Chapter 1 Chapter 1

My body was found in an abandoned building. The construction workers, struggling to hold back their nausea, called the police. My parents rushed from my sister Lily Lambert's celebration banquet to the crime scene. The crime scene investigator, Chester Ford, frowned and motioned for them to put on masks. My dad, David Lambert, was one of the top investigators the police brought in for special cases, and my mom, Stella Zimmer, was the leading forensic pathologist in Jasper City. Even though they had seen countless crime scenes, they still flinched when they saw my body. In the sweltering summer heat, my corpse had bloated significantly. My face was smashed beyond recognition, a bloody mess with no identifiable features. My entire body was covered in wounds, and only a sliver of skin still connected my head to my neck. The overwhelming stench of decay filled the air. Mom closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and put on her gloves to begin a preliminary examination. Her gaze held a rare trace of compassion as she looked at my body. In life, I had never been treated so gently by her. I watched nervously as she removed the blood-stained ring from my hand. I had made identical rings for my family, but when Lily's did not fit, my parents scolded me harshly. "You're always up to no good, deliberately trying to hurt your sister!""Emily, even though you’re our biological daughter, Lily has been part of this family for eighteen years. She will always be more important than you!" Their angry voices still echoed in my ears, but I believed my parents loved me. Surely, they would recognize the gift I gave them! But Mom's expression did not change. She simply instructed her assistant, Ruby Gomez, to put the ring into an evidence bag. I should not have hoped. In their hearts, I never existed, even though I was their biological daughter. My brother, Eddie Lambert, once told me that Mom and Dad adopted Lily because they could not find me after I was kidnapped. He said I was always their favorite daughter. But when I returned home, there was no place left for me. I felt like an intruder in my own family. After surveying the scene, Dad sighed and asked Mom, "What’s the situation with this body?" Mom removed her gloves and massaged her furrowed brows. "The victim appears to be around 20 years old. Preliminary cause of death looks like a throat slit. She was likely tortured for a long time before she died.""The method is brutal, and the public impact will be severe. We need to solve this case quickly before it blows up in the media." Dad lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. He had a troubled expression. Even after death, I was still causing my parents problems. Chester reminded them, "The killer hasn’t been caught yet, so you should be extra careful at home. You have two daughters. Don’t let them go out at night." Mom's voice was impatient. "Lily is always obedient. It's Emily I can’t control." Chester, being an old friend of my parents, knew all about our family situation. Dad rubbed his right shoulder. Chester noticed and asked, "David, is your shoulder acting up again?" Dad waved him off. "It's fine. I put on one of those pain relief patches Emily bought..." He stopped mid-sentence. The daughter they called rebellious still cared about their health. Chester patted Dad on the back. "You should treat Emily better. After all, she’s your real daughter." Dad shook his head. "A couple of days ago, Lily had a tennis match, and she kept asking for Emily to come watch. But Emily, she picked up the phone and then ghosted us. Lily was so worried about her sister, she only got third place. "Emily hasn’t been home in days. Who knows if she’s dead out there somewhere. Kids you didn’t raise yourself just never turn out right." Hearing my parents' complaints and accusations, I felt a chill in my heart. Mom, Dad, it was not that I did not want to come home. I just... couldn’t anymore. The ungrateful daughter you talked about, died the day you were at Lily’s tennis match. My body was now right in front of you.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

At the case briefing, after listening to my mom's autopsy report, the officers all had somber expressions. My death was gruesome, making facial identification impossible. The abandoned building where my body was dumped was not the original crime scene, significantly increasing the difficulty of solving the case. Dad instructed the officers to search the area around where the body was found for any suspicious activity. "Have the forensic pathologist perform another autopsy to see if there’s anything new, and send the DNA samples to the forensic lab as soon as possible." He left my mom with that remark before hurrying off with his team. They showed more concern for the body than they ever did for me. My mom once stroked Lily's hair and said that being a forensic pathologist was a noble profession. She believed that giving a voice to the dead was an important duty. I watched as Lily nodded in agreement. However, the moment my mom turned away, she wiped her hair in disgust. That time, I slapped Lily across the face, but my dad punished me by shaving my head bald. Now, my mom gently touched my hair with a hint of sadness and whispered, "To die so horribly... her family must be heartbroken." I smirked bitterly. My family would probably be relieved by my death. Maybe only Eddie would feel a little sad. Mom’s gloved hand moved across my back. There was a large burn scar there, one I got after being kidnapped. When they brought me home that year and I changed clothes, my mom stared at it in surprise. There was a hint of disgust in her expression. "How did you get that on your back? That’s disgusting. Don’t scare Lily." Could she recognize me now because of this scar? I bit my lip nervously. Beads of sweat were forming on my forehead. But a second later, Mom dismissed it casually. "This didn’t happen this time." Ruby, suddenly gasped softly. "Dr. Stella, there’s a piece of paper in the victim’s stomach!" My mom’s eyes widened as she took the paper and sighed. "The stomach acid has already corroded it. We’ll see if the crime scene investigation (CSI) can analyze it later." Suddenly, a phone rang. It was Lily's favorite song. Mom quickly removed her gloves and rushed to the hallway. Her voice was soft and loving. "Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Mommy’s at work. "Tomorrow?" Mom paused for a moment, then gritted her teeth. "Dad and I will definitely be there to cheer you on. Eddie is on a business trip and won’t be back in time." Lily’s sweet voice filled my ears. "Love you, Mom! I really hope Emily can come watch my match. If she’s there to support me, I’m sure I’ll win. "It’s fine if she doesn’t want to come. It’s normal that she doesn’t like me. After all, I’ve hogged all your and Dad’s love for so many years." Even though Lily and I had never gotten along, from the day I returned home, she was always secretly framing me. But in front of our parents, she loved pretending we were close sisters. From my experience, I figured Mom would be criticizing me soon. Sure enough, Mom’s voice suddenly grew sharp. "You are my precious daughter. What does Emily even count for? She steals from the family and bullies you behind our backs. She doesn’t deserve to be my daughter. "Don’t worry, even if she broke her leg, I’d make sure she wheels herself to watch your match!" Lily giggled sweetly. "Dad called me today to remind me to stay safe. Mom, if you get the chance, make sure you remind Emily too." "You take care of yourself. As long as Emily doesn’t die in front of me, I don’t care what she’s up to." Mom always spoke about me with such disdain. Maybe it was because the daughter they found was not raised properly and did not fit the family’s standards. Even after I was found, they refused to change my last name. In their hearts, the only daughter they had was Lily. While they worried about her safety, no one remembered that I was their real daughter. I wonder what their reaction would be when they found out how I died. After all, Lily was the one responsible for my death, and they were part of it too.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

