Creak—

The rusted iron door of the abandoned warehouse was pushed open, and the sharp click of high heels echoed slowly through the space.

Vivian Mercer lay on the ground, barely breathing, covered in blood. Her hands and feet were locked up with heavy iron chains. That once delicate, beautiful face of hers had long since rotted into something horrifying.

Neither human nor ghost.

Natalie Lawson stopped in front of her and looked down at her from above, smugness written all over her face. "Vivian Mercer, so tell me, how does it feel? Everyone gone, family ruined, nobody left by your side."

The second Vivian saw who it was, the dead look in her eyes cracked apart. She struggled like she’d been jolted back to life, lunging forward like a madwoman, wanting nothing more than to tear that fake face of Natalie’s apart.

Too bad the chains on her wrists and ankles held her tight, cutting off every bit of movement. She couldn’t even touch the hem of Natalie’s shoe.

"Natalie Lawson! You bitch! I’m going to kill you!" she roared.

"Hahaha—"

Natalie threw her head back and laughed, the sound dripping with mockery.

"You?" she sneered. "You think you can kill me?"

Her lips curled coldly. "The Shaw family is already finished. Every last one of them is dead."

She deliberately looked her up and down, eyes full of contempt. "Look at you now. You’re a total freak. In this world, probably only Ethan Mercer wouldn’t mind what you’ve become. But what a pity—he’s dead too. And wow, did he die horribly."

"No... impossible! Impossible!" Vivian shook her head hard, refusing to believe it. "Ethan Mercer can’t be dead. He wouldn’t die... he wouldn’t..."

Natalie sighed like she actually felt sorry for her, then slowly pulled out her phone from her bag and tapped open a video.

"Don’t believe me? Fine. Then look carefully. See for yourself who’s in this video."

Vivian stared at the screen.

In the video, Ethan drank the poison with his own hand. Then the poison kicked in. His whole body convulsed in pain, every second worse than the last, tortured until he was less than alive. In the end, he coughed up blood and died.

The color slowly drained from Vivian’s face. Then her eyes turned red.

Natalie watched her reaction after finishing the video and felt a rush of satisfaction deep in her chest. It was honestly so satisfying.

"Ethan really went all in for you," she said lazily. "Just to leave you one tiny chance to survive, he chose to drink poison and die. If it weren’t for you, he never would’ve fallen from the top. A man who once called the shots everywhere ended up a prisoner. Pathetic, right?"

Tears rolled down Vivian’s face. Her heart felt like it was being skinned alive. "Ethan Mercer... I’m sorry. It’s all because of me. I’m the one who ruined you."

"Vivian Mercer, seriously, why do people like you even exist?" Natalie’s voice turned sharper with every word. "You got your own parents and sister killed, and then the man who loved you most died for you too. Just thinking about it makes me feel sorry for how tragic you are."

"Ah—!"

Vivian clutched her head in pain. Her eyes were red like blood-soaked holes, filled with hatred so thick it was almost solid.

"Natalie Lawson, you did this! You killed them! All of this was your scheme with Sebastian Holt!"

Natalie slowly crouched down in front of her. She raised a hand and pinched Vivian’s ruined face, her expression full of provocation.

"So what if it was?" she said with a smile. "Even if everything was planned by us, what can you do now? Look at yourself."

"Why?" Vivian’s voice shook. "Why did you do this to me? Why?"

She just couldn’t understand it.

She had treated Natalie like her best friend. She had never once thought she’d wronged her.

Then why?

Why would that so-called best friend stab her in the back with Sebastian Holt?

"Because you’re the dumbest woman in the world," Natalie said bluntly, every word like a knife. "You’re stupid, so of course people played you like a fool. Spun you around in circles. And in the end, everyone who loved you left you one by one."

Vivian clenched both fists so hard her nails dug into her palms. She glared at Natalie as if she wanted to burn a hole through her.

"You disgusting couple," she spat. "I curse you. I curse both of you to die horribly!"

Natalie didn’t care at all. If anything, she looked amused.

"Vivian Mercer, not only are you the dumbest woman in the world, you’re also the most pitiful and the saddest. But hey, you can only blame yourself for being blind when it came to people."

