My estranged husband suddenly barges into my parents' home, demanding to know where I am. He forces my mother to her knees and pushes my paralyzed father to the floor before beating him up.

He even renders our four-year-old son half-dead.

Why? Because his true love is disfigured and needs a skin graft to restore her looks.

"Where is Victoria? She should be honored that she can do this for Amelia! Hand her over, or I'll kill all of you!"

It's too bad I've been dead for a year.

Victoria Marshall. That was my name.

Today marked 312 days since I died.

I couldn't let go, so my soul had been lingering in this world.

However, my husband, Noah Carlson, showed up at my doorstep with a bunch of burly men, shattering the peace of the countryside.

He glanced around with a face full of disdain.

"This place's still a dump. What's that smell? It stinks! Where's Victoria? Tell her to get out here! I was way too good to her. That's why she thinks she can ignore my calls and messages for a whole year. If Amelia hadn't gotten disfigured, I wouldn't have even bothered to look for her!"

For the past year, my name had become a taboo in this house.

When my mom, Melissa Young, heard it, her eyes welled up with tears.

She slowly lifted her empty gaze and said, "Vic is gone. She died in the earthquake last year…"

She began to chase them out.

"Stop looking! Vic's dead! My daughter is dead!"

Noah didn't believe her. He let out a sneer.

"There's no way someone that vicious would be dead! She's way too scared to die. If you won't tell me, I'll find her myself. Screw off!"

With that, he barged into the room I used to live in with those burly men.

Everything inside was spotless and untouched, just the way I'd left it. Because of that, Noah was convinced I still lived here.

He turned the tiny room upside down, searching every corner where someone might hide. Of course, he didn't find me.

How could he? I was already dead.

Floating behind him, I couldn't help but let out a sneer.

A year ago, I was still a doctor on a disaster relief team.

That day, a magnitude-seven earthquake struck. My team was ordered to the scene to provide medical support.

I carried a heavy medical kit on my back, treating the wounded in the epicenter.

While passing a collapsed building, I spotted a pair of familiar figures.

It was Noah and Amelia Duffy, entwined together. Their faces were pale, their bare skin scratched and bloodied.

I couldn't believe the man I loved had actually betrayed me. I could still remember the indescribable pain at that moment.

However, duty came first. I pushed aside my personal grudges and called for the relief team to pull them out.

After they were pulled from the debris, I quickly cleaned their wounds and moved on to the next site.

That day, I saved a lot of people. By the time I got home, it was already 2:00 am.

I was completely exhausted.

Suddenly, Amelia showed up anxiously. She claimed that Noah was in critical condition at the hospital.

In a panic, I followed her without a second thought.

She stopped when we reached a remote, deserted place. Standing behind me, she grinned and stabbed me in the back with a boning knife.

"Time to go, Victoria."

Pain surged through me instantly. I dropped to the ground, powerless, as blood gushed from my body.

"W-Why… I saved your life!"

Amelia let out a cold laugh.

"I'm about to marry the son of the richest man. Yet, you've caught me with Noah today. If this gets out, everything will be ruined! So you have to die. Only the dead can keep secrets."

If it had been any other day, I wouldn't have followed her blindly. I would've fought back.

However, that day, I was too tired and worried about Noah. In the end, I died under her boning knife.

After that, she dismembered my body and dumped it. She then used my phone to send Noah a divorce message.

The moment Noah saw the text, he agreed without hesitation. He didn't even want our four-year-old son, Oliver Carlson.

If Amelia hadn't been disfigured, I doubt he would've ever looked for me.

Tears of blood fell from my eyes. If I could live again, I'd never fall in love with him.

The place was a complete mess.

My dad, Richard Marshall, sat in his wheelchair, grief written all over his face.

His voice trembled as he said, "Noah, why won't you believe us? Vic is dead. There wasn't even a body left to bury."

Noah spat on the ground.

"Nonsense! Do you really think you can fool me with a story like that? Victoria loved me too much to die and leave me behind!"

With a single glance from him, two of the men behind him yanked my dad out of the wheelchair and beat him without mercy.

My dad had been paralyzed for years. He couldn't even lift a hand to defend himself. Soon, he was covered in bruises and blood.

My mom tried to stop them, but Noah kicked her aside. She fell hard to the floor.

