To him, it was simply easier not to be bothered.

If the flood hadn’t destroyed the track, I might have remained underground, unknown forever.

When my name was announced, the crowd erupted in shocked exclamations.

“Ah! It’s her?”

“Wasn’t Ms. Carter the one who supposedly seduced the president for promotion? After he rejected her, she left in disgrace… yet she’s been buried under the athletic field all along?”

“Hmph! I said it back then—Ms. Carter wasn’t that kind of woman. There had to be more to her disappearance. Maybe she was killed by that son-in-law!”

“Shhh! Keep your voice down—you want to get expelled?”

“Expelled, so be it! I can’t stand that Daniel Brooks! Youngest professor? More like a wolf in sheep’s clothing!”

“It must have been him. He killed her so he could marry the president’s daughter!”

My soul drifted away, floating into the research building, to a third-floor office.

There sat my former fiancé, Daniel Brooks, appearing serious at his desk.

But just beyond the desk was a far more scandalous scene—

Vanessa Miller, the president’s daughter, hid beneath it in black stockings and high heels.

“Do you feel good, honey?”

“You little temptress, you love playing with fire! What if someone sees us? Wait until we get home—I’ll show you what happens in bed!”

Daniel pretended to scold, but his tone was playful.

“Hehe, even though we’re married now, I still think sneaking around in your office is the most exciting. Remember back when you were dating Emily? We used to sneak around like this too, back when you didn’t even have your own office. Strangers would walk in—it was such a thrill!”

As Vanessa reminisced shamelessly, Daniel’s face twisted in disgust at the mention of my name.

“Don’t bring up that shameless woman! Makes me sick!”

Overcome with desire, he grabbed Vanessa and pressed her onto the couch.

“I can’t wait until tonight—I want you right here, right now!”

But before their lust could consume them, a knock sounded at the door.

The police had arrived.

“Emily Carter is dead?”

“Her body was buried beneath the athletic field all this time?”

Both were shocked—one with genuine surprise, the other with guilty panic.

After all, it was Vanessa who had killed me.

And while Daniel hadn’t laid his hands on me directly, he was complicit.

Daniel and I had met while studying abroad in the UK. We fell in love, and I had stronger academic achievements than him. I could have stayed overseas with a promising career.

But for love, I returned to the United States with him, and we both applied for teaching positions at the university.

At first, everything seemed fine.

Until I discovered Daniel’s affair with Vanessa, then still a senior student.

Vanessa was lazy, never attending classes, spending her days partying. With her father protecting her, no professor dared fail her.

But she wanted more—graduation, a faculty position.

To make it happen, she needed forged transcripts and a polished thesis.

The easiest path was stealing an unpublished paper.

She set her sights on mine—freshly completed but not yet submitted.

When I confronted her, she wielded her father’s authority to intimidate me.

I refused to yield and threatened to report her academic fraud.

That was when Richard Miller strangled me in his office.

And together, they buried me under the athletic field.

To cover their crime, they spread lies—claiming I had tried to seduce the president for tenure, then disappeared in shame.

Three years passed in a blur.

With my stolen thesis, Vanessa secured a faculty position.

Her true motive for killing me wasn’t only plagiarism—it was also to steal Daniel away.

Now they were married.

With his father-in-law’s support, Daniel was promoted to Associate Professor, the youngest in the entire university, basking in his undeserved glory.

Behind his back, however, colleagues sneered, calling him “a shameless opportunist” and “a kept man.”

The adulterous pair arrived at the scene where my body had been found.

Vanessa, guilty and fearful, dared not approach.

Daniel stepped closer, took one look at my remains—and vomited violently.

“Professor Brooks, we heard you and the victim were once engaged. What was your relationship like?”

“The victim disappeared three years ago. Why didn’t you report it? Instead, you married someone else?”

“Now that Emily Carter’s body has been discovered, what do you have to say?”

The officers fired questions relentlessly, suspicion thick in their voices.

In many past cases, when one partner is murdered, the other is often the prime suspect.

Naturally, Daniel was at the top of their list.

Hearing the implication, Daniel erupted like a wronged man in an old tragedy.

“What do you mean? You suspect me? You think I could kill someone?”

“I’m a PhD who studied abroad!”

“I’m an intellectual! This is an insult to my integrity!”

“I don’t know why Emily died, but it has nothing to do with me! I always thought she had just disappeared!”

“Besides, our relationship was already strained before she vanished. She was too sensitive, always paranoid—it exhausted me! Since when is breaking up a crime?”

