In the fifth year after my death, Oliver Rypien, leader of the huge smuggling ring that has a notorious reputation domestically and internationally, finally gets arrested by the police.

At the public trial court, Oliver can be seen wearing an inmate uniform, though his murderous look is etched on his scarred face. He even has the guts to hum a whimsical tune tauntingly, completely unrepentant.

After hearing the prosecutor accusing him of killing 129 victims, Oliver suddenly snorts in laughter.

"You're wrong. You're missing one more victim. The police officer named Victor Patton who came from the Customs Enforcement Unit? Yeah, he died at my hands as well."

Everyone gasps in shock. A reporter is quick to rebuke Oliver.

"Hang on, Victor is a mole working for your organization! After a bounty on him was posted, he had nowhere to run to, so he embezzled over hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of national assets before fleeing overseas! Even now, he's still living his life scotfree abroad!"

Oliver shook his head before letting out a cold chuckle.

"Victor was a stubborn one. Even though I crippled him, he still managed to kill five of my men. How is it possible for him to be our mole?

"After crippling him, I threw him into the concrete foundation of Joy Bridge. If you don't believe me, go ahead and dig through the foundation."

Suddenly, Oliver lowers his tone. His smile becomes more malicious.

"Speaking of which, we did have a mole who worked with us to kill ten police officers. But now, he's successfully washed his hands off his crimes and became a certain someone's husband.

"Why don't you take a guess as to who that brainless, idiotic woman is?"

Three minutes later, my ex-wife, Gabriella Campbell, also known as the Chief Commissioner of Police in Gakoli, receives a phone call from the court outside the office of a well-known OBGYN department.

"Chief Campbell, please come to the court immediately. The defendant has something crucial to tell you in person."

After ending the call, Gabriella Campbell glanced at the caller ID. Seeing the call was from the Supreme Court, she frowned.

I could tell Gabriella was puzzled. The court hearing had been set for weeks, and every stage of the proceedings had been filed and approved in advance. There shouldn't have been any last-minute developments that required her presence.

Just as she was still thinking it over, the consultation room door opened, and Christopher Wright stepped out. My eyes settled on the wedding ring on his left ring finger. It matched the ring on Gabriella's finger.

For the past five years, some inexplicable force had bound me to Gabriella's side. I watched her brand me a traitor, marry another man, and begin preparing for pregnancy.

All the pain and resentment had given way to acceptance by now.

"The doctor said I've recovered well. We can start trying for a baby." Christopher walked over to Gabriella, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

Gabriella put her phone away at once. The gloom left her face, and even her posture seemed to relax. Her voice softened. "That's good. Feeling tired?"

"Not at all. It's just a routine checkup. I didn't sit there for long."

Christopher looked up at her. "Why do you look so pale? Did something happen with the unit again?"

"Nothing serious. Something came up at work at the last minute. I need to attend a proceeding at the Supreme Court."

Gabriella held his hand. "I'll have the driver take you home. I made some soup earlier. Have it while it's still hot. Once I'm done with work, I'll come home right away and spend time with you."

After watching Christopher get into the car, Gabriella hurried to the courthouse.

When the heavy courtroom doors swung open, Gabriella strode inside in her police uniform. Everyone immediately turned to look at her, while camera shutters clicked nonstop.

I followed Gabriella into the courtroom. The moment I saw Oliver Rypien ahead of us, images of my mentor, Daniel Mercer, and my fallen comrades' bloodied, mangled faces flashed through my mind.

I was dying to lunge at Oliver and tear him apart, but there was nothing I could do. After all, a soul couldn't hurt the living.

Gabriella walked straight to the prosecution table, nodded to the presiding judge, and turned to Oliver, seated at the defendant's table.

"You had some insider information you wanted to tell me in person?"

Looking up at Gabriella, Oliver suddenly grinned, revealing his yellow teeth.

"Gabriella, I'm here to talk about Victor Patton."

As soon as my name rang out in the courtroom, I jolted and instinctively looked at Gabriella. I saw her stiffen, a murderous glint flashing in her eyes.

Oliver snorted, seeming pleased with her reaction. He leaned back in his chair as if unbothered by whatever came next.

Gabriella came to her senses and said coldly, "Victor Patton was a disgraced police officer who went rogue.

"Back then, he colluded with you, leading to more than a dozen police officers' deaths. He even fled the country after embezzling hundreds of millions of assets. What? Are you going to reveal his location?"

Oliver clicked his tongue, wagging a finger at her.

"I wouldn't say that. He was an officer killed in action. I paid a heavy price just to kill him, but what choice did I have? He killed my younger brother.

"Good thing I had spies on your team. Just before he died, all he could think about was you." Oliver closed his eyes, as if he were savoring the memory.

"What nonsense!" Gabriella scoffed. "He must've bribed you from overseas to say something like that. He made you put on a show before your execution!"

Her gaze swept across the reporters in the courtroom. "Anyone who spreads these rumors will be prosecuted for leaking classified police information. No exceptions."

The audience erupted in chaos, and the reporters' cameras clicked even more frantically. A murmur ran through the courtroom.

The presiding judge struck the gavel three times in a row before the audience finally fell silent.