"You old woman! Tell me where Victoria is, or I'll beat him to death!"

I hovered near them, helpless and frantic.

"Noah! Stop it!" I shouted in vain. I wanted to stop it all, but there was nothing I could do.

My hands passed right through them. I couldn't even stir the air.

Cries of pain and the sounds of fists landing echoed through the house. Every sound was a stab to my heart.

Oliver woke up from all the noise. He rubbed his eyes and stumbled out of his room. The moment he saw his grandparents getting beaten, he burst into terrified sobs.

Noah's eyes lit up when he saw Oliver.

"Where's your mom?"

Oliver had never been close to him. After Amelia returned to the country, Noah barely came home anymore. To Oliver, he was just a stranger.

Choking on his sobs, Oliver whispered, "Grandma said Mommy went far away. She said I'll see her again when I grow up."

Noah kicked Oliver in a fury.

I rushed to shield him, but I couldn't touch anything.

"Lying at your age? You're bound to grow up into a menace! I was right not to want you. Look at what your mom turned you into!"

Oliver cried in pain.

Watching him cry ripped me apart.

How could he do this? That was his own son! How could he not even have a shred of love or trust for him?

My mom's voice cracked as she screamed, "Noah! Vic is dead. She's dead, do you hear me? How dare you come back here looking for her? You cheated on her behind her back! Do you think you deserve anything after that?"

Noah let out a mocking laugh.

"So what? Amelia saved my life. I was dying from acute liver failure, and she didn't hesitate to give me part of her liver! And where was Victoria? She didn't even show up! The only woman I ever loved was Amelia. She's disfigured now and needs a skin graft. I have to help her!"

His liver?

Did he say Amelia gave it to him?

I laughed bitterly, touching my abdomen. Even as a ghost, I could still feel the pain from that operation. The scar where they took my liver still ached faintly.

My dad let out a heavy sigh.

"Noah, I'm telling you one last time. My daughter is dead. Believe it or not. Now get out of my house, or I'm calling the police!"

Noah sneered. "So, you're all saying Victoria's dead, huh? Then where's her grave?"

He was brought to my grave.

A small mound rose from the flat earth. My name was carved into the tombstone.

"Dig it up," Noah ordered coldly.

I let out a bitter laugh. Did he hate me that much?

After we married, I gave him everything. I cared for him down to the smallest detail. I truly believed he'd come to see my worth and love me back one day.

However, not only did he ignore everything we once had, he even wanted to destroy my final resting place.

My mom threw herself in front of the grave.

"Stop! Don't touch it! Noah, please, let her rest in peace! I'm begging you…"

"Get out of the way, you old woman!"

The men he brought with him dragged her aside and started digging.

They pinned my dad to the ground. His voice cracked with pain as he roared, "Noah, you bastard! You heartless monster! You'll get what's coming to you!"

Noah found him annoying and shoved a handful of dirt straight into his mouth. "Shut up."

It didn't take long before they broke through my grave. The moment they lifted the lid of my coffin, everyone froze.

There wasn't a complete body inside my coffin. Only broken, scattered limb bones were there.

Noah burst into laughter. He then kicked my remains across the dirt.

"This is what you're trying to fool me with? A couple of broken bones?"

My mom sobbed uncontrollably, shaking her head.

"Noah, please stop! Vic is gone. We couldn't even find her full body. This was all we could recover…"

My memories dragged me back to the day I was murdered a year ago.

Amelia stabbed me a hundred times.

After I died, she mutilated my body. My limbs were stuffed into suitcases and tossed into the sea.

When Christmas came and I still hadn't called home, my dad started to worry. He called the police as he couldn't reach me at all.

They opened an investigation.

They searched for weeks. It wasn't until two months later that a fisherman hauled up a suitcase during a routine catch. When he opened it and saw a severed hand, he panicked and called the police.

DNA testing confirmed it was mine.

After that, the police combed through that stretch of ocean for three days. Eventually, they recovered my arms and legs. They never found my torso.

However, Noah was growing impatient.

"Tell Victoria to cut it out. She's wrong if she thinks playing hard to get will work. I came all the way here to bring her back. She should be grateful. As long as she agrees to donate skin for Amelia, I'll remarry her."