Chapter 1

When Vera knocked on the door, my brother was having dinner with Mia Shaw.

It was pouring outside. With time running out, Vera hadn’t had a chance to go home for an umbrella.

She was soaked to the bone.

The villa was brightly lit, and a housekeeper soon opened the door.

Vera had barely stepped inside when Mia frowned at her.

“Stop right there! You’re dripping all over the floor. Who said you could come in?”

Vera couldn’t be bothered arguing with her. She walked straight to my brother and slapped my death certificate onto the table.

“Julie is really dead! You’re her brother. Are you going to do something or not?”

Ethan Cole set down his silverware. Then he pulled out a napkin and slowly wiped his hands without even looking at Vera.

“I know you two are after money. Tell Julie to come home and apologize to Mia.

“Once she does, I’ll give you whatever amount you want.”

Vera’s face darkened with rage. She snatched up the certificate and held it in front of him.

“How many times do I have to tell you? She’s dead! How is a dead woman supposed to apologize?

“This is her death certificate. You might not believe me, but are you seriously going to call this fake too?”

Ethan narrowed his eyes, about to respond.

Mia suddenly rushed over, grabbed the certificate, and tore it to pieces.

“Why would anyone believe this?”

“You’re Julie’s best friend. Ethan would never take your word for it!”

Vera stared at the scraps of paper scattered across the floor, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Ethan immediately sided with Mia.

“She’s right. Mia is my only sister. Julie and I cut ties years ago.

“If Julie still refuses to apologize, then leave.”

Floating above them, I gave the same bitter smile as Vera.

Five years had passed, yet my brother was still obsessed with getting that apology.

Vera’s eyes reddened.

She gritted her teeth.

“How could Julie ever have ended up with a brother like you?”

She turned to leave.

But when she reached the door, she remembered what I’d told her five years ago and stopped.

Holding back tears, she said hoarsely, “Julie’s last wish was to be laid to rest in the family plot.

“Her ashes are at the funeral home on Riverdale Road. If no family member signs the paperwork within three days, they’ll dispose of them.

“What you do now is up to you, Ethan.”

After leaving the villa, Vera crouched by the side of the road and burst into tears.

I drifted down and sat beside her as she covered her face and apologized over and over.

“Julie, I’m sorry. I tried. I really did.”

“I know.”

I answered even though she couldn’t hear me, then gently wrapped my arms around her.

She’d suffered so much for me over the past five years.

Back then, Ethan and I had gotten into a terrible fight over Mia.

Vera had taken me in and let me stay at her place for as long as I needed.

Unfortunately, I died not long afterward.

By the time they pulled my body from the river, I’d been in the water for a week. I was barely recognizable.

Vera had cried just as hard that day.

“Julie, I’m sorry. I thought you’d gone home. That’s why I didn’t try to reach you sooner.

“How did this happen? How could this have happened?”

A police officer frowned.

“Does she have any family? The medical examiner found evidence that she was sexually assaulted before her death. We suspect she was murdered.”

Vera looked up in shock, her face turning deathly pale.

She fumbled for her phone.

“Yes. She has a brother. I’ll call him!”

She called Ethan, but he never answered.