When I was killed, my elder brother Xavier was picking out a dress for his sister's 18th birthday.

　　The last sentence he said to me was, "Mind yourself. Don't come to me even if you're going to die in the next two days!"

　　However, he was summoned to the police station early in the morning to investigate a serious case. So, Chloe's 18th birthday celebration was delayed because of me.

　　After reading the autopsy report, Xavier concluded that it was a hate crime.

　　I smiled in relief.

　　"Xavier, you don't have to curse me anymore."

　　"I'm really dead."

　　After the first piece of my body was found, the police rushed to the scene.

　　They searched in the river for three days and barely managed to find all the pieces. Later, five medical examiners worked all night and finally pieced them together.

　　The most experienced one looked shocked. He took off his gloves and wiped his sweat while saying,

　　"This is the most tragic death I've ever seen since I entered the industry."

　　The surrounding police officers all looked serious. Even the medical examiner said so, so it was not easy to find clues.

　　It was extremely difficult to solve the case.

　　By the time Xavier arrived, the first round of autopsy had just ended.

　　He was panting heavily with a shopping bag in his hand.

　　Several young policemen rushed up to find clues, but as soon as they approached, they vomited all over the river bank.

　　Carson approached Xavier and looked at the shopping bag in his hand with a frown.

　　"What is it? Your two younger sisters' birthday gifts? It's inappropriate to bring it here. Don't you think?"

　　Only then did Xavier suddenly remember what he was holding in his hand. When he heard Carson mention me, he frowned and looked unhappy.

　　"My two younger sisters? I, Xavier Cullen, only have one younger sister. That's Chloe!"

　　"That bitch isn't worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as Chloe. She's bad luck! My father traded his life for hers. She will definitely not live long, so a birthday celebration is not necessary for her! She needs a funeral."

　　The undisguised hatred in his tone made my heart bleed.

　　I was afraid I didn't have a funeral anymore.

　　No one would come to claim my body.

　　Hearing this, Carson heaved a long sigh. "Calvin sacrificed his life to save her. Think about it. Harper didn't do anything wrong. She is also a victim. It was Calvin's own choice to save her. Why do you hate her so much?"

　　Xavier pursed his lips tightly and frowned, but he didn't respond.

　　He turned around, got in the car, and put down the shopping bag. Then, he quickly changed into his police uniform and began to investigate the case.

　　Carson handed the autopsy report to him with a grave expression.

　　"Can you see any clues?"

　　"The deceased should be 16 or 18 years old and thin. Her body was soaked in the water for too long, so I couldn't see any clues on it or any traces of the murderer."

　　"The way the murderer broke the body seems to be lethal. They might have built up a resentment for a long time."

　　"The DNA sample has been sent to the lab. Now we can only see if there are any cases of missing persons reported recently. I'm afraid that a special investigation team will be set up since the murderer has lost his humanity. We must arrest him as soon as possible to avoid panic."

　　Xavier nodded as he listened. His eyes widened when they fell on "missing fingers" on the report.

　　"Five fingers are missing? Did he cut off her hands?"

　　Carson's face darkened. "I'm not sure if we've got an intact body or if the murderer deliberately left fingers. The second search is in progress. There should be a result tomorrow."

　　After that, he looked at Xavier cautiously.

　　"The deceased is about the same age as your two sisters. Tell them to be more careful. Don't go to the wild. Wait until the murderer is arrested and brought to justice."

　　Xavier nodded and put away the report in his hand.

　　"I've had someone around Chloe's residence. Since she got rescued, I've been vigilant all the time."

　　Carson looked at him disapprovingly. "Although you are not related to Harper by blood, she has lived in your house for 12 years after all. When you didn't learn that your biological sister was abducted, you cared about her very much, didn't you?"

　　Tears welled up in Xavier's eyes at this.

　　"Because I used to treat her as my own sister, I hated myself even more when I knew that she had made my real sister fall into the hands of a perverted murderer for 12 years!"

　　"She's the daughter of a murderer. How could she be a good person? She hid around me for so long and my father risked his life to save her! She deserves to die. Why wasn't she ending up dead in the river today?"

　　This was not the first time I had heard those cruel words.

　　When I found out I was not his biological sister and the murderer switched me with his daughter, Xavier hurled the most vicious words in the world at me.

　　...

　　He was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he laughed maniacally.

　　I hated this cruel twist of fate.

　　Why was I the daughter of a perverted murderer?

　　I liked Calvin as my dad and Xavier as my brother. I liked the Cullen family.

　　I didn't do anything wrong, but I had to take all the blame.

　　Since the day my real identity was found out, Xavier had hated me for six years.

　　He always wanted me to die.

　　But he never knew that I had the same wish as him.

　　But every time thoughts of suicide came to my mind, my father's loving face would appear in my mind.

　　I could not die. Dad wanted to see me live happily.

　　But I let him down.

　　Xavier finally got what he wanted. He didn't have to curse me anymore.

　　At this moment, he looked at the back of my hand under the white cloth and frowned as if he had discovered something.

　　He rushed to my body and lifted my hand with a pen.

　　The back of my hand was tattooed with my dad's badge number. Xavier could definitely find some clues.

　　But the next second, he let go of my hand, and the pen slipped down his palm.

　　He exchanged a look with Carson and shook his head in disappointment.

　　Only then did I remember that the murderer had cut the back of my hand with a knife before killing me. In addition, my body was immersed in the river, so he couldn't find any clues.

