Chapter 1

"What kind of benefits did Caleb offer you to convince you to join him in lying to me?" Amanda Stone's icy voice filled the office, cold enough to make one's blood freeze.

Lara Chase stood across from her, her eyes red. She was so frantic that a vein in her neck strained as she cried out, "I'm not lying, Captain Stone! Caleb has really—"

"That's enough!"

Amanda jumped up from her chair and snatched the casualty report Lara had handed her. She tore it to shreds without even looking at it.

The scraps of paper fluttered in the air, like petals over a grave.

"Three years ago, I watched Caleb aim a gun at me," she said, pointing to her chest, where a scar from an old gunshot wound still showed. "I saw it with my own eyes! And it was clearly Rachel who came with the reinforcements. I saw the ID number on the bulletproof vest. There was no way it was Caleb!"

As my soul hovered in the air, taking in the look of conviction and contempt on her face, I chuckled in silence.

Rachel Owens was the deceased wife of Mark Horton, Amanda's childhood sweetheart. Amanda was also convinced that Rachel had saved her life.

As for her accusation that I'd shot her, it had been a huge misunderstanding. I'd made countless attempts to hold her hand and clarify the situation to her.

"Amanda, I didn't shoot a live bullet at you. It was just a tranquilizer bullet, and it was only to get you out of danger! In the urgency of the moment, I could only find Rachel's bulletproof vest in the tent. I had no choice but to put it on when mounting the rescue efforts to break into…"

But every time, Amanda simply eyed me with that look of utter disappointment, as if staring at a pathological liar.

Lara was still doing her best to explain the truth.

"Captain Stone, the tech department has already analyzed the footage. It was Caleb who saved you! The long hair was just part of his disguise—"

"Shut up!" Amanda snapped furiously to cut her off, her eyes filled with loathing. "Hasn't he done enough to seize the credit for the sacrifice that Mark's deceased wife made? Rachel's the one who died in the line of duty to save me!

"Thanks to his claims, Mark and Keith are constantly in pain whenever they think about how Rachel died. To this day, Mark is taking medication because of his grief! This is a human life we're talking about. He has no right to try to take credit for this!"

I couldn't help but frown at that. When I was still alive, I'd received an anonymously sent report. It clearly stated that Mark's heart medication was nothing but ordinary vitamins.

Did he actually suffer from a heart condition?

Lara was about to say something else when the office door opened quietly. Mark stood in the doorway, holding his son, Keith Horton. "Mandy…"

Keith looked up and called out sweetly, "The parent-teacher meeting is starting soon, Aunt Mandy. You need to come with us now! I want to tell all my classmates that my godmother is the best detective in the world!"

The fury immediately melted off Amanda's face. She bent down and stroked Keith's head, her voice filled with a tenderness I didn't know. "Okay. I'll come with you right away."

Seeing this, Lara steeled herself and said, "Evan is still in the hospital, Captain Stone! You're the only family he has left!"

Amanda stiffened.