Chapter 1

Marcus Thorne, the serial killer responsible for nineteen deaths, was finally caught.

A reporter asked him, "Which victim left the deepest impression on you?"

He remained silent for a long time, then suddenly chuckled.

"The fifteenth one. I hadn't intended to kill her."

"But someone paid two million dollars for her life. And that money, it came straight from her husband's account."

"The person who hired me was his former student. That woman later married her husband, and she's now pregnant."

As he spoke, eight hundred thousand viewers flooded the livestream.

The comments section exploded.

Meanwhile, my husband, Ethan Vance, a university professor of criminal psychology and a special consultant for the City Police Department, was completely oblivious.

He sat in his office, on a FaceTime call with his new wife, seven months pregnant.

On the screen, Seraphina Hayes was proudly showing off her baby bump, laboriously displaying a newly purchased crib.

"Honey, don't you think this color is beautiful?"

Seraphina smiled, her eyes crinkling.

"Anything you choose is beautiful."

Ethan's voice was unbelievably gentle.

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze full of affection.

"Seraphina, don't overdo it. I'll put it together when I get home after work."

"But I want our baby to feel daddy's presence sooner!"

Seraphina pouted, her voice sickeningly sweet.

I floated behind Ethan, quietly watching the scene unfold.

I had been dead for three years.

In these three years, I had watched Ethan go from anguish to numbness, then to a comfortable acceptance of Seraphina.

He had even forgotten that three years ago today was the day I disappeared.

The intercom on his desk suddenly rang.

Ethan frowned, making a shushing gesture to Seraphina.

"Professor Vance, Marcus specifically asked to see you."

Chief Miller's voice on the other end sounded urgent.

"He said he won't reveal the location of the fifteenth body unless it's to you."

Ethan's expression instantly turned serious.

"I'll be right there."

He hung up, gave Seraphina a few hurried instructions, then grabbed his jacket and headed out.

Seraphina seemed a little uneasy on the video call.

"Honey, Marcus... is he the serial killer?"

"Yes. Don't worry, I'll handle it."

Ethan ended the call, his footsteps quick.

I followed him into the interrogation room.

In the dim room, Marcus sat on an iron chair, his face covered in stubble.

Seeing Ethan enter, he flashed a strange smile.

"Professor Vance, I've heard a lot about you."

"I watched your public lectures on criminal psychology. They were excellent."

Ethan didn't look up.

"Marcus, male, forty-one years old. From 2019 to 2024, operated in six states, committed nineteen cases—"

"You don't need to recite it."

The chains rattled. "I want to talk about the fifteenth one."

"Speak."

"Aren't you curious why I asked for you specifically?"

"Not at all. Criminals try to seize control by creating conversation during high-pressure interrogations. It's basic psychological profiling. Doesn't work on me."

Marcus suddenly burst into laughter, the chains clanking loudly.

"Professor Vance, you've spent your life studying criminal psychology, yet you can't even tell who your own partner truly is. How ironic."

Ethan closed the file, his eyes contemptuous.

"That kind of juvenile psychological tactic won't work on me."

"Oh really?"

Marcus leaned closer, lowering his voice.

"What if I told you the fifteenth person was named Elara Reed?"

Ethan's body instantly stiffened. His fingers clenched, knuckles turning white.

"See? The moment I mentioned that name, you clearly lost your composure while going through those files."

"I haven't changed at all."

Ethan closed the file, crossed his hands neatly on the table, and sat up straight.

"She was consumed by jealousy, sensitive and overly suspicious."

"She'd complain when I didn't answer my phone, complain when I came home late, complain when I was nice to my students."

"If we argued, she'd run off and wouldn't come back unless I went to get her."

"A thirty-year-old acting like a child."

After saying all this, Ethan's fingers tried to twist the cap onto his pen. It didn't catch the first two times, only sealing on the third.

"So the last time she left, I didn't go looking. No need. I was tired, too. She could go wherever she wanted."

"What, did she run out of money? Does she want to come back?"

"Tell me, how much did she pay you to play this game?"

Marcus chuckled. "Professor Vance, I'm a killer, not a con artist. I buried her with my own hands."

"You're making this up."

Ethan's tone was resolute.

"Your victims fit a fixed selection standard — living alone, remote location, high-risk profession."

"Elara Reed fits none of those criteria. You wouldn't have chosen her."

I stood behind him, a sharp pain in my chest.

Even though I no longer had a heart.

But I still felt that heartbreaking sorrow.

"To frame Seraphina, she actually managed to bribe you into saying all those things. She's really gotten quite skilled."

He opened SnapChat and sent a voice message.

"Elara, stop playing dead."

"I let it go when you spread rumors about Seraphina on the forum back then."

"Now that we're finally happy, you're trying to sicken me again. Is this your new trick?"

"Even if a manipulative woman like you truly died, I'd only feel relieved."

I watched the voice message send successfully.

Ethan, do you really think I'd joke about my own life with you?

Marcus stopped laughing, his eyes softening with pity.

"But Professor Vance, someone paid me two million dollars to kill her."

"A full two million, transferred from her husband's bank account."

"Doesn't that number sound familiar to you, Professor Vance?"

The chair legs scraped across the floor with a harsh sound. Ethan stood up, his face dark.

"The interrogation ends here."

"I have no interest in your nonsense."

"Go to Westwood."

Marcus suddenly spoke.

"Under that old oak tree. You know the place."

Ethan's footsteps halted.

That was where we first met.