Chapter 1

At my younger sister Delilah Barnes' funeral, I moved numbly as I placed a bouquet of carnations on her casket.

When I stepped outside the funeral home for some fresh air, I overheard my girlfriend Avery Moore's voice.

Gone was the childish, muddled speech she had used for the past two years. Her tone was calm and nonchalant.

"Alright. I got it. Once I deal with the unpleasant business here, I'll come back to the office. Keep a close eye on the Southport project for me."

Hearing that, every drop of blood in my body seemed to freeze.

I didn't know what the person on the other end of the call said, but a faint, mocking smile tugged at Avery's lips as she lit a cigarette.

"His family was dirt poor, and he came with a needy little sister. If I hadn't pretended to be mentally disabled to test him, I'd never have known how far he'd go for me.

"Hmm… You're right, Jacob. That sister of his was annoying, always watching me like I was some kind of criminal. It's for the best that she's dead—one less burden.

"Now, he's completely alone and has nobody left to rely on except me. He'll be loyal and easy to control… The position of son-in-law to the Moore family is easily his."

My mind went blank. Bloody, tear-filled scenes from the past flashed before my eyes.

Three years into our relationship, Avery had been involved in a serious car accident. When she woke up, her mind seemed to have regressed to that of a three-year-old. She became emotional and unpredictable.

The Moore family had deemed her useless and cast her aside.

I was the one who brought her home to the rundown apartment Delilah and I rented together. I tirelessly took care of her, sacrificing my sleep until my eyes were bloodshot.

For two years, whenever something upset Avery, she smashed things or lashed out physically. The deep bite marks on my arm from one of her violent episodes were still visible. On rainy days, they ached.

And Delilah, who had just been accepted into a top university, put her future on hold to help me shoulder the burden. She withdrew from school without hesitation and worked three jobs.

Delilah had always been proud. Yet she endured rude customers while waiting tables. She spent long nights on factory assembly lines until her palms were covered in blisters. She did all that to afford Avery's expensive imported medications.

One winter night, with temperatures in the negatives, Avery suddenly demanded candied walnuts from a shop on the east side.

Delilah snatched the motorcycle keys from my hand and rushed out into the snowstorm. She crossed half the city and returned two hours later with candied walnuts, the skin on her hands and feet bleeding through her frostbite wounds.

As I applied medicine to her wounds, I clenched my jaw to keep my emotions from pouring out.

"Oli, it's okay. Avery is sick. We can't blame her."

And then, there was what happened by the river just days ago. Without warning, Avery had sprinted toward the water, wanting to catch a fish.

Delilah was terrified of water, and she couldn't swim. Yet, she still ran in without hesitation, desperate to keep Avery from getting hurt. Then, she slipped and disappeared into the deeper part of the river.

By the time I arrived, the only thing floating on the river's surface was Delilah's jacket.

The police later recovered security footage from a distance away. The images were blurry, but I could see Delilah struggling desperately to stay afloat after she fell into the water.

Meanwhile, Avery stood on the riverbank and watched quietly for several seconds. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, she turned around and wandered off to the nearby field, chasing butterflies.

I had believed that because of her mental disability, she simply didn't understand life and death anymore. Even in my grief, I couldn't bring myself to blame her.

But it had all been a lie.

Avery had deceived me. And because of that deception, Delilah had died for nothing.

It felt as though someone had ripped my heart out of my chest. The pain was so overwhelming that I could barely breathe.