Chapter 3
Morning sunlight streamed through the curtains into Lilith’s bedroom, casting a golden glow over her delicate features.
I hovered in the corner, watching her stretch lazily and roll around on the bed like a well-fed cat.
The maid knocked softly on the door and entered, carrying a steaming cup of coffee. “Good morning, Miss. Just as you asked, I added a spoonful of sugar.”
Lilith sat up with a lazy stretch, accepted the cup, took a delicate sip, and asked, “How are the preparations for today’s engagement party going?”
“Madam has been overseeing everything since dawn. Everything is arranged as you instructed,” the maid answered respectfully while stealing a glance at the medicine bottle on the nightstand.
Following her gaze, I spotted a small white medicine bottle-its label had been torn off.
The moment she caught the maid staring, Lilith snatched up the bottle and shoved it into the drawer.
“Get out,” Lilith snapped, her voice suddenly icy.
The maid instantly walked out of the room.
Only after the door clicked shut did Lilith take the medicine bottle from the drawer again. She popped out a white pill and swallowed it.
Her expression was tense, and her fingers were trembling slightly.
What pill did she take? I drifted closer, straining to make out any words on the bottle.
Lilith suddenly looked up, her piercing gaze locking right onto where I was floating.
She shot me a mocking glance and snapped, “What are you staring at? The dead should know their place and stay in hell.”
My soul shuddered. Could she actually sense me? Or was it just a coincidence?
As Lilith got ready for the day, I drifted out of the room and silently followed the maid downstairs.
The large house was already buzzing with activity as servants scurried back and forth, putting the final touches on preparations for tonight’s engagement party.
The grand hall was sumptuously adorned with fresh flowers, glittering crystal chandeliers, and flowing silk ribbons… Every meticulous detail radiated the Donovan family’s wealth and the significance they placed on this engagement party.
“Set up the champagne tower right here,” Mary instructed the servant. She then turned to Declan. “Honey, could you double-check the menu?”
Standing to one side, Declan was perfectly dressed in his tailored suit and was carefully reviewing the checklist in his hands.
Meanwhile, Dylan was on the phone in his study, his voice drifting through the slightly ajar door. “Yeah, clean up everything. No traces left… The hospital’s taken care of too…”
What exactly needed to be covered up? And what was going on at the hospital?
I drifted into the study, where Dylan stood with his back to the door, poring over a document.
I leaned in closer and noticed it was a medical report. The name on it froze my soul-Emily.
It was my stomach cancer diagnostic report.
Dylan closed the file, locked it in the drawer, and dialed another number. “Dr. Smith, I’ve reviewed the report… Yes, something’s definitely off… No, keep this strictly confidential… Lilith’s engagement party is today. Don’t let anything mess it up.”
His words struck me like lightning.
Something was off? What was off about my illness?
Why would Dylan know something and still choose to hide it from everyone?
After Dylan left the study, I tried to open the drawer. But as a soul, my hands passed right through it in helpless frustration.
Rage and confusion churned within my spectral form, and I desperately needed answers.
Outside, Lilith was fully dressed and ready, her perfect skin glowing against the pink dress.
With a radiant smile, she took Declan’s arm, ready to head out for her wedding dress fitting.
“Mom, my medicine,” she whispered to Mary.
Mary’s face froze for a split second, but she quickly forced a smile. “It’s in your bag, sweetheart. Make sure you take it on time, okay?”
What kind of medicine was so important? Why was the whole family acting so suspicious?
After Lilith and Declan left, I made up my mind to follow Mary instead.
She went upstairs to the master bedroom and took out a small box from the nightstand. Inside the box sat several white bottles identical to the ones in Lilith’s room.
Mary picked up one of the medicine bottles and shook out a few pills into her palm, her expression
unreadable.
She let out a quiet sigh, then carefully returned the pills to the bottle.
The housekeeper, Mark, knocked on the door. “Madam, the flowers for the engagement party have arrived.
They’re waiting for your approval.”
“Coming,” Mary said hurriedly as she tucked the box out of sight.
I lingered in the empty bedroom, my mind swirling with thoughts.
Those pills… My stomach cancer… Dylan mentioned something was off… These fragments swirled in my mind but couldn’t form a complete picture.
