Chapter 1

After my death, my elder brother, Jonathan's punishment for me finally came to an end.

It was a rainy night, when I was wrapped in a flimsy raincoat I bought for only ten bucks, weaving through the neon-lit streets on my creaky second-hand electric bike.

Only with one last delivery, after that, I'd finally have enough to cover Jon's monthly bribe money.

Suddenly, blinding headlights swept past, and a wave of pain crashed over me. In an instant, my world turned blood-red.

In the final moments before I blacked out, I saw a black Bentley parked not far away.

The door opened, and a man stepped out, dressed in a bespoke suit, his posture straight and commanding.

I knew who he was. It was the one that I'd etched into my very soul, and the one I thought about day and night.

It was my brother, Jonathan Reed.

He was supposed to be locked up in a prison thousands of miles away, wearing a jumpsuit, living a life of darkness and despair.

But now, he stood there, regal and cold, towering over me as I lay in a pool of blood, and looking at me as if I were nothing more than a pesky gnat.

*****

A doctor said."The patient has bleeding in the brain and several broken bones. We're trying to save her.

"Where's her family? Did anyone manage to contact them?"

I floated above, watching the doctors and nurses scramble around my dying body.

And a cold, robotic voice echoed in my ears. "Vital signs are fading."

So, it's true that people really do have souls after they die.

My soul felt weightless as it floated through the hospital walls, following Jon naturally.

He stood outside the operating room, not a hint of worry on his face.

Stone-faced, he was on the phone, his voice icy cold."Clean up the mess. Not a single trace.

"As for the driver, make sure he keeps his mouth shut for good."

Hearing that, I felt a cold dread wash over my soul.

So, did Jon arrange for that driver to hit me?

Then why would he do that?

For Jon, I went from the top straight to the bottom.

I quit school, and juggled three jobs, having worked myself to the bone, all so he could get out of that nightmare prison sooner.

I thought we were all each other had, but he wanted me dead.

Soon, Mike Richard rushed over. He was Jon's personal assistant, and the only person who helped me keep in contact with him while he was in prison for the past three years."Jon, everything's taken care of. Miss Reed..."

"How is she?"Jon's voice betrayed no emotion whatsoever.

"The doctors said there's not much hope." Mike said.

Jon fell silent, and pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, but didn't smoke. He just stared at the red ember flickering between his fingers instead.

With smoke curling around him, his face was shadowed, impossible to read.

In that moment, I wanted so badly to rush up, grab him, and demand answers from him, but it was no use cuz my hands passed right through his bodytime and time again.

I couldn't touch him, and he couldn't see me.

Nor could he hear me screaming, my voice raw with desperation.

The light above the operating room door went out.

Out came the doctor, looking exhausted, and shook his head at Jonathan."Sorry, we did everything we could."

Finally, I died.

I was Emily Reed, twenty-three years old, and I died in what everyone called an accident.

Jonathan froze for a moment.

Then he crushed out his cigarette and told Mike, "Make the arrangements."

No tears, no sadness. It was as if he were giving instructions for a trivial matter.

It felt like an invisible hand was crushing my heart, making it impossible to breathe.

How could Jon be so cold?

After all, I'm his one and only sister.

Three years ago, I had gotten into my dream college, and my future looked bright.

Jonathan, meanwhile, was born with a silver spoon. As the heir of the Reed Family, he was the chosen one.

We weren't blood siblings, but we'd grown up together, and honestly, we were even closer than real siblings.

But everything changed on my eighteenth birthday.

That day, a bunch of rich brats who'd been harassing me cornered me in an alley and started getting handsy.

And it was Jonathan who went berserk, throwing himself in front of me to protect me.

In the chaos, he shoved the ringleader, who cracked his skull on a jagged stone and died instantly.

Because of this, it was ruled excessive self-defense and manslaughter.

Finally, he got ten years in prison.

As to the Reed Family, they were eager to wash their hands of him. They wiped his name from the family records and announced to the world they wanted nothing to do with him.

Since then, I became all he had left.

To redeem him, I gave up my college acceptance and set off on a long road, devoting my life to it.

All through those years, I kept telling myself that Jon landed in prison because he was trying to protect me. I had to get him out.