in silence.

Rachel Owens was the deceased wife of Mark Horton, Amanda's childhood sweetheart. Amanda was also convinced that Rachel had saved her life.

As for her accusation that I'd shot her, it had been a huge misunderstanding. I'd made countless attempts to hold her hand and clarify the situation to her.

"Amanda, I didn't shoot a live bullet at you. It was just a tranquilizer bullet, and it was only to get you out of danger! In the urgency of the moment, I could only find Rachel's bulletproof vest in the tent. I had no choice but to put it on when mounting the rescue efforts to break into…"

But every time, Amanda simply eyed me with that look of utter disappointment, as if staring at a pathological liar.

Lara was still doing her best to explain the truth.

"Captain Stone, the tech department has already analyzed the footage. It was Caleb who saved you! The long hair was just part of his disguise—"

"Shut up!" Amanda snapped furiously to cut her off, her eyes filled with loathing. "Hasn't he done enough to seize the credit for the sacrifice that Mark's deceased wife made? Rachel's the one who died in the line of duty to save me!

"Thanks to his claims, Mark and Keith are constantly in pain whenever they think about how Rachel died. To this day, Mark is taking medication because of his grief! This is a human life we're talking about. He has no right to try to take credit for this!"

I couldn't help but frown at that. When I was still alive, I'd received an anonymously sent report. It clearly stated that Mark's heart medication was nothing but ordinary vitamins.

Did he actually suffer from a heart condition?

Lara was about to say something else when the office door opened quietly. Mark stood in the doorway, holding his son, Keith Horton. "Mandy…"

Keith looked up and called out sweetly, "The parent-teacher meeting is starting soon, Aunt Mandy. You need to come with us now! I want to tell all my classmates that my godmother is the best detective in the world!"

The fury immediately melted off Amanda's face. She bent down and stroked Keith's head, her voice filled with a tenderness I didn't know. "Okay. I'll come with you right away."

Seeing this, Lara steeled herself and said, "Evan is still in the hospital, Captain Stone! You're the only family he has left!"

Amanda stiffened.

Just two seconds later, Mark lowered his head defeatedly, looking very pitiful.

"If Caleb didn't want Mandy to attend Keith's parent-teacher meeting, he could've just said so. How could he make up such wretched lies about his own child?

"At worst, we'll just let the other classmates continue to mock Ketih for not having a mother in his life…"

Mark clutched his heart, as if it were giving him pain.

That was the final spark for Amanda's fury. She roared at Lara, "Tell Caleb that if he pulls another one of these dirty tricks, I'll divorce him! Look at the way he's behaving now!

"What happened to the guy who was once a distinguished graduate from the police academy? If he continues to throw a tantrum like this, he can get the hell out of my life!"

Without sparing Lara another glance, she took Keith's hand and supported Mark with her other hand before walking without hesitation.

I thought that since I was dead, I wouldn't feel much. But when I heard her mention the fact that I'd been a distinguished graduate of the police academy, I felt a little dazed still.

Many people had looked up to me back then. I had a bright future ahead of me.

But after falling in love with Amanda, I came to know of her ambition. I knew she didn't want to be bound to the house and forced to look after the family. To let Evan grow up in a loving home with at least one parent present, I volunteered to step back from my career.

I chose to support Amanda's career instead, and I even willingly gave her the credit I'd earned by risking my life. I watched her rise through the ranks, basking in the glory.

It was so foolish of me to lose myself for a woman like her.

At the kindergarten, Amanda proudly watched as Keith stood on the stage. Just then, she got a call from the hospital.

"Hello, is this Ms. Amanda Stone, mother of Evan Johnson? I'm calling to inform you that Evan is no longer in critical condition, but he needs his family to take care of him. Please come to the hospital immediately."

Frowning, Amanda dropped the call without saying a single word.

She didn't believe it. She didn't believe for a second that Evan had been hospitalized and that I was dead.

My heart burned with hatred as I watched her cold, indifferent face. I was so blind to think I had to sacrifice everything without reservation just because I loved someone.

I deserved to end up like this, but Evan was Amanda's son, too. How could she be this cruel toward him?

Amanda's phone rang again. This time, it was a call from Simon Thompson, a member of her team.

"Captain Stone," Simon said, his voice hoarse and solemn. "The medical examiner is… piecing together the last of Caleb's… scattered remains. His body will be cremated after this. Do you want to come over and see him one last time?"

Amanda snorted and replied mockingly, "If you're going to come up with a lie, can you at least make it sound more believable? He's just a desk jockey who hasn't set foot outside the police station for three years. He hasn't even cracked a single case worth mentioning.

"Even if he's dead, why would the medical examiner be brought in to deal with his body? He's not even worthy of that. And don't forget that he even tortures stray cats behind our backs. Scum like him would only be sullying the earth with his dead body!"

