Chapter 4

I had to admit that Ryan was something. The police never found any trace of Rosalie, and the case was eventually dropped. The school cut its losses and paid Rosalie's parents a settlement, sweeping the whole mess under the rug.

Rosalie's name faded from everyone's lips. When she was mentioned at all, it was just people saying, "What bad luck to have been friends with someone like that. I totally got played."

"Seriously, can the school start checking family finances during admissions? I don't want to be classmates with people like her ever again. It's more disgusting than swallowing a fly," another student said.

A boy said, "God, I even gave her gifts. Thinking about it makes me want to crawl into a hole."

My life went back to its usual quiet routine. Meanwhile, Ryan texted and called me constantly, acting like he was head over heels in love with me.

Of course, none of this was for free. His patience came with a price, demanding either my body or my undivided attention. Even if I said no, he always found a way to make me comply.

My phone went off in the dead of night. It was always in these quiet, late hours that my work began.

Boss: [location: Villa 1, no. 233 Hazelwood Road. A body. ASAP.]

I grabbed my case, slipped into a black outfit, and headed out the door, climbing into my beat-up van.

As soon as I got behind the wheel, the address struck me as familiar. The scenery outside the window grew more and more recognizable.

This was the same villa where those rich kids had thrown the pool party the night Rosalie died. And the property was still under Ryan's name.

I made a sharp U-turn, driving in the opposite direction of Hazelwood Road, and fired off a message to the sender. Cathy: [This job is too high-profile. I'm not taking it.]

Boss: [They're offering two hundred thousand dollars. Pay could go even higher if you do a good job.]

Cathy: [I said no. Find someone else.]

Then, I switched my phone to silent mode and tossed it onto the passenger seat.

There was no way I was taking this job. It was way too risky. I wasn't about to throw my life away for a pile of cash.

I had my principles: Never clean the same crime scene twice. The risk factor skyrocketed exponentially the second time around. And this time, my gut was screaming that something was wrong.

When I went to school the next day, the entire campus was swarming with police officers as I expected. Every available cop in the city had been called in, making for an imposing sight.

I didn't even have to ask around. I pieced together what had happened the night before from the students' chatter. The victim this time was none other than the star of that pool party and the school's most famous playboy, Ryan.

Rumor had it, he'd been found dead in the big swimming pool at his villa. By the time someone discovered him, his blood had turned the entire pool red. He was rushed to the hospital, but he'd already lost too much blood to be saved.

He'd actually died in the pool long before his blood was practically drained dry.

The servants had sent him to the hospital anyway, not wanting to be the ones to confirm his death. Besides Ryan and the staff, there had been no other visitors at the villa that night.

Given his creepy death and his identity as the only son of a local tycoon, the police launched an investigation right away with even more manpower than before.

Counting Rosalie, Ryan was the second person to die in that villa's swimming pool. And their causes of death were exactly the same.

Ryan had been a huge deal at school. Even the principal couldn't suppress the gossip this time around.

"Who the hell did he piss off? Seriously, who in Cloudcrest has the guts to kill Ryan? Are they suicidal? If his dad finds out, he'll dig them up and whip their corpses."

"Wait a minute. Could it be Rosalie's ghost? He was the prime suspect in her disappearance, but they never had any evidence."

"This is getting creepier. Didn't they say Rosalie was last seen at that villa?"

"Oh my god. This is definitely revenge from beyond the grave."

"His dad is gonna turn the whole city upside down looking for the killer."

Hearing people chatting, I was a little shocked, too. Logically speaking, even if I turned down the job, the organization would've sent another cleaner to scrub the scene.

For two hundred thousand dollars, there was always someone desperate enough to take the risk. Therefore, Ryan's body shouldn't be left there so carelessly.

A chill ran down my spine, slow and cold. Even though it was sweltering outside, I started to shiver, breaking out in a cold sweat.

But it wasn't fear that made me tremble. It was excitement.