　　Seeing my rotting body with his own eyes, Xavier frowned and couldn't help retching.

　　After thinking for a while, he picked up his phone and made a call.

　　"Chloe, why did it take you so long to answer the phone? Are you watching a TV series?"

　　"I gotta interrupt you for a moment. Now, close the window leading out onto the balcony and the ones in the kitchen and lock all of them. The case I'm handling right now is a little tricky. I'll come back and celebrate your birthday when it's over, okay?"

　　I haven't seen him so gentle for six years.

　　The look in his eyes was loving and tender.

　　To make it up to Chloe, who had been abducted for 12 years, he doted on her as much as he could.

　　Even when I was still his sister, he had never treated me like this.

　　After a long while, he finally hung up the phone.

　　Every word of his concern for her was like a sharp knife stabbing into my heart.

　　When the photos of my body were saved in the file, he looked at the missing part of my body and frowned.

　　At this time, Carson handed him a bottle of water and said with concern,

　　"You just called Chloe. Why don't you give Harper a call too? She's been living on her own for six years since she was 12. Her life is hard enough."

　　Xavier's face darkened, but Carson continued,

　　"If I remember right, it's Chloe's birthday tomorrow. Harper goes back to you at this time of the year. She's a big girl now. Don't throw her out the door again."

　　"Listen to me, let bygones be bygones! If Calvin were still alive, he wouldn't want to see you like this."

　　Xavier heard my name and became so angry that the veins on his neck throbbed.

　　He said through gritted teeth, "I'm investigating a case now. I can't go back or call her. Carson, if you're worried, call her yourself. Anyway, you've helped her a lot in the past six years!"

　　After that, he turned around and left. This time, he didn't even listen to Carson.

　　I forced a smile and felt sorry for Carson.

　　In the past six years, without his secret help, I might not even afford to go to school.

　　If I had known that I would be targeted and die miserable, I would have saved some tuition fees to buy Carson some kebabs.

　　When Dad was still alive, he liked to eat kebabs and drink with him.

　　Bitterness welled up in my chest, and I couldn't breathe.

　　Several police officers who were investigating the case slept in the car for the whole night, and the people on duty tried to fish out my fingers overnight.

　　Early in the morning, the third search was over, but they still found nothing.

　　Xavier woke up early. He looked grim when the rescue team members all frowned.

　　Carson came over and said with a serious face, "It seems that the key to this case is the fingers."

　　"What's wrong with the fingers?"

　　Xavier replied coldly, "There is either evidence of a murder or clues of the deceased's identity on them."

　　After a while, Carson suddenly remembered something and immediately grabbed Xavier's arm.

　　"Xavier, if I remember right, Harper lost two fingers on her right hand, didn't she?"

　　The look of panic on his face stunned Xavier for a moment.

　　He said impatiently, "She's missing two fingers, not five."

　　"I didn't cut off her hand!"

　　Carson's eyes flickered as he said warily, "No, call Harper now. I'm getting more and more flustered."

　　Hearing this, Xavier said disdainfully, "Her father is a perverted murderer. Even if something happens, she is on his side! Stop worrying!"

　　After saying this, he didn't notice the disappointment in Carson's eyes.

　　Just as Carson was about to call me, Xavier's phone rang.

　　When he saw the name on the screen, his face instantly softened.

　　When he answered the phone, his tone became gentle.

　　"What's wrong, Chloe?"

　　"Nothing. Harper came and wished me a happy birthday. I told her you were not home, and she left."

　　Carson was very close to Xavier and could hear Chloe's voice.

　　He heaved a sigh of relief in an instant.

　　Xavier snapped, "Get her out of there! She just pretended to be kind. She wished you a happy birthday but left when she knew I was not with you."

　　"She has no conscience! She used your identity for 12 years and will never be able to repay you for the rest of her life!"

　　"She wished you a happy birthday and that's it?"

　　My heart, which had ached for six years, was completely broken at this moment.

　　Xavier, I'd give my life back to her now.

　　I didn't want anything.

　　No one could hear my voice, let alone feel my despair.

　　I watched helplessly as they returned to the police station without finding anything.

　　Xavier strode in and asked the person on duty last night, "Did you receive any report of missing girls? If you did, let me know!"

　　The news of a floating body retrieved at the bottom of the river last night quickly reached the police station. Everyone looked grave.

　　Without getting the answer he wanted, Xavier walked out with a gloomy face.

　　He grumbled, "Her parents are not responsible. The girl has been missing for a whole day, but they didn't call the police yet. Today's world is dangerous for girls. Don't they have any common sense? They are really bad parents! When I see them, I will definitely teach them a lesson!"

　　Carson couldn't help but sigh. "I guess when they see the body, they'll learn their lesson!"

　　Xavier rubbed his eyes, looking tired.

　　Thinking of the shopping bag in the car, he made a request.

　　"There is no progress in the case for the time being. Today is Chloe's 18th birthday. I'll go back and give her the gift now. It won't take me long. I told the lab to call me at any time when the result comes out. And I'll be there as soon as possible."

　　I froze on the spot. I couldn't believe that my brother would put aside the case for Chloe's birthday.

　　He used to be a perfect policeman in my heart, just like my father.

　　He couldn't even sleep well until he investigated the case thoroughly.

　　When I was a child, I admired my father the most. I was even determined to be a good policeman after I grew up.

　　But after finding out who I really was, I completely lost this opportunity.

　　Xavier mocked me and ripped open my old wounds without mercy.