1 The day I was supposed to marry Raven Blackwood, the city’s most feared crime boss, I was kidnapped and dismembered. I died with my eyes wide open. My parents, their eyes red with grief, demanded justice. Raven swore she would hunt down my killer herself. But when all the evidence pointed to my twin brother, Tom, they went silent. The case was closed with unnatural speed. Soon after, Raven married Tom. Watching them live a life of blissful love, my soul shattered in the heavens. When I opened my eyes again, I was five years in the future, inside the body of one of Raven’s most trusted enforcers, a man named Shane. That night, I abducted their twin son and daughter. I put their organs up for auction on the high seas. As the dark web livestream went live, buyers from across the globe flooded in, the bids climbing at a feverish pace. I smiled into the camera, a cold, predatory grin. “Raven,” I purred, “do you remember your promise to Liam? To kill the man who murdered him?” “Now is your chance. Kill the real murderer with your own hands. Otherwise… your precious little darlings are going to be sold off… piece by piece.” … I knew Raven had hemorrhaged during childbirth. They’d had to remove her uterus. She could never have another child. That was the only reason I dared to make this gamble. The viewer count on the livestream skyrocketed into the millions. The chat exploded. “Organs this fresh? The transplant success rate will be through the roof!” “Hurry up! My daughter has been waiting for corneas for three years!” In an instant, the children’s eyes, ears, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were all claimed, the prices soaring higher with each bid. Raven, always the picture of cold, ruthless control, finally broke. She shot to her feet, her eyes locked on the screen. “You’re not Shane. Who are you? What do you want?” I chuckled, shaking my head. “Just a little cosmic justice,” I said airily. “Can’t stand to see a good man die in vain.” My words sent my parents, who were standing beside her, into a rage. “The truth is already out! The police closed the case!” my father roared. “Liam was never any good!” my mother shrieked. “He was kidnapped for five years and came back a complete savage! Always skulking around, always trying to hurt his brother! He deserved to die!” Their words were daggers of ice in my soul. When I was five, they took me on a trip to the countryside. They were so absorbed in a card game that they didn't notice when a trafficker snatched me away. Five years later, the police rescued me from an illegal coal mine. I was covered in scars and spoke with a thick, rural accent. My brother, Tom, had grown up swaddled in luxury, a master of piano and equestrian sports. My parents found me crude. My brother called me a hick. They made me live in the storage room and told visitors I was the maid’s son. School was out of the question. My short life was spent working to support them, desperately trying to earn their affection. And this was my reward. To be told I deserved to die. Tom, emboldened by our parents’ support, sneered. “That’s right. The evidence was conclusive. What kind of story are you trying to spin now? Let the kids go, or I’ll make sure there isn’t enough of you left to bury!” I didn’t answer. I just grabbed a scalpel and, with one clean motion, carved out one of the twin's eyeballs. Blood dripped in front of the lens. I read the buyer’s ID aloud. “Corneas claimed by user Rebirth1999 are now harvested. Send your address via private message.” The chat erupted. The buyer was ecstatic. I turned my gaze back to Raven. Her face was ashen, her lips trembling. “You… you’re insane!” I just smiled, brandishing the bloody scalpel. “You’ve already wasted one opportunity. We still have ears, a heart, a liver, a spleen, lungs, and kidneys to go. Are you going to keep hesitating?” Seeing me harm their beloved grandchildren sent my parents into a fresh wave of fury. “Are you crazy?!” my father screamed. “There is no other killer! Who do you want her to kill?!” “Liam brought this on himself! He pissed off the wrong people and they came for revenge! You talk about getting justice for him, what did he ever give you? It’s money you want, isn’t it? We’ll give you double!” My notoriously stingy parents were suddenly generous. “Double? How about a billion? Ten billion? Would you be willing to bankrupt yourselves for him?” They didn’t hesitate. “Of course!” A bitter taste filled my mouth. When they first brought me home, they called me a disgrace and said they were too poor to send me to school. They forced me to work. I hauled bricks at a construction site by day and washed dishes at a night market by night, saving every penny, giving them half my wages every month. And Tom? He went to a private academy, had piano and riding lessons, wore designer clothes, and studied abroad. For him, money was no object. Now, they were willing to lose everything just to protect him. It was never that they didn’t have the money. They just weren’t willing to spend a single cent on me. Tom saw the flicker of change in my expression and thought he’d found my price. “Just let them go,” he said quickly. “Name your price. We won’t press charges. Otherwise, the police will hunt you down and you’ll rot in a cell for the rest of your life!” I laughed coldly. “We’re in international waters. A lawless zone. The police have no