Chapter 1
“Katherine Graham, you’re really cruel,” Derrick Graham murmured, the white hospital room thick with the stench of disinfectant.
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On the bed, Katherine Graham looked haggard. A nasal cannula rested under her nose, her lips pale, yet there was no trace of dryness or chapping, as if someone had been carefully tending to them.
Beside the bed, Derrick knelt on one knee, his tall frame slightly bent. His trembling hand reached out, but just as it was about to touch her, it froze midair.
His expression was calm, only the corners of his lips twitching uncontrollably, but his eyes looked unbearably sorrowful.
“You really hate me so much that even on your deathbed, you won’t look at me.” As Derrick finished, it was like the weight on his shoulders finally collapsed.
He lowered his head, his whole body shaking beyond control. His choked voice was mixed with sharp, ragged breaths, as if he couldn’t breathe.
Derrick didn’t know that behind him, a faint, almost transparent figure had quietly appeared. Her delicate, composed features were exactly the same as the woman lying on the bed.
Katherine looked at herself on the bed, then lowered her gaze to her nearly translucent hands and let out a short, derisive laugh. “So there really are such things as ghosts.”
Then she looked at Derrick, who seemed on the verge of breaking from grief, and found it laughable.
“Derrick, ten years ago, you drugged me, slept with me, and ruined my reputation. Who are you trying to fool with this act of affection?” Katherine laughed, yet tears still slid down her cheeks.
“Forget it. There’s no point in holding it against you.” Katherine gave a bitter smile, a hint of pity flickering across her face. “You’re just a pathetic man who’s never been loved and doesn’t know how to love.”
She lifted her hand and brushed her chin, teardrops sliding down the back of her withered hand.
In a low murmur, Katherine’s expression suddenly softened with longing. “I wonder how Charles Miller is. I wish I could see him one more time.” With that thought, Katherine’s soul vanished from where she stood.
All of a sudden, Derrick, who had been bracing himself on the floor and silently crying, seemed to sense something and turned around.
On the spotless floor, there was a damp patch in an irregular circle, with tiny droplets scattered around it as if splashed when it fell.
He suddenly let out a laugh, then turned to look at Katherine on the bed, noticing a tear had slipped from the corner of her eye at some point.
A look of release crossed Derrick’s face as he gently wiped her cheek with his thumb “You must be feeling lonely, aren’t you? Without me bothering you, I bet you’re not used to it.”
He kept talking to himself, his gaze lingering with a hint of yearning. “Don’t be afraid. Once I find you a few more people to join you, I’ll come keep you company,” he muttered.
“Windridge Villa?” Katherine, now only a ghost, felt her mind waver. When she opened her eyes again, she was met with familiar decor. It was the Lawson family’s villa, but now it was filled with people who didn’t hear the family name.
The bedroom in front of Katherine still looked the same, even the bed was the one she had slept in for twenty years. But now, the two familiar, bare figures tangled together on it struck her like a punch to the gut.
“No way. How could this be?” Katherine murmured, staring at the scene before her.
She had been married for over a decade. She wasn’t some naive, blushing girl who would shy away from a scene like this. But right now, her face was burning red, and it was entirely from anger.
“This can’t be real. Mia Grant, I treated you like my own sister, Katherine suddenly screamed in a frenzy, wanting to rush forward and tear them apart, but her body passed through them again and again.
The two were completely unaware they were being watched at this very moment. Mia’s soft, delicate skin was marked with scattered
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fingerprints. She was flushed, pressing her palms against Charles’s chest, her face glowing with smug, self–satisfied vanity.
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“How is it? Doing it in my stepsister’s room–doesn’t it make it that much more thrilling?” Mia let out a bright, piercing laugh, her tone dripping with seduction. “For all you know, her ghost might be hiding in some corner right now, watching us.”
Charles’s body tensed, and the face of the refined gentleman was now twisted by desire into something almost feral.
