Chapter 1

My girlfriend had been missing for three whole years. I had searched every corner of the city, followed every lead, but found absolutely nothing.

Until last Wednesday, when she suddenly showed up at my doorstep, covered in bruises and cuts.

She told me she had been kidnapped and forced to work in an illegal sweatshop, and that it had taken her three agonizing years to finally escape.

My heart broke just looking at her. Shaking, I brewed herbal remedies for her, applied ointment to her wounds, and took care of her day and night for seven straight days.

But this morning, the police knocked on my door.

"Last night, we found a body in an abandoned sweatshop on the outskirts of town. Time of death was estimated to be about a week ago."

"The victim has been identified as your girlfriend."

I froze. "That’s impossible. She’s been staying with me all week."

"It’s not impossible."

The officer opposite me frowned, pushing the file folder on the desk closer to me.

"Mr. Lucas Hunt, we’ve already verified the identity. The deceased had her ID on her, and our system database confirmed her fingerprint match. It’s Chloe Vance, the girl you reported missing three years ago."

I heard my own voice trembling. "But she’s been staying with me this entire week. In my apartment. She hasn’t left at all."

The two officers exchanged a look.

The older one was Officer Miller. I had met him several times before. Three years ago, I used to report to the station almost every week, then it became once a month, and eventually, I thought I’d never have to come back here again.

Officer Miller pulled a photo from the folder and placed it in front of me.

I looked down, and my stomach instantly churned with a wave of intense nausea. It felt like a physical blow to my chest.

The photo showed a person lying on a metal table, eyes closed, skin a sickly grayish-white.

The background was dark, likely taken at the crime scene. The camera flash hit her face, making every brutal detail blindingly clear.

It was Chloe.

No, wait. It was that face. It was Chloe’s face.

I stared at the photo for a long time, so long that Officer Miller had to call my name softly.

"Lucas?"

I looked up. "This isn't her."

"We’ve already run a facial recognition scan. It’s over a ninety-eight percent match."

Officer Miller’s tone was flat, stating a fact that left no room for doubt.

"Plus, she had her ID on her. The name, the social security number, everything matches. We pulled your old missing person report, too. All the details are identical."

"But—"

"Lucas."

He cut me off.

"The victim’s immediate family members have all passed away. Her parents died in a car crash shortly after she went missing three years ago. You knew about that, right?"

I knew.

Of course I knew.

Four months after Chloe vanished, her parents had driven out of state to look for her. They crashed on the highway.

I was completely numb during that period. When I got the call, I didn't even know how to react.

Later, I was the one who handled their funeral and sorted through their things, thinking that if Chloe ever came back, at least she’d have something left of them.

But she never came back.

"So, the only legal contact we can find right now is you," Officer Miller said.

"We need you to come to the morgue, identify the body, and sign the release papers."

I opened my mouth, trying to say something, but the words died in my throat.

"She’s sleeping in my bedroom right now," I said, pointing toward the hallway of my apartment.

"If you don't believe me, I can go call her out right now."

I stood up immediately and walked toward the bedroom.

I knew I was walking too fast, even stumbling a little, but I didn't care.

I pushed the bedroom door open.

The bed was empty.