On the third birthday of Julian’s son with his mistress, Serena, I finally located Chloe’s last leg bone. They celebrated at the upscale steakhouse, Chloe’s favorite restaurant when she was alive. Yet, none of them knew that Chloe’s heart, her corneal tissue, and her blood were all on their dinner table. As a medium, I refused to believe Chloe was a drug dealer. I vowed to hold a summoning ritual to uncover the truth of her death. Julian, upon hearing my plans, flew into a rage. He ordered his men to beat me senseless. “That bitch used my brother’s body to traffic drugs! How else are you going to defend her?!” It wasn’t until the largest drug trafficking cartel in Country D was completely dismantled, And the evidence Chloe left behind was made public, That Julian finally understood who she truly died for. “Ashley, look at me. I’ve hidden a lot of evidence in…” The woman in the video looked desperate and terrified, as if someone was chasing her. The next second, she was dragged off-screen by an unseen force. A chilling scream ripped through the air, mixing with the festive cheers from the party I was attending. After ten agonizing seconds, the screen went black. On a night meant for family reunions, my sister died alone in a foreign country. She was quickly labeled a drug dealer. And because I was at a Christmas party, I hadn’t even heard her last words clearly. I stared at the skeletal remains before me, pieces I’d spent three years painstakingly recovering. Gnawed by dogs, trampled by humans, charred by fire, and left to rot in sewer water. A sharp, suffocating pain twisted in my chest. “Julian, tell me the truth. Is it true that Chloe used Liam’s body to traffic drugs?” Julian stiffened, hearing his brother’s name. The next second, his eyes ignited with a furious rage. “Are you done yet? My brother is dead! Are you not satisfied until his soul is tormented, too?!” “You don’t mind mentioning that tramp? Well, it contaminates my ears!” It suddenly hit me: today was Chloe’s death anniversary, and Liam’s too. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to ask if I could go into Chloe’s old room, try to summon her spirit, and find out the truth of her unjust death…” “Chloe called me on FaceTime before she died. I suspect she was framed…” “Why don’t you just go to hell and ask her yourself?!” Julian, consumed by fury, slammed the phone down. Then, he forwarded the official police statement from back then, once again, right into my inbox. *Following an official investigation, it was determined that the suspect, Chloe Brooks, was a member of a drug trafficking organization operating out of Country D. She was identified as using the bodies of deceased individuals, including Liam Si, to conceal and transport drugs, and died on September 16th during a transaction with another cartel.* My heart clenched. I hesitated. But then, Samuel, my Master, sent me a photo of a bracelet. That object carried a trace of dark energy, one of Chloe’s belongings. If an item bore such energy, it meant its deceased owner died with a grievance. I understood that much. “Miss tonight, and you’ll have to wait until next year’s anniversary.” Samuel’s words jolted me awake. I gathered Chloe’s remains, grabbed my ritual tools, and rushed to the Si mansion. “Ashley! Are you losing your mind?!” “Ashley! You’ve really crossed the line!” Julian slapped me, then he and his bodyguards moved in. “Chloe was a deeply sinful drug dealer!” “Five years ago, she used my brother’s body to traffic drugs. How can you possibly defend her?” In the chaos, Chloe’s bones scattered across the floor. I quickly covered them with my body to shield them from being trampled. “She wasn’t! My sister wasn’t!” My voice was hoarse with tears as I painfully gathered the scattered bones. “My family has served in federal law enforcement for three generations, fighting drug crime. Chloe lived a life on the run with Grandma Joyce as a child, always hiding, always on edge. She hated drug dealers more than anyone!” “She couldn’t have trafficked drugs!” It was precisely because of this family background that Chloe had been subjected to constant threats and harassment from abroad throughout her life, even having strangers show up at her door. *Splash.* A bucket of filthy garbage was dumped on me. “Miss Brooks, please stay away from us, the victims’ family.” “Open your eyes and see the truth!” Serena pulled out a photo of a ghastly white face. The corpse had been cut open down the middle, the frozen flesh unnaturally pale. Its organs were gone, God knows where.
Only a terrifying, hollow shell remained. I froze, stunned. It was a photo of a tragically murdered fifteen-year-old Liam. Serena’s voice was cold and filled with disgust as she pressed me. “Are you suggesting that you, Miss Brooks, would use the death of your own family member to frame a drug dealer?” “Julian, you and Chloe dated for four years in college, and were married for three. You know what kind of person she was…” “I beg you…” In despair, I collapsed to my knees. The sun was setting fast. If I missed today, I’d have to wait until next year. But I wouldn’t live to see next year. This specific method of communing with the dead to uncover grievances was incredibly dangerous, requiring perfect conditions: the deceased’s death anniversary, the place where their deepest regrets lingered, and their bones. The most crucial condition was the remaining lifespan of the practitioner. I had gambled all my remaining life on this day, solely to prove Chloe’s innocence. “Shut up! Are you even human?!” Julian was beside himself with rage, kicking me repeatedly. “You evil person who killed my uncle! Get out of my house!” Leo, Julian and Serena’s son, charged at me, swinging a wooden sword. A dizzying blow, and I realized it had drawn blood. But he was an illegitimate child, the product of an affair. How dare he tell me to leave, living in a house Chloe had paid half the price for? “Hello, is this Grandma Joyce’s family?” “She’s in trouble, come quick.” I suddenly received a call and rushed back to the neighborhood in a panic. A group of thugs had overturned Grandma Joyce’s snack cart. Taking advantage of her blindness, they pushed her into a dirty ditch, surrounding her, cursing, and throwing stones. “The drug dealer’s grandma deserves to die!” “Kill that old blind hag!” “Her food must be poisoned!” Grandma Joyce was covered in mud, blood streaming from her forehead. She fumbled to climb out, stumbling and falling three times, while the thugs