The hours slipped by, and before I knew it, it was the afternoon.
Lilith returned from her wedding dress fitting, radiant with joy.
Jerry had arrived as well. They snuggled close together in the garden, whispering and sharing soft laughter from time to time.
I drifted near them and caught Lilith whispering, “Finally, no more worries. She’s dead. The secret dies with
her.”
Jerry tightened his embrace around her shoulders and said softly, “Let’s forget all about that. Today is our big day.”
What secret were they hiding? My death, or something worse?
The engagement party commenced promptly at 7 p.m.
The grand hall overflowed with elegantly dressed guests, their glasses clinking in endless celebration.
Lilith, radiant in her custom-made designer gown, glided gracefully on Jerry’s arm and walked down the stairs amidst a chorus of blessings.
Her smile was so sweet and blissful, as if suffering had never touched her world.
I drifted above the grand hall, watching it all unfold below. Deep within my spectral being, an unquenchable fire ignited.
菜
Suddenly, my attention was caught by a figure I recognized instantly-Dr. Bob Smith, the Donovan family’s family doctor. He was standing in a shadowy corner, exchanging hushed words with Dylan.
My heart racing, I immediately drifted over, straining to catch every word of their conversation.
Bob’s expression grew grave. “We did detect some unusual compounds. Long-term consumption can cause damage to the gastric mucosa, and eventually…”
“Enough,” Dylan cut him off. “This ends here. I won’t have this ruin Lilith’s special day.”
Bob insisted, “But Mr. Donovan, this is clearly…”
“That’s the end of it.” Dylan’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “That report has been destroyed. Emily died of natural causes. Make sure it stays that way.”
It felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck my very soul.
Unusual compounds? Long-term consumption? Was my illness deliberately induced? Was I poisoned all along?
Suddenly, the memory fragments fell into place-after I returned to Donovan Manor, Mary would personally bring me a glass of warm milk every night before bed, claiming it would help me sleep.
The milk always had a bitter aftertaste, but I foolishly convinced myself it was just my mother’s care, so I never once questioned it.
Could those white pills Lilith and Mary have been taking be the antidote? Did they poison me while taking the cure themselves?
The thought sent violent tremors through my soul, igniting a fury deeper than anything I’d ever known.
At that very moment, the champagne flute before Lilith collapsed and shattered into pieces on the floor.
A collective gasp swept through the crowd.
Lilith went pale as a sheet, her eyes darting around in panic.
Jerry turned to the servant and asked, “What happened?”
“My apologies, it must not have been placed properly.” The servant quickly began cleaning up the broken pieces.
But I saw it at that moment of white-hot rage, my spectral form somehow made contact with the physical world.
It was me I knocked over that glass.
This discovery left me stunned and excited. If I could interact with the physical world, maybe I could do something more.
The engagement party carried on, but I no longer cared about their fake smiles or empty blessings.
I found my new purpose-to uncover the truth, to find out what really caused my death.
After the last guests left, the Donovans wearily returned to their own rooms.
I waited until the entire manor finally fell silent before drifting toward Dylan’s study.
I must see that medical report.
Moonlight streamed through the window, bathing the study in a silver haze.
I floated over to the locked drawer, focusing every ounce of my spectral will on a single thought-open it.
Nothing happened at first. But when I recalled the bitter taste of that milk and the excruciating pain of my cancer attacks, the drawer’s lock abruptly clicked open.
I did it!
Inside the drawer, several documents lay in perfect order.
My gaze immediately locked onto the medical report bearing my name.
The report showed that a rare heavy metal compound was detected in my gastric tissue samples-a substance that gradually corroded the stomach lining and ultimately led to cancer.
The report’s conclusion read: [Suspected long-term deliberate poisoning.]
My hands-if a soul could even have hands-shook uncontrollably. My own family had actually poisoned me.
As I flipped to the last page of the report, my heart skipped a beat-several attached notes caught my eye.
One of the notes was from Bob to Dylan: [This compound requires continuous intake for at least two years to reach a lethal dosage. I recommend investigating Miss Emily Donovan’s dietary sources.]
Two years was the exact time I’d stayed in this house.
