Six Years Too Late

Hearing that, I snapped.

"Fiona, you’re unbelievable! You hate me, so why are you dragging Alannah into this?! If anything happens to her, I swear I’ll make sure you never know a moment of peace!"

I blew at her like a madman, trying to vent my fury.

Fiona only pinched the bridge of her nose, leaned back in her chair, and lit a cigarette.

I froze.

She hadn’t smoked in a long time. That faint red glow between her fingers made me pause for a long moment.

"Fiona, don’t take it out on my family. I’ve already paid the price. Isn’t one life enough to make you stop?!"

She couldn’t hear me at all, still issuing orders through her phone. It only made my anger burn hotter.

"Fiona, the biggest mistake I ever made was meeting you! You and that so-called brother of yours were never innocent!

"Now that I’m dead, you still won’t let me go? Why did you even chase after me back then? You two could’ve just stayed twisted together!

"You idiot! I was abused in prison. One bout of fever was enough to kill me! Don’t tell me you didn’t know! If you dare touch my sister, I won’t let you off!" I screamed until I had no strength left, collapsing onto the floor, tears pouring down my face.

"Xavier." Fiona’s voice suddenly rang out, startling me.

I looked at her, only to realize her gaze was empty. She wasn’t looking at me. Strangely, there was a flicker of tears in her eyes.

"Fiona, are you crying?"

The next second, she opened a drawer. Inside was a photo of us from years ago. She stared at it for a long time, then tore it apart.

My heart sank with it.

Ridiculous. I actually thought she still cared. Even as a ghost, I was still so naive.

The entire night, her phone never stopped ringing.

Finally, close to dawn, footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Ms. Carter, we found him!"

I jolted upright.

Found me? Was Fiona about to have my grave dug up?

I was already dead. Who could she possibly have found?

"Come in."

The door opened. Luca James, her assistant, walked in. "Ms. Carter, we found him, but…"

He hesitated.

Fiona stared straight at him. "But what?!"

"But… he’s already dead. Ms. Carter, these are the crematorium records from five years ago. He died of myocarditis at around 10 p.m. that night. Because of this, Alannah went to the prison to cause a scene. She was detained for seven days."

At those words, Fiona’s expression changed drastically. She was about to speak when the door opened again.

It was Ryker.

"Fiona, I heard everything. Did you find Xavier?"

"He… he’s dead," Fiona said with difficulty.

Ryker covered his mouth in shock. "Dead?! That’s impossible!" The words slipped out too quickly. There was a flicker of panic in his eyes.

Fiona looked at him.

Ryker hurried to explain, "If someone dies, the prison has to notify the family. Even if you weren’t married, when you sent him in, you specifically told them to contact you if anything happened!"

Fiona let out a breath. "You’re right. A man as cunning as Xavier wouldn’t just die like that. He must be lying to me. The cemetery is fake, and so are the ashes."

I let out a cold laugh beside her. "Fiona, the prison did call you. Do you remember what you said?"

When I died, they had panicked. They contacted Fiona immediately, but before they could finish, Ryker started making a scene, crying about his leg hurting, then Fiona hung up impatiently.

With no other choice, they contacted Alannah.

"Fiona, when it comes to Ryker, your judgment disappears completely. There’s no point looking for me anymore. Just let it go."

Fiona took a deep breath. "Go. Bring Alannah to the back garden."

My heart jolted violently.

"No! You can’t do this!"