Chapter 3

Caroline stayed silent. Under the cold moonlight, I could clearly see the worry in her eyes.

"Don't be scared. I know you didn't mean to. Besides, this isn't entirely your fault. I should've been more careful, too. Ian, don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

As if she had finally made up her mind, she grabbed another bottle of sulfuric acid and poured it over my face in a deliberate circle.

The sheet fragments still stuck to my skin dissolved under the acid.

"No!" I screamed, trying to knock the bottle from her hands, demanding to know if she understood what she was doing.

Yet, no matter how hard I struggled, it was useless. As a wandering soul, I could only watch helplessly as she destroyed my body to protect Ian Lawson.

When Caroline was done, my corpse truly looked like the damage had happened before death, not after. Actually, if she had examined my body carefully, she would have discovered that the torture I endured before dying was just as bad as this.

Being splashed with acid was practically the simplest part.

After handling that, Caroline still did not feel it was enough. She checked the ID tag on my wrist. Then, she told Ian to write down the number and find the file that matched it.

As Caroline placed my hand back under the sheet, she caught a glimpse of it, and her eyes widened in shock. The wrist bone showed a deep rope burn, carved so harshly that bone was visible.

My fingers hung limp, all the nails were ripped out, and the fingertips were chewed short by countless maggots.

The ring finger was different, though. It had a band of paler skin, clearly from wearing a ring for years.

Caroline and I never had a wedding ceremony. After we got our marriage license, her attitude toward me had already turned cold. The only ring I wore all these years was my engagement ring.

Every time Caroline saw it on my finger, she lost her temper and called me pretentious, fake, and shameless. She never knew I only wore it to hold on to the one bond we still had. Sadly, the ring I treasured for a decade did not survive in the end.

The people who beat me unconscious took everything valuable from me—including that ring. Maybe the mark triggered something in Caroline, because she instinctively touched her own finger. But her hand was empty, since the only one who cared about preserving this marriage was me.

Caroline stared blankly as she rubbed her bare ring finger. Then out of nowhere, she lifted her head and asked Ian a question that had nothing to do with the moment.

"That time you said you saw Luther with another woman; When was that exactly?"

The moment she mentioned me, Ian thought she had found something wrong with the body, and sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

He said, "I think it was two weeks ago. Why, Carol? Why bring him up now?"

Caroline frowned like she was piecing something together. "I just feel like he wouldn't disappear for so long without a word, I-"

Then, she suddenly cut herself off. "Wait. Two weeks ago, my mom was sick, and Luther stayed by her side the entire time. How would he have time to meet anyone else? I need to ask him what really happened."

She pulled out her phone, ready to call me.

Ian nearly burst into tears from panic. "Carol, forget that right now! The important thing is we need to deal with this body first!"

He was still terrified that even melting my face would not be enough. He pushed Caroline, convinced her to help hide my body, and wanted her to make sure the truth stayed buried forever.

The dead could not speak, but in the hands of a forensic pathologist, a body absolutely could. So, he wanted to erase every last trace.