He smirked, “Fine. Then let her watch and see who the true head of the Lawson family is now. It’s just a pity–Katherine is so beautiful and her body’s so hot, yet I never got the chance to sleep with her once.”
Mia gave him a playful look of reproach. “You’re awful, already in bed with me and still thinking about someone else. Aren’t you the least bit ashamed?”
“Ashamed?” Charles sneered. “Ten years ago, when we worked together to drug her, I could’ve had her. But somehow Derrick, that douchebag, got the prize instead.”
At that, Mia’s expression darkened, a flicker of jealousy and hatred flashing in her eyes before she quickly masked it. “She was never meant to have you, and she was never going to get your love.”
Charles smirked, his gaze glinting with lewd intent, clearly lost in some filthy fantasy.
Katherine’s shouting had worn her out. She stared blankly at the two of them as they came. She whispered, “Ten years ago, it was you two. All these years, I had it wrong?”
But even faced with the truth, Katherine no longer had the strength to be angry. Looking at the man she had loved for ten years, she felt nothing but disgust. At this moment, there was only one person in her mind–Derrick.
Katherine thought, ‘If everything is a lie, then what are these ten years?‘
Lost in her daze, she heard the door being gently pushed open. A small, adorable child crawled in across the floor, babbling words no one else could understand.
Katherine’s gaze snapped into focus. “Kit.” She remembered that when she knew her days were numbered, she had entrusted her only son, Christopher Graham,
to
Mia.
But now, Katherine noticed Christopher’s clothes were filthy, the collar stained with dried food residue. The arms and legs peeking out from his clothes were covered in bruises, as if he had been living under constant abuse rather than care.
What was worse, Katherine saw that there was a thick iron chain fastened around Christopher’s neck.
Katherine let out a shrill scream, lunging forward to try to undo the chain, but her body still couldn’t touch anything solid. “Mia, how
you mistreat my son like this? Even as a ghost, I won’t let you off.”
dare
She had never liked this child who had been born with an intellectual disability. But Christopher was her own flesh and blood. No matter how much she disliked him, she’d still wanted to pave the way for the rest of his life before she died.
Katherine hadn’t expected to entrust him to the wrong person, only for her child to end up chained by the neck like a dog.
Mia screamed, instinctively yanking the blanket over herself. Charles, on the other hand, froze for a moment when he saw the boy whose features were almost identical to Katherine’s.
Christopher, just as Charles had imagined, looked at him with wide, trusting eyes.
“Kate.” Charles got out of bed and reached a hand toward Christopher. “Kate, come here.”
Katherine watched as Christopher crawled toward Charles step by step and placed his hand in Charles’s palm, and she charged forward in a frenzy.
“You jerk, what are you trying to do? Let Kit go right now,” Katherine roared, but her desperate lunge was nothing more than empty air. Charles yanked the oblivious Christopher into his arms, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
“Charlie, you- Mia gasped. Her expression turned to shock.
But before she could finish, Charles shot her a vicious glare. “Shut up. Don’t get in my way, Charles snapped.
But just as he was about to take it further, the half–closed door was suddenly kicked open. With a loud bang, it slammed into the wall so hard that a chunk of plaster fell off.
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This time, Mia truly screamed. After all, there was still a big difference between facing a grown man and a slow–witted child.
Seeing who had come in, Charles also panicked, tossing Christopher aside and grabbing the clothes next to him to put on.
“Derrick, you’re trespassing,” Charles yelled. But before he could accuse Derrick of anything, Charles was kicked to the ground.
Derrick was dressed in black, looking intimidating, but it was nothing compared to the storm hidden in his eyes. He was as terrifying as a demon crawling out of hell to claim lives, his stare enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
He raised his hand, a flash of light passing before Charles felt a sharp pain below. Seeing the limp thing fall to the side, Charles let out a piercing scream.
Derrick didn’t bother to listen. The next strike drove straight into Charles’s chest, ending his life in an instant.