on the bank laughed even more brazenly. They used a bamboo pole to push her back down, maliciously poking her blind eyes. Her face, full of wrinkles and age spots, was soon streaked with bloody tears. “Mr. Si and Serena said this was just a small lesson. If you dare cause trouble at the Si mansion again, she won’t be the only one losing her sight.” The leader lightly patted my face with a sneer. My eyes burned, and my fists clenched. Julian and Serena, these animals! “Get out! All of you, get out!” I was furious, screaming and fighting off the thugs. It took all my strength to get Grandma Joyce back up. She didn’t say a word, just slapped me hard. “You give me back my Chloe! Why wasn’t it you who died?! Why?!” She bit at me like a madwoman, wailing and telling me to get lost. I suddenly remembered the day my brother was tortured to death by drug dealers. Mom collapsed, weeping hysterically, and when she finally came to, all she wanted was to divorce Dad. At first, the choice was made to take Chloe away, but I cried and screamed, demanding to stay, effectively stealing the life that should have been hers. “There are only three hours left until sunset. Dark energy will be strongest at night, and this grievance-seeking ritual could spiral completely out of control.” “Get over to the Si mansion, now!” “Also, I’ve brought Captain Miller back from Country D. He can prove Chloe’s identity as a police informant.” Hearing Samuel’s words, a glimmer of hope finally rose in my withered heart. This time, I was smarter. I didn’t go through the main entrance to clash with them, choosing to sneak in through a less obvious entrance. But dogs have an unusually keen sense of smell. As soon as they caught my scent, they started barking. Everyone in the yard became alert. Just then, Samuel knocked on the Si mansion door. “Uncle Samuel, what brings you here?” Julian was utterly respectful, not daring to breathe loudly. The Si family members all rushed to the front yard to greet him, even the dogs followed. This was because my Master, Samuel, was the scion of two of the wealthiest, most influential families in the region, the Si and Song clans, bound by marriage. He was, in effect, the joint head of both their empires. Samuel didn’t even spare a glance at them, leading Captain Miller into the courtyard. “I’m here today for one reason only: to clear Chloe’s name.”
“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!”
Samuel’s sharp command. Everyone froze. They anxiously rushed Leo to the hospital. “Idiot! You can’t even handle such a small task!” Samuel’s face was etched with contempt and disdain, as he slapped me across the face. “What about Chloe’s damaged soul?” He gritted his teeth in anger, gripping my neck with such force that his knuckles turned white. “Use my blood to mend it.” “Your blood?” He raised an eyebrow, as if he’d heard the most ridiculous joke. “Someone like you, who stole Chloe’s life, is uneducated and useless, your blood is tainted.” “Who knows if you’ve been smoking weed all these years abroad.” He knew that mentioning drugs was the quickest way to sting me, yet he chose to blurt it out. Infuriated, I slapped his hand away. “What right do you have to blame Chloe’s death on me?!” “Her secret admirer?” Stung by the truth, his cheek muscles twitched subtly, and his eyes involuntarily darted away. “Only she has the right to blame me for taking her life. No one else does!” My index finger scornfully poked his shoulder, a hint of mockery playing on my lips. “Especially not a coward like you, who didn’t even dare to tell her you loved her.” After my outburst, I couldn’t hold back the pent-up grief and silently began to sob. “If you ever dare to look at me like that again, I’ll plant you at her grave as a tombstone…” “I wish I could be her tombstone…” Samuel’s anger deflated too. We moved all the clutter out of the room, searched for a long time, but found no evidence. “There’s no time left. The soul-summoning didn’t yield results, but I still have thirty years left of my life. Let me try to summon her soul.” I wiped a streak of blood from the corner of my mouth, my voice firm. “You don’t want to live?” “This life was hers to begin with, and now returning it to her, isn’t that the most fitting ending?” I managed a weak, sarcastic curl of my lips. “Didn’t you choose me to inherit your legacy precisely because you couldn’t abandon the Si and Song families, and couldn’t use your remaining lifespan to get her the truth?” “I can. I have nothing left to lose.” Despite the self-deprecating words, tears of injustice welled in my eyes as I spoke. But truly, when I communed, and witnessed Chloe’s entire life, I only felt that my own death was utterly worthless in comparison. Chloe was a person so good, it was almost foolish. She neatly wrote down memories of taking Grandma Joyce to the local fair, preparing a special birthday gift for her sister. She would wait until everyone else had eaten before getting her meal from the cafeteria, meticulously packing it to take back to Grandma Joyce, while she herself subsisted on a cheap bread roll. She said her dream was to protect the peace of the innocent. Even though everyone mocked her, saying a woman should just go home and be a stay-at-home wife, she remained resolute and bravely chose to become a police informant. The result? On Christmas Eve, she died in a foreign country. Scantily clad and starving, tormented to a horrific death, all alone. And the villains stole her husband, moved into her house, and then framed her as a drug dealer. “Liam, cross this forest and you’ll be out of Country D. Hurry, go!” In the memory, Chloe’s face was anxious, her heart pounding in her throat. Perhaps due to her unease, she kept feeling someone was following her, but when she turned, there was no one there. “What about you? What will you do?” Fifteen-year-old Liam was terrified, tears and snot smearing his face, clutching Chloe’s hand and refusing to let go. “Let’s go together, sis. I’m scared.” He hadn’t seen anything like this before, tricked by an online love interest into meeting in Country D. He got into a black car and was somehow kidnapped to a compound for an illegal scam syndicate. “I haven’t exposed my identity yet, I’ll be fine.” Chloe deluded herself, thinking she could simply trade her life for Liam’s. But she never imagined that neither she nor Liam would make it out alive. “Serena… It was Serena who killed Liam!” “Serena is the drug dealer!”
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