Chapter 1

There was an uproar with curses filling the air. A woman in a police uniform looked pale as she roared into her walkie-talkie, "Find out right now who altered the memory source!"

The woman speaking was my financée, Kyra Schneider.

"Don't be mad, Kyra. My big brother… He… You know how good he is at pretending and manipulating others." Sean Jacobs, my adopted younger brother, walked up right away to hold Kyra by the arms, looking worried and in pain. "He betrayed you and caused the death of so many of our colleagues. A man like that isn't worth you getting mad over."

Kyra's body stiffened slightly at his words, and the look in her eyes turned even colder. She held Sean's hand and said hoarsely with determination. "I won't let him get to me, Sean. I won't be shaken by him anymore. You're the person I trust and the man I love. The only man worth standing by my side is you."

My soul quivered at her words while floating midair. That was when memories came flooding into my mind, almost causing the remaining fragment of my soul to be torn apart.

Kyra and I were a legendary pair back in the police academy. We swore to serve our country under the flag and promised to have each other's backs for better or for worse. She used to celebrate with me whenever I cracked a major case, knit a scarf for me, even though she was clumsy at it and hurt her fingers in the process, and came to the hospital to see me in the storm with warm soup, smiling brightly at me while drenched, saying chidingly, "Julian Colt, hurt yourself again and I'll handcuff you to my side for the rest of your life."

It never occurred to me that she would end up falling in love with Sean after my death.

My dead heart tightened with intense pain inside of me, and my soul was almost destroyed.

Sean was adopted from the orphanage by my parents, and he was the brother that I had single-handedly brought up. I gave him the best of everything in life, teaching him to fight and introducing him to the job. I never would have thought that he would…

My memories were interrupted by a new bout of vulgar cursing in the square.

"Julian Colt is a son-of-a-b*tch! How can he be so different from Sean Jacobs when they grew up in the same family?!"

"Lieutenant Jacobs is a kind man who donates to charity annually. What about Julian Colt?"

"He's just the lover of Eva Waller, the brains behind the organization, and he helped that witch hurt others!"

A technician drenched in sweat came running over amidst the cussing crowd, and he stood in salute. "Reporting to Captain Schneider! We have conducted a thorough investigation of the memory source and there are no signs of it being altered!"

The technician paused before continuing, "According to brainwave theory, the retrieved memories are from the host's deepest and unforgettable recollections…"

Before he could finish, the giant screen started to vibrate violently with a sharp screech of the electrical current, and an indescribable pain pierced my soul!

It felt like numerous steel needles were stabbing deep inside me and stirring madly within. I curled up into a ball from the pain but could not make a sound.

When the pain finally ended, the screeching from the electrical current stopped, and the vibrating screen finally became still. The noisy square suddenly turned silent and ,through my blurry vision, I could see a tense Kyra suddenly take an agitated step forward.

For the first time, her eyes, which were filled with hate, looked emotional with disbelief. Her eyes were red as the bloody red word of 'Innocent' vanished gradually and was replaced by a dim image with lightning flashing.

The image displayed a raging storm with two skinny children of about seven or eight, hugging each other tightly in a muddy corner of an alley.