Chapter 1: The Call She Refused to Believe

After the victim's family stabbed me to death, some strange force seemed to pull my spirit straight to my mother's side.

My mother, Tricia Sullivan, was busy putting the finishing touches on a celebration dinner for her younger son, the intern lawyer Miles West, who had just been made a full associate. She hurried back and forth, making sure the staff got every last detail right.

All for a single job offer. She had booked the finest banquet hall in the city and invited every friend and relative she had, sparing no expense to make sure Miles looked good in front of everyone.

It was exactly the kind of celebration I had once hoped for when I got into a top university. All I had gotten instead was a brief two lines from her. "Well, at least the money I spent raising you wasn't wasted. Once you're successful, don't forget to pay me back."

Watching the party unfold, I could not help but envy him. My mother would never guess that Miles owed everything he had today to my death.

The dinner had barely started when her phone rang. She hung up on the unfamiliar number, again and again, until she finally lost patience and answered. "Can you scammers stop bothering me? I'm busy right now!"

There was a pause on the other end before a voice answered, "Is this Scott Durham's mother?"

Hearing my name, she froze for a second, then snapped, "What is it? Do you know that bastard?"

Once the caller had confirmation, he hurried to explain. "Ms. Sullivan, please don't misunderstand. I'm a doctor at the hospital. Scott Durham has passed away. His body is here with us, and we need you to come identify it."

She scoffed. "Is he paying you to call and lie to me because he's still sulking? Next time, tell him to come up with a better excuse. And don't waste my time with this."

The doctor sounded confused, but he kept his patience. "Ms. Sullivan, I understand this is hard to accept. We're very sorry for your loss. Your son was killed. We need your cooperation to proceed with the autopsy."

Out of patience now, she snapped, "He's in prison right now. How could he possibly be murdered? Don't feed me such a ridiculous story."

The doctor tried to say something else, but she cut him off. "If he wants to die, let him die. Today's his brother's big day, and I don't want to waste my temper on you people. Don't ruin my mood."

Then she hung up.

I had always known my mother did not love me, but I had never once lied to her face, let alone tried to scare her with some petty trick. I never imagined she would think I would fake my own death just to mess with her.

I could not help but think back on every little thing I had done, trying to earn her love. Looking at it now, all of it felt like a cruel joke.