While I was being tortured and dismembered, my brother called.
His voice held nothing but irritation. “Luna’s award ceremony is next week. You need to show up and make it clear she didn’t steal your design. If people keep misunderstanding her, don’t blame
me for what I do.”
I was already fading in and out, a mangled heap on the floor, unable to make a sound.
He kept right on lecturing me.
“I’m telling you, if you’re gonna die, then fucking die already. Who are you trying to impress with this act every day?”
Two days later, the brutality of my death shocked the entire city, and my brother was assigned to
lead the investigation.
He never imagined the victim would be the sister he loathed most.
After I died, my soul floated above it all.
I watched them drag my pieces from trash cans and haul them out of the canal.
Panic swept the city.
City Hall pushed the Major Crimes Unit to solve it fast.
I realized I’d caused my brother trouble again and shivered by reflex.
Staring at the reassembled body, my brother’s brow knitted tight.
“Do we have an ID? Time of death?”
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Howard Pike pinched the bridge of his nose. “Prelim says female, roughly twenty to twenty–two. She’s been dead at least forty–eight hours.”
“The remains are so badly damaged we can’t pull useful identifiers yet. I’ve already ordered DNA -soonest is two days.”
“And she was sexually assaulted before she died. To keep her from fighting back, the killer cut off
Chapter 1
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Dreame–Read Romance Stories
Dr. Luna
He divorced his infertile wife. Five months later,
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her arms while she was still alive.”
The room went still. The sheer cruelty of it made everyone sick.
“What a monster,” someone said.
“I can’t imagine what she went through,” another added.
My brother slammed his palm on the table. “I’ll bring this killer to justice myself.”
Jack Mitchell–my dad’s old Army buddy and my brother’s mentor on the force–patted his shoulder. “Rough timing. You’ll probably miss Ivy’s graduation.”
Hearing my name, my brother’s face tightened. “Don’t bring her up. She’s a jinx.”
“I’m not going to her graduation. I’m busy getting to Luna’s award ceremony.”
Those words cut like blades.
After our parents died, my brother hated me to the core. He said their deaths were my fault.
He stopped claiming me as family and threw me out.
Later, he rescued a girl with no one of her own, brought her home, and called her his sister.
That made me a real orphan.
Right before I died, he was still furious–because people were questioning his new sister, and he
blamed me for it.
If he knew the person on that slab was me, he’d walk away without hesitation.
No one wanted me dead more than he did.
Brother, I’m finally dead now. You should be happy.
Chapter 1
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.