She kept going, word after word, stabbing where it hurt most.

"Hahaha, Vivian Mercer, you lost. And you lost hard. Completely. In this life, you were always doomed to lose to me."

But after hearing all that, Vivian didn’t explode.

Instead, she went strangely calm.

The hatred in her eyes slowly shifted, turning into something almost like pity. She looked at Natalie and said quietly, "Natalie Lawson, no. You’re the most pitiful and miserable woman in this world."

That one sentence hit harder than anything else.

Natalie’s face changed instantly.

She snapped.

In a fit of humiliation and rage, she slapped Vivian hard across the face and hissed, "You bitch, shut your mouth!"

Vivian burst out laughing instead, laughing like she had nothing left to lose.

"Natalie Lawson, you’re the saddest one here. The saddest. The most pathetic of all."

"I’m not! I’m not!" Natalie’s face went pale with anger. Her voice turned shrill. "Vivian Mercer, you bitch, shut up!"

She looked completely unhinged now. In the next second, she lunged forward and grabbed Vivian by the throat with both hands.

"Why?" she screamed. "Why were you born into such a good family? Why does everyone like you? Why does everyone revolve around you?"

"Why? Tell me why!"

"It’s not fair! This isn’t fair!"

Even though Natalie was choking the life out of her, Vivian didn’t struggle.

Not even a little.

There was nothing left in this world for her to hold on to anymore.

No one. Nothing.

If this was what staying alive meant—living like some monster, neither dead nor alive—then dying might actually be easier.

"Natalie!"

Sebastian Holt rushed in from outside and froze when he saw what was happening. He immediately stepped forward, yanked Natalie away, then kicked Vivian aside with a look of pure disgust.

Vivian fell hard to the ground. Pain tore through her chest. She curled up instinctively, and blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

"Natalie, calm down!"

Sebastian grabbed her by the shoulders, worry all over his face as he shook her lightly, trying to bring her back to her senses.

Natalie finally snapped out of it and started gasping for air, chest heaving violently.

Seeing how shaken she looked, Sebastian pulled her into his arms at once and gently patted her back.

"It’s okay. It’s okay now. Don’t be scared."

Under his soft reassurance, Natalie gradually settled down. The next second, she put on that weak, fragile act again like flipping a switch.

She sniffled twice on purpose and said in a soft, trembling voice, "Seb... I didn’t know what came over me just now..."

"Alright, alright. I’m here. Nothing’s going to happen."

Vivian lay on the floor and looked at the two of them.

Then suddenly, she started laughing again.

That laugh was bleak, hollow, full of despair.

One of them was the man she had once loved with her whole heart.

The other was the friend she had trusted most.

She had given both of them all her sincerity.

And what had she gotten in return?

Their betrayal.

Being abandoned by everyone.

Her family destroyed.

Her home gone.

What a joke.

What a tragedy.

Sebastian frowned deeply at the creepy sound of her laughter.

His eyes brimmed with disgust as he glanced at her, then he turned and said softly to Natalie, "Let’s go. Don’t dirty your hands on her."

"Okay."

Natalie pretended to wipe her tears. But just before leaving, she turned back and shot Vivian a smug look, one brow raised, full of triumph.

Vivian tugged at the corner of her mouth and gave her a twisted smile in return.

Sebastian Holt. Natalie Lawson.

You two destroyed my family and my life.

Even if I become a ghost, I won’t let you go.

If there is a next life, I will make you pay every blood debt with blood.

The warehouse had already been soaked in gasoline. Not long after, blazing flames burst up with a roar.

The fire closed in around Vivian from every side, leaving her nowhere to run.

But she had already lost all desire to survive.

She lay there without struggling, without hope, without any wish left in her heart. She simply closed her eyes and waited quietly for death to come.

The moment her eyes shut, a tear slipped down from the corner of her eye.

What flashed through her mind was all her memories with Ethan Mercer.

Just a shame none of them were beautiful.

All the hatred she once aimed at him, all the disgust, all the cruel words she had thrown at him, came back scene by scene.

Ethan Mercer...

I’m sorry.

In this life, I was the one who failed you in the end.

If there is a next life, then let me be the one to love you.

...