Chapter 2

I was killed on my way home from school.

A group of men grabbed me, covering my mouth and nose with a cloth soaked in chloroform, and dragged me into an abandoned factory.

I woke up in agony.

I screamed, I fought back, but they only became more violent, more vicious.

They didn’t stop until I blacked out.

When I came to, I heard one of them swear under his breath.

"Shit, I think she’s dead."

"No way. Must be faking it. She was screaming her head off just now," another one muttered.

One of them checked my breathing. "She’s not faking. She’s gone."

Panic set in.

"Dammit, we’re not supposed to kill anyone! We just got out of prison—none of us are going back!"

The leader grabbed me by the neck, shaking me violently. My head lolled to the side, and with a sickening crack, my neck snapped.

I was gone.

My soul curled up in the corner, trembling. For a moment, I felt relieved. At least I wouldn’t have to endure any more pain.

The leader cursed again, lit a cigarette, and muttered, "You know what? Maybe it’s for the best. Dead means we charge more. That little rich kid’s family can pay up."

When I floated back to our house, my mom was playing poker with the neighbors.

"Gu, your Jane’s got such good grades. Bet she’s heading to one of those big universities in the capital, huh?"

My mom scoffed. "Don’t be ridiculous. You think I’m stupid enough to let her leave town? I’ve raised her all these years—she’s not going anywhere."

"Still, wouldn’t a top school give her a brighter future?"

"What future? She’d just end up in some dead-end office job making peanuts. Girls are only good at burying themselves in books. If my son were still alive, he’d be a hundred, no, a thousand times better than her."

She had once been pregnant with a baby boy.

But at five months, she caught pneumonia from me and lost the baby.

Not long after, my dad’s mistress gave birth to a son. He divorced my mom and left our family for good.

My mom never forgave me.

"If it weren’t for you, this family wouldn’t have fallen apart!"

"You didn’t want a brother, did you? You got sick on purpose, didn’t you?"

Late that night, she put away her poker winnings, muttering angrily to herself.

"Where the hell is she? Evening classes ended hours ago. What’s she up to now?"

She had no idea her daughter was being dismembered.

I watched as she paced the house, growing more and more anxious. She called my phone over and over again.

"Sorry, the number you’ve dialed is unavailable. Please try again later."

Every time she heard the automated message, she got more frustrated, more frantic.

She called my teacher. My classmates. She even started shouting at the walls.

"If that brat’s out messing around, I swear I’ll break her damn legs!"