Chapter 4

In the interrogation room, Detective Miller put a crime scene photo on the table.

Even though the man was dead, and even though ten years had passed.

Seeing his face made me shudder uncontrollably. A deep, primal fear shook my soul.

This was the man who had stalked and assaulted me ten years ago.

It took me a long time to calm my breathing.

Miller spoke. "Do you know him?"

I nodded.

"How?"

There was no point in hiding it anymore. I reached for the pen to write it down, but Miller coughed. "Cut the act, Vivian. Your dad told us you can talk. You’re not mute."

I let out a bitter smile, dropped the pen, and spoke. "He assaulted me."

"Why didn't you report it?"

"My mom wouldn't let me."

Miller’s voice turned incredibly sharp and intense. "So you took justice into your own hands and brutally murdered him?"

I shook my head. "I didn't kill him."

"Still denying it? Ten years ago, we couldn't solve this case because of limited forensics. But after your dad prompted us to look into it again, we re-examined the victim's preserved fingernail scrapings. We found your skin cells. The DNA is a perfect match."

Before I could say anything, Miller stood up, leaning over the table to pressure me. "Confess now, and I’ll talk to the DA for a plea deal. You were a minor ten years ago. You won't get a long sentence."

"But if you keep fighting this, you will rot in prison for the rest of your life!"

I just blinked, my expression unchanged.

I wasn't afraid of prison.

Ten years ago, I had already prepared myself to spend the rest of my life behind bars.

But now was not the time.

Miller was bluffing. His evidence was weak, and he didn’t have enough to convict me.

I took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye. "I told you, I didn't kill him."

"Then why is your DNA on his body?"

I shook my head. "I don’t know. I don’t remember much from ten years ago. If you have solid proof, lock me up. If you don't, let me go."

After that, no matter what they asked, I remained dead silent.

Forty-eight hours later, they had nothing, and they had to release me.

But the moment I stepped out of the precinct, my dad and Leo forced me into their car.

Detective Miller pretended not to see, staying close by just to make sure things didn't get violent.

Inside the car, my dad glared at me with bloodshot eyes. "You talked to the detective. Drop the act."

"I’m asking you one last time. What happened the night your mother died?"

"I swear to God, Vivian, if you keep lying to me, I will do something crazy."

"You can hire a hitman? So can I! I have plenty of ways to make you talk!"

He looked completely insane.

This unsolved case had lasted ten years.

Ten years of my mother’s ghost begging for justice.

It had driven everyone crazy.

Honestly, I was losing my mind, too.

Fortunately, I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Just wait. Give me one last month."

"In one month, I will tell you everything."

My dad gritted his teeth, shaking with rage. "Why a month? What game are you playing?"

I didn't answer. I looked out the window.

Floating just outside the car was a soul that only I could see.

She had been with me for ten years, and now she was about to fade away completely.

I smiled slightly and waved in my mind. *Goodbye, Mom. I'll be a good girl.*

But in reality, I wouldn’t.

I had lied to my dad for ten years.

And I had lied to her for ten years, too.