Once the commotion in the courtroom died down, Oliver let out a snort. "What's the rush? I sealed his body inside Pier 17 of the Joy Bridge.

"You remember that place, don't you? Seven years ago, Victor led a team to intercept our cargo ship in those waters. He was the one who fired the shot and killed my younger brother."

Gabriella immediately went pale. Her rage vanished in an instant, and all she could hear was the growing thud of her heartbeat.

The presiding judge asked for more details, but Oliver kept silent. He cocked his head at Gabriella, grinning as if he were enjoying the drama unfolding.

Without speaking to Oliver, Gabriella turned and walked out of the courtroom.

As I was a soul, I had no choice but to follow her. Behind her, reporters hurried toward her, but she ignored them and quickly got into the car.

"Contact the media immediately. We're holding an emergency press conference in 30 minutes."

Half an hour later, Gabriella and I stood in the press room at the Gakoli Police Station. I looked down from the stage—everything felt strangely distant.

Dressed in a crisp police uniform, Gabriella delivered her official statement before the cameras.

"In today's public trial, statements made by death row inmate Oliver Rypien were nothing more than malicious lies. There was no evidence to support them.

"We have solid evidence that Victor Patton went rogue five years ago. The Gakoli Police Department forbids anyone from using the statements of a death row inmate to mislead the public, defame the police force, or challenge a lawful conviction."

At her words, something struck deep within my soul. The pain was so intense that I felt like I was being torn apart.

In Gabriella's eyes, I was a traitor who had been living it up for the past five years.

A reporter immediately raised her hand, asking, "Chief Campbell, Oliver Rypien already made it clear where Victor Patton's body is. Will the Gakoli Police Department conduct any drilling at Pier 17 of the Joy Bridge to verify his statement?"

Gabriella's gaze swept across the room.

"No. It would be irresponsible of the Gakoli Police Department to damage the city's key transportation hub over the baseless claim of a death row inmate, as it would pose a risk to public safety."

Once the press conference was over, the head of the narcotics unit stopped Gabriella as soon as she stepped out of the press room.

The head of the narcotics unit handed Gabriella an application form filled with signatures.

"Chief Campbell, here's the application form to conduct drilling at Pier 17 of the Joy Bridge. Everyone in the narcotics unit has signed it.

"We have to get to the bottom of this, regardless of whether Oliver was telling the truth. We owe the truth to our fallen comrades and the public!"

Gabriella swept her eyes across the application form before crumpling it into a ball.

"Application rejected."

"Chief Campbell!"

"Enough." Gabriella looked at the head of the narcotics unit. "From now on, you're suspended from duty. Go back and reflect on your behavior. Do not return until you've thought things through."

My soul hovered over the passenger seat as I watched Gabriella open the door and get into the car. As soon as the door shut, the facade she had maintained at the press conference instantly fell apart.

Gabriella leaned back in her seat, still stern and aloof, but the corners of her eyes kept twitching. We had been together for ten years, and I knew every subtle shift in her expression by heart.

My soul hovered at her side, trembling with surging emotions. "Gabriella, are you scared?"

In the car, only her increasingly heavy breathing remained. As the silence lingered, light flickered across her face.

There was no sign of the smiling young woman who had once helped me put on my goggles at the shooting range years ago.

After a long time, Gabriella opened WhatsApp. The same chat had been pinned for the past five years, and the profile photo was my ID picture taken at the entrance of the narcotics unit. I was dressed in my police uniform, my eyes shining.

Gabriella stared at my profile photo for a long time before sending me message after message.

"Victor, what on earth are you up to?"

"Five years ago, you went rogue and got hundreds of our comrades killed. Wasn't that enough?"

"Daniel's dead. They said you were a traitor. I refuse to believe that."

"As long as you say you didn't do it, I'll believe you."

Gabriella's fingers trembled for a moment before settling on the last message.

"Victor Patton, I hate you."

In the end, she slammed her phone onto the passenger seat.

As I read those messages, I felt as if I had been thrown into ice water, a chill spreading through me.

When I went undercover for Oliver's operation, I was one step away from the final takedown, but I didn't know how my cover almost got blown.

It was Daniel who sacrificed his life so I could stay undercover. He even took the fall for the compromised operation.

On the day he died, his last words were for me to keep going and not let the force down. But with his death, the last person who could prove my innocence was gone.

I watched Gabriella bury her face in her hands. The resentment, grievance, and searing pain kept wearing down my soul.

After a long time, Gabriella regained her composure. She slowly smoothed out the application form she had crumpled earlier.

She stared at the names signed on the form. These were the comrades who had once risked their lives with us.

"Victor, perhaps it's time I gave up on you for good."

She pulled out a pen from her suit pocket and prepared to sign the form, but at that moment, her phone rang—it was Christopher.

Gabriella answered the call, her expression softening instantly.

Christopher's voice, filled with pain, came through the phone. "Gabriella, my chest hurts."

Gabriella sat up straight immediately, her voice turning tense. "What's going on? Where are you?"

"I'm at home. I just watched the news about Oliver's live trial. I suddenly thought of Daniel and felt overwhelmed.

"I've been like this for a while, but I just can't calm down. Now my chest is starting to hurt."