Another note was in Dylan’s handwriting: [Destroy all samples. Alter the report to state natural causes. Protect Lilith.]
Protect Lilith? Why? Unless… she was the poisoner.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
Every night, Lilith would spike my milk with poison while she and Mary took those white pills, which were the antidote.
After learning the truth, Dylan chose to cover up their crime to protect his beloved adopted daughter.
My own biological father chose to protect my killer!
Volcanic fury erupted from my soul, sending the files in the study whirling into the air as if caught in an invisible storm.
A buried folder at the very bottom suddenly slid into view, labeled “Hospital Records, 1999”.
That was my birth year.
I steadied myself and used my newfound ability to open the folder. What I saw inside froze my very soul—it was an investigation report exposing Lilith’s true identity.
[DNA analysis confirms that Lilith is the biological daughter of Dylan, and her birth mother is Lily Lynn, the maternal cousin of Mary. In 1999, Lily deliberately switched her own newborn daughter with the girl born to Mary.]
Reading those words, I felt my very soul being torn apart.
The truth hit me-Lilith was never the switched-at-birth child. She was Dylan’s illegitimate daughter all
along.
And it was my biological mother Mary’s cousin who had deliberately switched us at birth.
What was even more appalling was that Dylan and Mary already knew the truth when they found me three
years ago.
They didn’t take me in out of love. It was just so they could keep tabs on me and make sure I’d never threaten Lilith’s place in the family.
With a heavy thud, the folder slammed shut. I spun around to see Lilith standing frozen in the doorway, her face pale.
“Dad?” she whispered, her gaze falling upon the documents strewn across the floor.
No one answered, so Lilith crept in cautiously. When she spotted the open drawer and the medical report lying exposed, her breath caught in her throat.
“No… This can’t be true,” she stammered, hands shaking as she picked up the report. “They swore it was destroyed.”
The moment she saw the folder exposing her true identity, she let out a blood-curdling scream.
Mary and Dylan rushed in upon hearing the scream. Taking in the chaotic scene in the study, Dylan immediately swung the door shut.
“Lilith, calm down,” Dylan said firmly, gripping Lilith’s shoulders.
“She knows the truth. That bitch is still haunting me even when she’s dead,” Lilith shrieked hysterically. “Now, everyone knows I…”
“No one will ever know,” Mary said firmly, pulling the trembling Lilith into her arms. “Those documents are just backups. The originals have already been destroyed. Emily is dead, and her ashes have been scattered in the garden. No one will ever suspect anything.”
“But… I can feel her right here,” Lilith whispered, her terrified eyes darting around the room. “Ever since she died, I keep feeling she’s watching me everywhere.”
“That’s just your guilty conscience getting to you,” Dylan said coolly, gathering the scattered documents. “I’ll have Dr. Smith prescribe something to help you relax tomorrow.”
I stared at the three murderers who had killed me, the fury in my soul burning so intensely that it threatened to consume my very being.
Every tear Lilith shed and every desperate cry she uttered only fueled my conviction-my death wasn’t some tragic accident. It was a meticulously planned murder.
And my own biological parents not only knew the truth but actively helped cover it up.
In my fury, my spectral form seemed to grow more substantial.
The curtains in the study stirred of their own accord, and the pen on the desk suddenly rolled off and clattered to the floor.
Lilith let out a terrified scream and threw herself into Mary’s arms.
“What’s happening?” Mary gasped, her face pale with fright.
Dylan frowned at the window. “Just a gust of wind. Lilith, you need to rest. Reporters will be here tomorrow for your engagement announcement. You need to be at your best.”
They left the study, taking those damning documents with them. But I’d already seen the truth and remembered every word.
I drifted to the window, gazing down at the rose bushes in the garden, where my ashes had been scattered.
The moonlit roses burned blood-red.
Lilith stole everything from me-my family, my identity, my love, and in the end, even my very life.
And now, she dared to dance upon my ashes, basking in happiness while my death cast its shadow.
I wouldn’t let her get away with this.
If death couldn’t grant me peace, then let hatred ignite my soul.
If this world refused to give me justice, then I’d take matters into my own hands.
I watched as the house’s lights flickered out one by one, and the fury within my soul burned even fiercer.