Vanessa joined in, feigning outrage.

“Yeah! Are you trying to pin this crime on us just because you can’t solve it?”

“That bitch’s death has nothing to do with Daniel!”

“They were already breaking up! I wasn’t some mistress—we were in a real relationship!”

But she was lying.

She had known all along, shameless and vile.

“That woman wanted tenure and tried to sleep with my dad. He rejected her, and she stormed out. Who knows if she had some secret lover outside? Maybe she was killed during an affair!”

“Oh, and three years ago, the athletic field was under renovation. A lot of construction workers were there. Those men were desperate, you know—maybe they did it! Used her, killed her, then buried her!”

Having regained her composure, Vanessa worked hard to clear her name and mislead the investigation.

Back then, when father and daughter decided to bury me under the track, it was partly because the site was hidden and safer than disposing of my body elsewhere.

But also because, if suspicion ever arose, they could blame the transient construction workers.

Those laborers were hard to track, often moving across the country with incomplete records.

The police could never realistically identify each one.

Without concrete evidence, the officers could only question them routinely.

Just as they were about to take my remains to the forensic center for further autopsy, a furious shout pierced the air.

“You bastard! You killed Ms. Carter!”

“You heartless traitor!”

A handsome young man broke through the crowd and punched Daniel squarely in the nose.

The punch sent Daniel Brooks sprawling, blood gushing from his nose.

The scene dissolved into chaos as the police rushed to restrain the furious young man.

Panting heavily, he no longer struck at Daniel but instead collapsed onto my remains, weeping uncontrollably.

He wasn’t afraid of my horrific corpse, nor did he care about the foul stench. He clung tightly to my remains, unwilling to let go.

Seeing Jason Reed, I felt a flicker of comfort in my heart.

So, even after my death, there was still someone in this world who cared for me.

Jason should be in his second year of graduate school by now.

When he first entered the university, I had been his advisor.

Jason came from a poor background.

Though academically strong, he was often discriminated against by classmates. This left him insecure and withdrawn.

University life wasn’t pure anymore—it was a miniature society, full of vanity and prejudice, where wealth and status mattered more than integrity.

I always looked after Jason. I helped him apply for financial aid, and often even gave him part of my own salary to support him.

Though officially teacher and student, we got along more like siblings.

We shared similar fates—we had both lost our mothers early, and both had fathers who were indifferent and irresponsible.

So when slander was thrown at me, and everyone else turned their backs in ignorance, only Jason continued to believe in my innocence.

The crowd was still buzzing with noise when Richard Miller appeared.

He had the appearance of a respectable academic, but in truth, he was a hypocrite with a heart full of filth.

In my previous life, I felt unbearably wronged.

Killed over a thesis?

But watching now as a vengeful spirit, I understood the truth.

It wasn’t merely academic misconduct.

Richard was greedy and depraved.

He embezzled public funds, diverted research budgets, and preyed on female faculty and students. His list of crimes was endless.

His greatest fear was investigation.

Even if I had only reported his daughter for plagiarism, it could have drawn in a federal investigation committee.

And once the digging began, all of his corruption would be uncovered, leaving him to rot in prison.

That was why he and Vanessa killed me—to silence me.

Daniel hadn’t directly participated in the murder, fooled into thinking I had simply left.

But he was still an accomplice. After all, it was Daniel who secretly handed my unpublished thesis to Vanessa.

Richard held far more influence than even a State Education Commissioner.

When he arrived at the scene, the commotion immediately quieted.

He scolded Jason harshly, threatening him with disciplinary action.

Then, turning to the police, he played the statesman.

“Don’t worry. Our university will fully cooperate with the investigation.

But this is, after all, a place of learning. I’d prefer if this incident didn’t get blown out of proportion.

Could we handle this quietly? The reputation of the school is very important.”

The police eventually carried my remains away.

The crowd dispersed, and my death became the whispered topic in every dorm room that night.

Later that evening, in the Miller family’s suburban mansion, Vanessa appeared in a seductive nightgown, trying to entice Daniel.

“Come here, honey. It’s my safe day—we can have even more fun tonight…”

But Daniel frowned, looking distressed and uninterested.

“What’s wrong? Am I not attractive enough anymore?” Vanessa pouted, feigning innocence.

“Tell me, how do you think Emily really died? Didn’t she just leave campus on her own? What really happened three years ago? Do you think… do you think your father might know something?”