All Chapters of A Farewell Gift of Death: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

I died a painful death on my own birthday, and no one in my family even realized it. They blamed me for missing Esme's big birthday celebration, not realizing I was there the whole time—just not in the way they'd thought. I was there as nothing more than a soul....That evening, my family came home with their arms full of shopping bags. Everyone carried something except Esme, who happily licked an ice cream cone.She was their little princess and was spoiled to the point where they wouldn't let her lift a finger.They started decorating the house, and Edwin called out to me. I was upstairs. "Claudia, come down and help. Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you get to slack off."On any other day, I would have hurried down to join him. But now, I only hovered beside him, watching with a cold, detached gaze.When I didn't answer, he dialed my phone—only to find that no one answered.Just then, Esme strolled over, snatched the phone from his hand, and cooed sweetly, "Edwin

Mom, Dad, and Edwin rushed over, only to find Esme collapsed on the floor. She was sobbing uncontrollably, scraps of shredded paper clenched in her hands."I-Isn't this the collection you were supposed to unveil tonight? How could it be destroyed? Who did this?" Mom immediately crouched down to help Esme up, her eyes full of concern.Esme gasped through her tears. "I knew these designs were important, so I was extra careful. I even locked them up in the cabinet Claudia and I shared before I left…"At that, a sharp laugh escaped me. With just a single sentence, she had pointed the finger clearly enough.Dad slammed his fist against the door and roared, "Claudia has gone too far! No wonder she hasn't come home. She must have done this out of spite. When she shows her face, I'll break her legs myself!"Chaos erupted upstairs. Edwin only sighed, sounding weary. "Enough. What matters now is figuring out how to salvage this. Many influential guests came tonight expecting to see Esme's n

Edwin's legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees.Dad's eyes widened as he stammered, "C-Claudia! Stop this nonsense! How could you pretend to be dead on a day like this?"He strode forward and kicked me hard, twice. "Get up!"But I couldn't move. Dad crouched down impatiently, eyeing the blood on my face. Then, he let out a cold, mocking laugh. "So, this is where the ketchup went? How dare you waste it just to put on a show!"He reached out to wipe it off, but the instant his fingers brushed my skin, he screamed in horror because I was ice-cold.His hand trembled violently as he pointed at me, his voice shaking. "She's… Dead. She's really dead!"Edwin's breath caught, his chest tightening as he stared at my lifeless body in disbelief.Mom wailed, nearly fainting. For the first time, I saw genuine fear etched into their faces. But she didn't dare take a step closer as maggots had already begun to crawl from beneath my clothing.At that moment, Brendan rushed in, cradling my

The other inmates exchanged helpless glances, clearly at a loss. They had already told Esme the truth countless times, but she refused to believe it.Years of being idolized had warped her mind. She was convinced she still had legions of admirers who would never abandon her.However, that delusion shattered when Edwin showed up. He read out one lawsuit after another right in front of her.With every word, her face drained of color until she finally shrieked, "You're lying! You're just trying to scare me into confessing, aren't you?"Watching her lose control, he slammed the stack of documents against her face. "Scare you? Do you even understand how incompetent you really are? During all four years in college, you were constantly skipping classes and nearly getting expelled. Your grades were always at the bottom."The more he spoke, the more bitter his laughter became. It was as if he were laughing at himself. "And yet somehow, this pathetic student managed to win a national award.