3: 3

Once the exact address came through, the whole department kicked into motion.

Jason didn't go.

I drifted behind him, watching him drive Zoe home.

Every trace of me was already gone from the car.

The good-luck charm I'd given him had been swapped for a pink plush toy Zoe liked.

A sticker on the passenger seat read Zoe's spot.

I sat in the back, and the cold crept through me inch by inch.

In that moment, it finally sank in.

The Jason who used to see only me, want only me, had truly fallen in love with someone else.

The car turned onto the familiar road.

Police lights flashed not far ahead.

Jason's fingers tightened on the wheel without his noticing, and he suddenly spoke.

"Zoe, that day, did you really see your sister leaving the flower shop with Bryce Finch?"

Zoe looked at him, her eyes going red.

"What are you trying to say?"

"You think I'd lie to you about something like this? If you don't believe me, then go ahead and lock me up too!"

Jason panicked and apologized at once, low and quick.

Only after he'd coaxed her tears into a smile did he let out a breath.

I sat quietly in the back seat.

Watching him hand over every bit of the doting that had once been mine to someone else.

I blinked. No tears came.

The dead don't cry.

I couldn't leave Jason, so I was dragged along behind him, into the house.

Tomorrow was the day Jason and Zoe would marry.

The rooms were covered in red wedding characters.

The bright red stung my eyes.

Just one day ago, he'd said marrying me was the happiest thing in his life.

Jason sat on the couch, staring blankly at the pencil smudges left on his hand from the profiling.

Then his phone screen lit up.

I drifted over and saw him open the chat with the captain.

The captain had sent photos of skeletal remains.

Beside the bones lay a plain ring.

【Only part of it has been dug up. We can't identify the victim yet.】

【Once your wedding leave is over, we may need you to draw the victim's portrait.】

【There's s.z.q engraved inside the band.】

That was our wedding ring.

He'd engraved those letters himself.

When he slid the ring onto my finger, his whole body had been shaking.

The chat kept showing "typing."

A minute later, the message finally came.

【Jace... is Lucia Simmons really all right?】

Jason's body snapped taut.

He opened those photos again and zoomed in.

Standing beside him, I felt a faint hope rise in my chest.

Jason was hailed as a profiling genius the field saw maybe once in a century.

He'd once pinned down a suspect from nothing but a passerby's vague, fumbling description.

And he and I had lived side by side for twenty-five years.

Surely he'd recognize me.

Jason jerked his call log open.

His finger hovered over my number for a long time, his hand trembling and refusing to stop.

He drew in a deep breath, took a screenshot of the call log, and sent it to the captain.

The other end went silent for a long while, and in the end only replied: Got it.

I couldn't hold it back anymore.

I crouched on the floor and sobbed.

Why won't you believe me?

Why won't you come looking for me?

A phone call cut through my crying.

It was my brother.

"Is that jade bracelet Lucia left still around?" His tone was warm, indulgent. "It was my mom's. Zoe's wanted it for ages. Let's surprise her with it at the wedding tomorrow."

Jason agreed with a nod.

After the call ended, he pulled open the bottom drawer.

Inside sat the jade bracelet my mother had left me.

And a man's wedding ring.

"No, Jason, you can't give that bracelet to Zoe." I crouched beside him, uselessly trying to push the drawer shut.

But I couldn't touch it.

I could only watch as Jason lifted the bracelet out and wrapped it up with care.

The man's wedding ring beside it, he tossed carelessly into the trash.

I raised my hand and stared, dazed, as the wedding ring on it faded and dissolved, bit by bit.

Another piece of my existence, wiped away.

Jason went into the bedroom.

Tomorrow's groom's suit was pressed flat and neat.

Before washing up, he checked himself in the mirror again and again like a nervous kid, his face full of anticipation and nerves.

I'd seen him like this many times.

The day he first confessed to me.

The day he became a profiler and proposed to me.

The day of our wedding.

But this was the first time I'd ever seen him look this way for someone else.

4: 4

Early the next morning, Jason came for the bride with his groomsmen and drove to the Simmons house.

It was her brother who gave her away.

His eyes were faintly red, and reluctance was written all over his face as he placed Zoe's hand in Jason's.

"Jason, she's the only sister I have. If you ever dare hurt her, I will never forgive you."

Jason swore in a low voice:

"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, I will never let Zoe be hurt."

With that, he drew the jade bracelet from inside his coat and slid it gently onto Zoe's wrist.

When her brother saw the bracelet, he froze.

