Chapter 1

When I was sixteen, a killer broke into our house, tortured and murdered my mother, and burned the place to the ground, erasing all the evidence.

I was there. I watched the whole thing.

My dad, my uncle, the cops—they asked me over and over what happened that night.

I kept my mouth shut.

They thought the trauma had made me mute, so they handed me a pen and paper, asking me to write down what the killer looked like.

I still stayed silent. I didn’t move a muscle.

Ten years later, I’m twenty-six.

Because of my mother’s unsolved murder, my dad and I had a falling out. We hadn’t seen each other in eight years.

But suddenly, he showed up.

I came home from my shift to my tiny studio apartment, opened the door, and saw him sitting there with Uncle Leo. Both of them looked at me with freezing, cold eyes.

"Vivian, did you kill your mother?"

My body went completely rigid.

I clenched my teeth, glaring at him with pure rage.

He was my father.

How could he even think, for a second, that I would kill my own mother?

My dad read my expression and let out a cold, bitter laugh.

"Then why won’t you tell us who did it?"

"It’s been ten years, Vivian! How do you sleep at night? How do you eat?"

"When you dream, does Susan’s burned body crawl out and ask you why you didn’t avenge her?!"

I avoided his eyes and looked down.

I didn't know how to face him.

He was only forty-six, but he looked sixty-four.

The night my mom died, his hair turned white overnight.

After that, he sold the house, the car, and everything we owned. He became obsessed, chasing leads like a madman, never giving up for ten long years.

Now his back was hunched, but the burning desire for revenge in his eyes was still as sharp as ever.

And now, he was locking onto me.

"Vivian, how long are you going to play mute?"

"I’ve been following you. You’re not mute! I saw you talking with my own eyes—"

Furious, he pulled out his phone and played a blurry video.

It was me, walking down the street.

At a corner, I suddenly stopped, looked up, and murmured, "Don't worry, don't worry..."

Then I looked down and kept walking.

I had no idea my own father was stalking and doubting me.

Suddenly, he grabbed my collar like a lunatic. "You know who the killer is! Why won't you speak? Why play dumb?"

"There’s only one explanation..."

"You did it!"

"You killed your mother!"

Leo couldn't take it anymore. He pulled David away from me. "Enough!"

"My sister was tortured for hours before she died. How could Vivian do that to her?"

My dad’s teeth gritted so hard I could hear them grinding.

"She hated her mother! She’s a psycho!"

"She’s capable of anything!"

"Even if she didn't pull the trigger, she’s an accomplice!"

Looking into my dad’s bloodshot eyes, seeing the complex storm of emotions inside them,

I knew my worst nightmare had come true.

My dad had found out about the other case from ten years ago.