Then, holding the blood–dripping knife, Derrick stepped toward Mia on the bed. “Katherine must be lonely. Since you two were the most important people to her, you can go keep her company.”
Mia gasped, “No. Let me go. Please, have some mercy. Ow!”
With Mia’s sharp cry, the two people who had caused Katherine such hatred and agony just moments ago were now dead.
Katherine stared blankly at the scene before her. When she came to her senses, she rushed forward and slapped Derrick hard across the face. “Are you insane? Do you have a death wish?” Katherine shouted.
Derrick had killed two people in a row. He was facing either the death penalty or life in prison.
Katherine grabbed Derrick’s shoulders and yelled, “Do you have any idea what this will cost you? I’m gone. I’m already dead. Do you understand?”
In the grip of extreme emotion, Derrick felt her pulling at his shoulder. He lowered his head in disbelief. He saw nothing, yet there was a strong, undeniable instinct. “Is that you?”
Then he gave a bitter smile, the bloodstained corner of his mouth drooping as if in grievance. “Are you trying to stop me from hurting them? I know you care about them, but they’re not worth it.”
After a long moment, Derrick lifted his hand, as if wanting to rest it on the one gripping his shoulder, but in the end, he didn’t.
His arm dropped weakly to his side. “You don’t like me touching you, so I guess you wouldn’t want me dying with you either.”
Derrick glanced around the girlish room, the cream–colored walls covered with photos of Katherine from her younger days.
In every picture, Katherine’s smile was bright, her beautiful eyes always carrying a trace of laughter. But ever since she had been with him, she had never smiled like that again.
“Dying here wouldn’t be so bad,” Derrick murmured.
Katherine looked up in a daze, watching thick, dark red blood gush from Derrick’s mouth in streams.
“What’s happening? What’s wrong with you?” She reached out in vain, and in no time her palm was soaked through with blood, “What’s happening to you? Call an ambulance. Hurry.”
But Derrick’s body was slowly collapsing, his eyes fixed, almost as if sensing her presence, on Katherine’s direction.
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t cling to you. I just want to…” Derrick muttered. He thought, See you one more time!‘
Derrick’s hand fell limply. He turned his head, his gaze landing on Christopher, who was still standing in the doorway, not yet understanding what had happened. There was a faint trace of relictance and attachment in Derrick’s eyes.
Christopher looked all pure and innocent, but his wide, uncomprehending eyes were already brimming with tears,
Spon, Derrick’s assistant arrived. Taking in the scene, he stood for a long moment before letting out a sigh.
Without a word, the assistant picked up the bewildered Christopher and said to Derrick, who was lying on the floor, “Don’t worry, Mr. Graham. I’ll adopt your son and let him grow up without a care,
“As for you, I hope if there’s another chance, you can be happy, and never fall in love with anyone again.”
The scene was cleaned up, and Katherine’s soul grew weaker and weaker, fading away in the sunlight as if she had never existed at all.
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Her soul followed her body to the burial, drifting into the cemetery.
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She was above, and Derrick was below–just as he had said before he died, that he wouldn’t cling to her. But he still couldn’t rest easy, so he stayed down below to watch over her.
“You fool, so you did love me after all,” Katherine murmured.
These past few days, she had gone over the past ten years in her mind, frame by frame. Only when she examined certain details did she begin to notice the signs.
Katherine thought, ‘So all these years, what I thought was control and coercion was just the act of a fool who didn’t know how to love, trying to win me over in his own way.’
She felt herself growing weaker and weaker, yet until the very last moment, she stayed by Derrick’s headstone. Her fingers had already lost their shapes, but she still stubbornly stroked the photo of Derrick on it.
In the picture, his lips were pressed tight, his brows furrowed, his expression always cold and distant.
“Silly, if there’s another chance, find someone who will truly love you. Don’t fall in love again,” Katherine said. She thought, ‘It’s not worth it.‘
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