He glanced at Zoe, who was still saying goodbye to their father, then pulled Jason aside and lowered his voice.

"Did you find Lucia? She called me yesterday saying she was in some cold storage, and she even made up a story about a killer chasing her."

Disgust filled his face.

"A woman that vicious, even if she got killed, the murderer would only be doing the world a favor."

I stayed silent.

I had heard that kind of contempt countless times.

But this time was different.

The Jason who once would never let anyone say a single bad word about me said nothing.

Zoe came over, holding up the hem of her gown.

When her brother saw her, he swallowed his anger and smiled, adjusting the veil that had gone slightly crooked.

Looking at the exquisite, lavish gown on Zoe's body, I went still.

The memories came rushing back like a tide.

The night before my own wedding, the gown my mother had designed for me suddenly vanished.

I was so frantic I cried.

My brother leaned against the doorway and tossed me an old, yellowed gown, saying carelessly:

"Zoe liked that dress, so I gave it to her."

"You're the older sister. Don't be so petty about every little thing."

I clutched that shabby gown and said stubbornly:

"My mother made that for me. Zoe's an illegitimate daughter. She doesn't deserve it."

My defiance enraged my brother, and he locked me inside the room.

It wasn't until the next day that Jason kicked the door open and pulled me out.

And so I walked through my wedding in a gown that didn't fit.

And my brother never showed his face, from beginning to end.

Outside, the officiant began urging them along.

Jason helped Zoe into the car with the utmost care.

I drifted behind him, following the car to the wedding venue.

The car stopped.

Jason led her carefully to the center of the ceremony platform.

The screen behind them began to play their photos.

The pictures flashed by one after another.

The first year after my death, Jason buried himself in work to hold down the grief, waking at midnight to sob over my photo.

The second year, Zoe appeared at his side more and more.

The third year, Jason packed all my things away and proposed to Zoe.

The way he looked at Zoe grew brighter and brighter.

No one cared where I had gone.

My lover and my family had long since forgotten I ever existed.

The photos kept playing.

Jason turned his head toward Zoe beside him, his tone apologetic:

"I'm sorry, Zoe. I believed Lucia's words too much back then, so I was prejudiced against you."

"But thank God, after everything, you're still here beside me."

Zoe paused, then smiled at Jason.

Just as she was about to speak, a wave of startled cries broke out among the guests.

On instinct, Zoe followed everyone's gaze to the screen.

On the screen was the evidence of her mother driving the first wife to her death, along with the evidence of how Zoe had mistreated me at every turn.

One glance, and her face went white, her eyes reddening at once.

She clutched her chest and collapsed into Jason's arms.

"Jace, I know my sister didn't want me to marry you. But she was the one who abandoned you first…"

Her brother rushed onto the platform and yanked the screen's cord loose.

Jason held Zoe, his face dark.

"Lucia." He ground out my name through his teeth. "You'd better hope I don't catch you, or I swear I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life."

I watched him rage.

And suddenly it struck me as funny.

The Jason who always insisted on evidence had just convicted me on a single sentence from Zoe.

A pity. He couldn't catch me now.

Lucia had died three years ago.

The wedding venue was ringed layer by layer with her brother's men and Jason's.

Every inch of the platform was searched carefully, and not a trace of me was found.

When his assistant came to report, Jason tugged impatiently at his tie.

"She hates Zoe that much. She's the only one who'd do this to ruin her."

"Since she won't come out and apologize, then we force her to show herself."

"Put out the word that Lucia's mother was the mistress in that marriage, and drag Mrs. Simmons's grave out of the cemetery."

No.

My mother was dead. I couldn't let her be denied rest even in death.

I threw myself at Jason like a madwoman, begging.

"Jason, I didn't do this. I'm dead, I'm really dead. Please, don't do this."

But he couldn't hear me.

I hovered in midair, staring blankly at the video his assistant had sent.

My mother's urn had been tossed carelessly to one side, filth smeared all over it.

People stood around pointing, and the sound of their spitting curses never stopped.

I covered my ears, not wanting to hear.

But the voices bored straight into my head.

I curled up in a corner, my whole heart aching until it trembled.

A sharp phone ringtone burst out.

Jason answered without even looking.

"Lucia, if you know you were wrong, then hurry up and apologize to Zoe, otherwise—"

Before he could finish, the captain cut him off.

There was a faint, barely perceptible urgency in his voice.

"Jason, it's me."

"The DNA results on that female body came back."

"It's Lucia. Estimated time of death, roughly three years ago…"