Chapter 4

I slowly moved closer to Logan. He seemed to sense my presence, and his voice suddenly sharpened.

"What's the point of sneaking around and following me? Come out and face me!"

"I'm right in front of you."

With a sigh, I circled him, hoping for some sign that he could see me. When nothing happened, I gave up and settled beside him.

His eyes swept the lobby, searching every corner with the sharp intensity of a detective.

"Mr. Grant! We've found a lead on Ms. Shaw!"

His assistant, Nathan Wells, came hurrying out of the stairwell and thrust a phone toward him.

"Our people found a flight booked under Ms. Shaw's name from Grayport to Alderhaven. It's scheduled to land in half an hour."

"Get the car. We're going to the airport."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You're not seriously going all the way to the airport just to beat my corpse, are you? I've been dead for three years! There's nothing left of me but bones!"

Apparently, I'd underestimated just how much Logan hated me and how much he loved Yvonne.

The airport wasn't far, so half an hour was more than enough time to get there. Even I was curious to see who this supposed "Xena Shaw" might be.

As we waited at the airport, Nathan followed a few steps behind Logan, looking as though he had something to say. After working up his courage for some time, he finally spoke.

"Mr. Grant, should we get some flowers?"

Logan shot him an icy glare, and Nathan immediately shut his mouth. A few moments later, however, he couldn't help mumbling, "You always used to bring Ms. Shaw flowers whenever you picked her up..."

"She doesn't deserve them."

Nathan hesitated before trying again. "Mr. Grant, knowing Ms. Shaw, I really can't imagine her deliberately hurting anyone. And she disappeared right after she pushed Ms. Stone from upstairs. No one's heard anything from her in three years. Unless she's dead..."

He stole a cautious glance at Logan, but Logan's expression remained perfectly composed as he watched the handful of passengers emerging from the arrivals gate.

"If she's hiding, I have plenty of ways to force her out."

Minutes passed, then more, but there was no sign of "me" among the arriving passengers.

Eventually, Logan ran out of patience and headed back to the car.

"Is the video we had Robert Shaw record ready?"

I froze for a moment before hurrying after him.

"Mr. Grant..." Nathan sounded hesitant. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Settling into the back seat, Logan leaned back with an arrogant expression.

"Let's see how much longer she can hold out."

Whatever was in that video, I knew it couldn't be good. Was he planning to send it to me?

Helen had deleted all my social media accounts after I died, though. Even if Logan wanted to use the video to force me out of hiding, he had no way of contacting me.

The thought brought me a little relief.

Unfortunately, I had once again underestimated how far Logan was willing to go.

The following day, a loud crash near the front door jolted me awake around noon.

I opened my eyes to find Logan, still in his pajamas, heading toward the entrance. By the time I reached the doorway, two bodyguards had Helen pinned to the floor.

Her eyes were bloodshot as she screamed at Logan.

"What gives you the right to do this to Robert?"

Logan calmly took a seat on the couch, looking completely unbothered by her distress.

"Helen, all I've done is give your daughter a taste of what she did back then."

Confused, I hovered above them until something outside caught my attention.

Logan's apartment was in the most prestigious part of Alderhaven, with a sweeping view of the entire city. From here, I could see the enormous digital billboards on the shopping malls below.

Every one of them was playing the same video.

It showed Robert sitting in prison, giving a confession.

"The murder three years ago... I couldn't compete with the Stone Group, and that's what made me come up with the idea."

A police officer's cold voice came from somewhere off-camera.

"Be specific. What idea?"

Robert clenched his fists. His lips were purple as he struggled to force out the words.

"To rape Yvonne Stone and..."

I stopped hearing anything after he said those words.

Logan, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying himself. He even turned on the television, where a news report about my father was airing.

"Don't worry, Helen. I'll make sure Mr. Shaw is well taken care of for the next twenty years."

He leaned comfortably against the couch, a faint smile playing on his lips. The sight of it made me hate him even more.

Logan, how could you?

Robert had never been in good health. How was he supposed to survive twenty years in a place like that?

At that moment, I hated myself more than anything.

Why?

Why did I have to be the one who died?