Chapter 1
The System declared my mission a failure. At midnight, my soul would be erased. I was leaving this world for good.
Before checking out, I gave Oliver Grant, my target, one last ultimatum. "Oliver, if you don't show up for my birthday tonight, you'll never see me again."
His voice through the receiver was ice-cold. "Caroline, drop the suicide threats. It just makes me sick. I'm at the chapel holding a vigil for Lucy.
"Stop calling and ruining the sanctity of this place."
I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I just hung up, put on my absolute favorite dress, and jumped from the twenty-eighth floor.
A mechanical voice echoed in my head: [Host departure successful.]
Tomorrow, Oliver would walk past my building and see my mangled corpse.
The rosary he never took off would snap. The beads would scatter everywhere.
Rumor had it that the untouchable golden boy completely lost his mind after that. People say he cradled my rotting body and smashed his head against the concrete until he bled.
*****
Police sirens wailed. Red and blue lights flashed across the dark pavement.
A crowd of onlookers pointed and whispered. Some gagged. Others held up their phones to record.
"This bitch must be crazy to jump from up there."
"What a mess. Her face is completely gone."
I floated above it all, staring down at my own body.
My limbs twisted at unnatural angles. My skull was shattered, painting the concrete in gruesome shades of red and white.
It really was an ugly sight.
Oliver was a massive germaphobe. If he saw this mess, he would definitely pinch his nose in disgust. He would probably hire someone to power-wash the street for three days straight.
The scene shifted.
An invisible force yanked me away. I landed straight inside a private chapel at a cliffside estate.
Candles flickered in the dim light. The faint scent of myrrh filled the air.
Oliver knelt on a velvet cushion. His fingers methodically rolled a wooden rosary. His face was a mask of pure devotion.
Lucy knelt right beside him, her hands clasped tightly in prayer.
They looked like a picture-perfect couple bathed in holy grace.
Oliver's phone lit up. His executive assistant was calling. He frowned and hit ignore.
It rang again. He rejected it again.
By the third time, Lucy spoke up in that timid, fragile voice of hers. "Oliver, maybe you should answer it. What if Caroline is actually in trouble?"
"What kind of trouble could she possibly be in?" Oliver scoffed.
He finally picked up and put it on speaker.
"Sir! Something terrible happened! Caroline..." The assistant's terrified voice echoed in the quiet chapel. "She jumped off a building!"
Oliver's fingers paused on his rosary.
But only for a second. Then came a harsh, mocking laugh. "Jumped? Did she jump onto a stunt cushion or a second-floor balcony?"
The assistant stammered in sheer panic. "No, sir, it's real! The twenty-eighth floor! She died on impact!"
"Shut up," Oliver snapped. "I'm sick and tired of her crying wolf.
"Tell her I wouldn't bat an eye if she broke both her legs. If she wants to die, tell her to do a better job of it."
He hung up and powered off the phone. Smooth. Practiced. Not a single ounce of hesitation.
I hovered just above his head, staring down at the man I had loved for ten years.
So, in his eyes, my life wasn't even worth a single prayer session for Lucy.
Lucy leaned closer and gently tugged his sleeve. "Oliver, do you think she actually did it this time?
"She loves you so much. She would never actually kill herself."
Oliver grabbed her hand and stroked it tenderly. "She just wants to force me to come home and ruin our vigil.
"That manipulative psycho will do anything to get her way. Just ignore her. Let's get back to our prayers."
He closed his eyes again. His lips moved in a quiet whisper. "For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away."
Every single syllable felt like a final rite for my body that hadn't even grown cold yet.
Floating in the air, I looked at his handsome face. I suddenly felt nothing but total indifference.
The System chimed once more.
[Host's soul residue time: 7 days.]
[Please enjoy the ending you bought with your life.]
I smiled.
Fine by me.
I was right here watching you, Oliver.
I was waiting to see how long it takes you to realize the truth. The pathetic, desperate Caroline who always followed you around was gone. She was nothing but a mangled mess on the pavement now.