Chapter 1

The line went quiet for a few seconds before I was transferred to the Major Crimes Unit.

Another officer picked up the phone and said, "Captain Marcus Jones from Major Crimes speaking. You said someone was murdered at an engagement party at the Gomez Estate? Who's the victim?"

My hand trembled as I held my phone. "Her name is Opal. Opal Lane. She's my...ex-girlfriend."

"How do you know she was murdered?" Marcus asked from the other side.

"The woman in the engagement party video," I said, staring at the frozen image on my screen as my throat tightened, "isn't her."

The line went silent for two seconds before Marcus asked, "Do you know what you're saying?"

"I do." I kept my eyes on the paused video. "Please, just investigate it."

Marcus did not waste any time and immediately dispatched officers.

Meanwhile, I hung up, grabbed my jacket, and rushed out of my apartment.

-

Twenty minutes later, the cab stopped outside the estate.

It stood in the most expensive neighborhood on Northside. Every residence here was detached and had its own gardens and courtyards. The front gate alone was wider than my entire apartment.

Several police cars were already parked outside, their red and blue lights cutting through the darkness.

I jumped out and rushed toward the manor house.

"Stop! Who are you?" Two officers blocked my path.

"I'm the one who made the report!" I cried.

It was at this time that an officer stepped out of the manor house. He was in his forties, with dark skin and sharp eyes. It was Captain Marcus.

He looked at me up and down. "You're Tommy Fletcher?"

"Where's Opal? Did you find her?" I asked nervously.

Marcus did not answer. He simply stepped aside, and the door opened as light spilled out.

There she was, standing in the doorway. She wore a white dress with her hair pinned up, holding the arm of a man in a dark blue suit.

It was Opal.

No…

That was not Opal.

I could not move my eyes from her face.

She glanced at me and said, "Tommy? What are you doing here?"

Her tone was flat, as if she were asking why a neighbor she barely knew was standing outside her house.

Marcus stepped forward. "Ms. Opal, do you know him?"

"I do." She nodded. "He's my ex."

There was no emotion on her face, nor was there any additional explanation. All she offered was those three words.

The man beside her frowned. "The engagement party just ended, and your ex-boyfriend is already making a scene at your door. What are people going to think of my family?"

Opal hurried to apologize. "I'm sorry. I'll deal with him right away."

Marcus turned to me, his expression darkening. "Mr. Fletcher, if you don't have a reasonable explanation, I'll have to treat this as a false police report. Do you understand the consequences?"

"She's not Opal." I could hear my own voice clearly.

"I'm not Opal?" She looked as if she had just heard a joke.

Then, her expression went cold. "Tommy, what kind of joke is this?"

More people began to gather and the estate's security guards; neighbors who were passing by and several people who had come outside in their pajamas to watch.

"Has he gone mad?"

"His former girlfriend got engaged and he can't accept it, I guess. If he can't have her, he wants to ruin her, I suppose."

"Calling the police and claiming she's dead? That's quite vicious."

People started raising their phones, and Dean's expression grew darker.

"We should call off the engagement. My family can't afford this kind of disgrace," Dean said before he turned around.

Opal grabbed his sleeve, her eyes red. "Dean, please don't do this. It's really over between us. I swear..."

She turned and glared at me, her voice raised. "Tommy! What exactly do you want?! We've already broken up! Clinging to me like this only makes me more disgusted with you!"

As I stared at that familiar yet strange face, I felt my heart clench so tightly that I could barely breathe.

The Opal I knew would never have spoken to me that way, no matter how angry she was.