Chapter 5

I spun around and grabbed the wall, barely keeping myself from falling.

Ethan hadn’t lied to me.

The south bedroom had been turned into a memorial shrine. Along with candles, incense, and dolls, there was a black-and-white photograph of Ethan.

But the name on the memorial tablet was Mikey.

Who was Mikey?

Was he the person Evelyn wanted Ethan to become?

I didn’t have time to think about it.

Evelyn stood before me, smiling quietly.

But beneath her vacant expression, I could clearly sense a deep, twisted sickness.

“Evelyn, this is a civilized society governed by law. I don’t care what you’re doing—stop now. Don’t hurt Ethan anymore!”

I pulled out my phone and dialed the police right in front of her.

Evelyn showed no panic or fear. She remained strangely vacant.

“Listen to yourself. How could I hurt my own son?”

The bizarre scene in the south bedroom had frightened me, but I was still a man. Facing a thin woman like Evelyn, I quickly regained my composure.

“I’ve found out everything!”

“Evelyn, you started buying psychiatric medication a year ago and secretly feeding it to Ethan. That’s what caused his mental illness, isn’t it?”

“To control him, you cut him off from the outside world. Everything you did was meant to turn him into Mikey, wasn’t it?”

Ethan… Mikey…

I repeated the two names silently.

Suddenly, everything clicked.

“They’re brothers, aren’t they? You… You’re using superstition to make Mikey’s soul take over Ethan’s body?”

According to Daniel’s messages, Evelyn had begun visiting religious temples and hiring spiritual con artists a year ago.

As for the death she was connected to, Daniel hadn’t sent me the full details yet.

But I was almost certain it involved Mikey.

As expected, Evelyn soon admitted it.

“Yes. My Mikey was such a wonderful boy. I just want my Mikey back!”

“Waaah…”

“It’s all Ethan’s fault! Mikey was his twin brother. One kidney donation could have saved Mikey’s life. How could Ethan refuse to help him?”

“He deserved to die! He doesn’t deserve to be alive! I’m going to turn him into my Mikey. No one can stop me!”

Evelyn lunged at me like a madwoman.

I dodged to the side and completed the call to the police.

The truth was finally out. The rest could be left to them.

What Evelyn had done in the south bedroom wasn’t illegal by itself. But drugging Ethan over and over until he developed a mental illness was severe bodily harm.

By the time the police arrived, Evelyn had completely broken down.

Through her sobs, she confessed everything.

“My Mikey always listened to me. I told him what to study, and he did it. He was going to have such a bright future. Unlike that useless Ethan. He studied history. What kind of future could he possibly have?”

“But my good boy Mikey was the one who got sick. Ethan refused to save him and let him die.”

“How could I accept that?”

“Hehehe… I gave Ethan medication to make him crazy, to make him stupid. That was the only way Mikey’s soul could come back and stay with me…”

Daniel’s information, combined with Evelyn’s confession, was enough to convict her.

The police took my statement, and after that, the case no longer had anything to do with me.

I let out a long breath and went to see Ethan.

After all, I’d exposed Evelyn’s scheme. If possible, I still wanted to collect the rest of my payment.

To my surprise, Ethan paid me without hesitation.

I actually felt embarrassed. I promised to visit him every day and keep checking on him until his condition stabilized.

But I soon discovered something.

Ethan… didn’t seem to be Ethan anymore.