Chapter 1

Seven days after I died, Haley Dunn showed up.

She was dressed in black. The moment she stepped through the doorway, the room fell silent. All the whispers stopped at once.

Someone muttered under their breath, calling her shameless.

Others watched her cold, expressionless face, clearly waiting for her to make a scene.

She did not react. She walked straight up to my funeral photo and placed a bouquet in front of it. Her hands did not shake. A few petals slipped loose and fell to the floor. She looked at my picture for a short moment, then said nothing.

I hovered above her, watching everything. Anger surged through me. I wanted to knock the flowers right out of her hands.

When I was still alive, she had kept me locked inside Hilltop Estate. She took my phone and replaced all the staff. I could not see anyone unless she allowed it.

Later, she told me, "Jasper Lipsey, do you really think I like you? This marriage was arranged by our parents. It was never my choice. If you like Faye, then go to her. Just stay out of my sight."

I believed every word.

I believed she looked down on me. I believed she despised my family's status. I thought her years of coldness and control were real.

So when I saw her standing at my funeral, I only had one question. Why was she even here?

A second later, she turned. She picked up a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and handed it to Faye Shelton, who stood nearby. Her red lips curved into a faint smile.

"Congratulations," she said. "You finally got what you wanted."

Everyone in the room froze in shock.

*****

My mother hurled her glass at Haley's feet. "Get out!" she screamed.

Faye froze. Her eyes reddened, and she took a small step back, as if she might bolt.

Haley tilted her head. The rim of the glass grazed her hand, but not a single drop spilled.

"Ms. Shelton, take the drink," Haley said. "Jasper is already dead. What are you afraid of?"

Her words landed like a slap.

My father rushed at her, trying to grab her, but the two bodyguards behind Haley stepped in and blocked him.

She stood there in the middle of the room, calm and steady, as if none of it mattered. She did not care what they called her.

I was shaking with rage. I lunged at her, reaching for her throat, but my hands went straight through her shoulders.

That was when it hit me. I could not touch anyone. I was dead.

Later, I realized something else. Her "congratulations" had never been meant for the living.

That night, Haley went to the Pearce Group building.

Twenty minutes later, the Pearce family's stock crashed. Several major projects failed at the same time. Byron Pearce locked himself in his office and started smashing everything in sight.

Haley sat in her car, staring at a tablet. She only said, "Continue."

The next day, she went to the detention center.

Faye stood on the other side of the glass, crying so hard that she could barely speak. "Ms. Dunn, you've got it all wrong. There was nothing between Jasper and me—"

"I know," Haley said. Her voice was cold enough to freeze the air. "You wanted the Lipsey family's money and the Pearce family's power. And you wanted Jasper's life."

Faye's face went ghostly pale.

On the third day, Haley handed over a recording and an unopened needle to the police.

On the fourth day, Byron was arrested.

On the fifth day, Faye broke down in the interrogation room. She revealed all of the Pearce family's shady dealings over the years.

She even admitted how she crushed medicine into powder and mixed it into the daily vitamins I took every morning.

On the sixth night, Haley went back to Hilltop Estate alone.

That was where she had kept me. That was what I hated her for the most.

She sent everyone away and sat on the stairs by herself. She held my old jacket in her arms and stayed there until sunrise without moving.

I stood right beside her, close enough to reach out.

But she couldn't see me.

Her shoulders trembled slightly. Her voice was so soft that I almost missed it. "Jasper. I sent them all to prison this time. Please, don't be mad at me anymore."

I was stunned.

On the seventh day, she went to the bridge over the river.

The wind howled around her. She stood by the railing, gripping the engagement ring I had never worn. Her knuckles had gone white.

"When we were kids, you said if anyone bullied me, you'd hit them back for me," she whispered.

She smiled, but it hurt to look at it. "See? I also hit them back for you."

A sudden, heavy dread settled in my chest.

"Haley!" I shouted. I ran toward her, reaching out, trying to pull her back.

For a second, it felt like she heard me. She turned her head and looked straight at where I was.

Then, in the next moment, she climbed over the railing and jumped.

I dove after her. My fingers stretched for her wrist, but all I caught was cold, damp air.

The river below was black and endless. There was nothing to hold on to.

The wind forced my eyes shut. When I opened them again, a flight attendant's voice filled the air. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived in Rosbar City..."