Chapter 3

“This is Chloe’s former superior, Captain Miller. He can verify Chloe’s identity as a police informant. And this is Chloe’s employment report.”

Julian’s eyes went wide in shock. His hands trembled as he repeatedly flipped through the words on the report.

Everyone exchanged glances; the scene was utterly silent.

After a long moment, he finally found his voice.

“What does this prove?”

“Her fingerprints were on Liam’s body, and her earring was found at the crime scene! How do you explain all that?!”

Captain Miller choked. He couldn't explain it.

Samuel paused, silently adjusting his cuff.

I knew he was stalling for me.

I immediately sped up, climbing into Chloe’s old room.

The room was thick with dust, clutter piled so high there was barely any room to step.

When she bought the house, she told me,

“Sister won’t have to move anymore.”

“You and Grandma Joyce should move in too. If the rest of us stay together, our family won’t be broken.”

At that time, I was busy with Mom’s funeral.

We both looked at each other, eyes brimming with tears, speechless.

As long as drug dealers weren't wiped out, who could be sure that those still alive wouldn't face retaliation?

Home was just a beautiful fantasy; we’d lost our home long ago.

But now.

Not only was there no place for her in her own home, but she herself had been wrongly accused as a drug dealer and died.

I set up the soul-summoning array and poured half a bowl of my blood.

Soon, Chloe’s soul was drawn forth.

Her entire spirit was faded and dusty, some parts already transparent.

It looked like she’d been tormented by malevolent spirits.

“Are you a drug dealer?”

Tears streaming down my face, I asked her.

“No.”

She shook her head, her eyes vacant.

“When you called Ashley on FaceTime, what was the last thing you wanted to say?”

She remained silent. There was so much she wanted to say, but her soul had forgotten everything.

I changed my question.

“Where did you hide the evidence you mentioned in the video call?”

“Right here.”

At the mention of evidence, a flicker of light appeared in her vacant eyes. She floated around the room, seemingly searching frantically.

“Were you murdered?”

“Yes.”

Her head drooped, like a broken rag doll.

Her expression became helpless and aggrieved.

“Pain, pain.”

She touched her neck, then her arms and legs.

I understood. She had been dismembered.

“Who was the murderer?”

…

“Mom! The monster! The monster is here again!”

Leo suddenly burst in, kicking over my bowl of blood.

His wooden sword struck, shattering the Everlasting Lamp.

Flames licked up, burning all the ritual tools along the array.

Chloe let out a shriek of agony that pierced my eardrums.

I watched, helpless, as her soul began to smoke as if on fire, vanishing in an instant.

*“Puh!”*

I violently spat out a mouthful of blood, having suffered a backlash from the disturbed spirits.

“Ahhh! Mom, help me!”

The next second, Leo was writhing on the ground, bleeding from his nose and mouth.

He squirmed like a maggot.

His screams drew the Si family in.

“I’m telling you, Ashley, if anything happens to my son, I’ll make sure you and your grandmother join him in the grave!”

Serena cast a complex glance at Leo.

She grabbed my collar and violently shoved me against a shelf of clutter, then snatched a nearby baseball bat and brutally smashed Chloe’s bones.

“You damned bitch! You hurt my son! You won’t hurt anyone else!”

Julian kicked my abdomen repeatedly, his eyes bloodshot with burning rage, on the verge of losing control.

“Why won’t you let Liam rest in peace? Why do you have to provoke him?! Why won’t you leave our family alone?”

Mrs. Si grabbed a feather duster and lashed at my head.

“You two sisters are nothing but troublemakers! One killed my son, the other is hurting my grandson! Give me back my grandson’s life!”

Mr. Si cursed me viciously, spitting at me.

“Your whole family deserves to rot in hell!”

I closed my eyes in helplessness, letting tears of pain stream down my face.

“Everyone, stop this instant!”