As she gently told Lily to rest, my mom received a call from Eddie. "Eddie, when does your business trip end? Your sister is waiting for you to watch her match!" Before he could even respond, she rushed to ask. The day I was brought home, Mom and Dad stayed with a sobbing Lily. Only Eddie held my hand, brought me inside, and told me not to be afraid. The only warmth I ever felt in that house came from him. On the other end of the phone, Eddie paused in surprise. "Is it Emily’s math competition? Isn’t that next month?" Mom cut him off angrily. "Oh my, not Emily again! Lily is the sister you've known for years! How many times do I have to tell you? Emily was raised outside and filled with bad habits. She doesn’t deserve to be part of the Lambert family." I could hear Eddie sigh, as if he could not understand Mom’s hostility toward me. "Mom, sometimes you shouldn’t believe everything Lily says. Emily is kind and hardworking. If you paid more attention to her, you’d see that. "I just called Emily, but she didn’t answer. She hasn’t responded to the texts I sent a few days ago either. Isn’t she home?" Mom scoffed coldly. "She can come and go as she pleases. I’m not going to keep her on a leash, am I? She’s probably out causing trouble again. Tomorrow is Lily’s tennis match. If you can’t make it, that’s fine." After a pause, she added harshly, "Tell Emily that if she doesn’t show up for Lily’s match tomorrow, she better not come home at all. Honestly, it’s better if she’s not here." Eddie tried to defend me, but she coldly hung up on him. Dad walked in just as she was fuming. Seeing her upset, he asked, "Is it the case? Is the body difficult?" Mom shook her head and complained, "It’s not the body. It’s Emily again. She probably called Eddie to complain, and now he is playing along with her disappearing act." Dad let out a heavy breath. "She knows we’re busy, but she’s still pulling these stunts. So irresponsible! I’ll call her and straighten this out right now." But every time he called, it went straight to voicemail. "Ungrateful girl. We would’ve been better off never finding her. All she does is bring trouble!" Standing nearby, Chester overheard everything. He sighed and said, "Back when Emily was kidnapped, the two of you took a year off work to find her. Now that she’s back, it’s like she’s your enemy." I bit my lip, bitterness filling my mouth. The girl they brought home was not the one they had imagined. I was shy, awkward, and lacking in manners. When I was fifteen and finally reunited with them, my parents sat in the grand living room. They were holding a sobbing Lily and comforting her with patience. I stood there in patched-up clothes, staring down at my worn rubber shoes with a toe sticking out. Lily stopped crying when she saw me. She pretended to be innocent and asked, "Who’s this little beggar?" My parents’ expressions darkened. It was not because of what Lily said, but because of me. Their disappointing daughter did not meet their expectations. "Mr. Lambert, Dr. Zimmer, I checked the records, and there haven’t been any missing persons reports filed in the last couple of days," a police officer said, approaching with the report in hand. "Could the family not even notice their daughter’s missing? Maybe things aren’t great at home? "Can you believe some parents wouldn’t even care about their child going missing?" Hearing the murmurs around me, I could not help but feel a wave of sadness. It was so heavy that I could barely breathe. My parents were worried about the victim’s family for not filing a report in time, feeling sympathy for them. Yet they never once considered whether I was safe during the days I had been missing. Back when I was kidnapped, they were willing to abandon their jobs to search for me. But now, they assumed my disappearance was just a ploy for attention. Maybe I never should have returned to the Lambert family after being found. This was Lily’s home, not mine. The years when they cared most about me had long been taken over by Lily. The love and affection that should have been mine would never come my way again.