My soul shuddered.

Six months ago, I had caught Keith using a slingshot to blind a stray cat. He had even stomped on it. I stepped in to stop him, only to be shoved aside by Mark when he arrived. Mark then falsely accused me of abusing the cat.

Amanda didn't even bother investigating the matter. She blindly bought into Mark and Keith's claims, condemning me as guilty outright.

I even got an official reprimand at work because of that, and my chances of promotion had been completely destroyed.

Simon blew up after hearing what Amanda said.

"I won't let you disparage a fallen hero like that, Amanda! Caleb had already broken free from the kidnappers. He only ran back toward them with a grenade in his hand to save the child the kidnappers were using as a human shield! He died saving lives! How can you talk about him like that? Are you even human?"

Even so, Amanda didn't believe a single word he said. She yelled right back, "Have all of you lost your minds? How dare you try to jinx my husband and my child like that! I'm commanding you to return to the field support team at once! I don't want to see you on my team again!"

"Don't even bother transferring me. I'll submit the application to transfer out of your team myself. I don't want to work under a cold and ruthless monster like you either!" Simon roared before ending the call.

Amanda gripped her phone tightly, her chest heaving. For a moment, there was a flicker of panic in her eyes.

"Mandy, Keith accidentally cut his hand just now…"

Mark's voice rang out at that very moment. He was holding Keith in his arms. Although his expression seemed calm, his eyes held a helpless, pleading look.

"Is Caleb still upset? Maybe you should go back and try to coax him first. Keith and I are used to being ourselves. We'll be fine."

She took Keith into her arms and said urgently to Mark, "Come. I'll take you guys to the hospital!"

The anxious look on her face drew praise from the surrounding parents, who praised her for being a good mother.

Meanwhile, her biological son was lying alone on a hospital bed, his life still hanging in the balance.

When they got to the hospital, Amanda single-handedly dealt with everything from registering Keith to securing a doctor and settling the hospital fees.

I never got that sort of treatment from her whenever I needed to see a doctor at the hospital.

After the wound was treated, she carried Keith past the pediatric ward. A young boy came hopping past her, and his back reminded her of Evan's.

Amanda stopped in her tracks. Seeming to have thought of something, she passed Keith back to Mark.

"Take Keith home. I-I'm going to get Evan a birthday gift," she said before hurrying off.

So she remembered that it was Evan's birthday tomorrow, huh?

Amanda ran into Lara at the hospital entrance. Lara's eyes were completely swollen. She was startled to see Amanda, but soon, she gritted her teeth and said, "I guess you still have a heart after all. At least you came to see Evan. The doctor said that he would wake soon. You should check on him."

Amanda's face darkened, and she gave Lara a hard slap. "I'm warning you. You shouldn't cross the line with these practical jokes of yours!"

Then, she sidestepped the dumbfounded Lara and marched to the parking lot.

All I could do was scoff. Even now, she still thought that everyone else was lying to her.

Feeling exhausted myself, I drifted into the front passenger seat and followed her to the mall. She bought Evan a nice jacket and the latest Lego set. Then, she stopped by the cakery to buy Evan's favorite strawberry cake.

When Amanda arrived home, she found the house empty. She pulled out her phone and texted me.

"Stop kicking up a fuss, sweetheart. Now that I've used you and Evan to exchange for Mark and Keith, I've finally repaid Rachel for saving my life. It's Evan's birthday tomorrow. Let's give him a proper celebration, okay?"

In the past, my heart would've softened at the way she was giving in and compromising. After all, Evan was still so young. I didn't want him to be traumatized from growing up with parents who didn't get along with each other.

But now, I just wanted to grab a vase and crack her skull open with it. I wanted to see whether she had a functioning brain at all.

Alas, my hand drifted right through the vase, which seemed to be mocking me for how useless I was.

I felt a surge of helplessness and despair.

Why was I being bound to her even in death, unable to get any peace?

Somehow, some divine power seemed to have heard my ranting. At the very next moment, my soul drifted into Evan's room, as if it'd been yanked over by some invisible force.

Evan's tiny body lay on the hospital bed, his face as pale as a sheet. Suddenly, his eyelids fluttered slightly.

He was waking up! Evan, my precious son, was stirring!

I was so excited that I wanted to press the call button to summon a doctor, but my hand passed through the air again and again.

Just then, someone carefully opened the door. Mark entered, with Keith following right behind.

Mark walked up to the bed and looked down at the unconscious Evan. His usually pleasant expression was replaced with a look of pure malice.

"Why is it so hard to kill you, you little bastard? I had specifically instructed the kidnappers to kill you alongside your bastard of a father, but you ended up surviving. But it's fine. I'll just send you down to hell now so that you can keep your father company."

He pulled a syringe filled with an unknown liquid from his pocket and poked it into Evan's IV drip.