jurisdiction here.” I had my years in the abyss to thank for that knowledge, for the skills I’d picked up navigating the dark web. Tom’s face fell. He clearly hadn't expected me to be immune to his threats. I ignored them and checked the time. Raven still hadn't moved. Without another moment of hesitation, I pressed the scalpel against the other child’s ear. “Ears claimed by user BloodiedDawn,” I announced to the camera. “Now harvesting.” “Stop!” Raven finally broke. Sweat beaded on her forehead, her voice a strangled whisper. “I’ll… I’ll do it.” My parents’ faces contorted in horror. They grabbed her arm. “Are you mad?! The man is a lunatic, and you’re going to play his game?” “Raven, he’s not worth it! Not for Liam!” She just gave them a reassuring look and waved a hand at her bodyguards. “Bring him in.” A moment later, a man, bound and gagged, was shoved in front of the camera. His face was a mess of bruises. Raven pointed at him. “This is the driver from that day, a man named Marcus. Liam caught him stealing from the family and had one of his hands broken. He held a grudge. On the wedding day, he deliberately leaked your route to your enemies.” I stared at the man. I recognized him. He was my driver, before he got caught stealing and was thrown out. He knelt on the floor, sobbing. “It was me… I did it… I hated Liam, so… so I took a detour and led him right into their trap…” I sneered. Yes, he was a part of it. But he was no mastermind. A pawn, at best. “You think you can fool me with this?” My hand shot out. The scalpel flashed. The boy twin let out a muffled, piercing scream as blood gushed from his face. “You—!” Raven shrieked, lunging toward the screen. “I gave you the killer! Why did you still do it?!” I stared at her twisted face and slowly smiled. “Do you take me for an idiot? Who would believe such a pathetic lie?” I turned to the trembling driver. “Marcus. Tell me. Who gave you the order?” His eyes darted nervously to Raven before he looked down again. “No one… It was me…” “Hah.” I pressed the tip of the blade against the other child’s cheek. “It seems you need more convincing.” “Enough!” my father roared, slamming his hand on a table. “You’re a complete psychopath! What kind of person would be friends with a maniac like Liam? We gave you the killer and you don’t believe it! What the hell do you want?!” Tom stared at me, his voice hoarse. “That’s the truth. What more could you possibly want?” I turned my head slowly, my gaze like a razor. “What do I want…? You know exactly what I want, don’t you, Tom?” The blood drained from his face. He was speechless. Raven’s breathing grew ragged. “Shane,” she said through gritted teeth, “Liam was my fiancé. Do you really think I would protect his killer? If it was someone close to me, I would kill them with my own two hands!” I stared at her, my heart a block of ice. Yes, I had wondered about that. Why had she accepted Tom so quickly after my murder? Hadn’t she sworn she loved me more than life itself? Hadn’t she said I was her only salvation? It was only later that I learned the truth. She had never loved me at all. She had met Tom long before she met me. They’d crossed paths at an auction. She only came into my life because she mistook me for him. Everything—her tenderness, her promises, her salvation—it was all built on a ridiculous misunderstanding. And I, like an absolute fool, had been their plaything until the very end. I tilted my chin, a sarcastic smirk playing on my lips. “Is that so? I guess only you would know for sure.” I glanced impassively at the scrolling comments on the screen—a chaotic mix of demands for delivery and furious condemnations. The bids had reached astronomical figures, but the comments that stood out were the ones that called me a monster. “Worse than an animal!” “You’ll burn in hell for hurting children!” “Time’s up,” I announced, the scalpel gleaming under the lights. Tom’s pupils constricted. He struggled to lunge forward, trapped by the screen. Just as the blade was about to touch the second twin’s ear, a familiar voice cried out from off-camera. “Stop!” I whipped my head around. There, standing in the Thornes’ living room, was my adoptive sister, Lily. The only person who had ever shown me warmth in that rural hellhole was now standing there, pale and trembling. Her presence made me pause. After my rescue, I had secretly funded her education for years. She was the last piece of goodness I had left in the world. “I know the truth about Liam’s death.” Lily’s voice shook, but she held up a file folder with a steady hand. “Liam… he killed himself. I’ve been investigating for a long time. This is all the proof.” She pulled out a stack of yellowed letters. “This is his suicide note. He said he was living in his brother’s shadow, that the pressure was too much… so on his wedding day, he deliberately leaked his own location to his enemies.” My fingers tightened on the scalpel. “That’s bullshit!” I snarled. “When he was paying for your school, he was starving himself, and he never once thought of suicide! And you’re telling me he’d kill himself on the verge of marrying a crime boss?” Lily bit her lip and produced a stack of photos. “These are his medical records. He was on antidepressants. And this…” She held up a bank statement. “A month before he died, he transferred all his assets to my name.” The chat exploded with speculation, but I couldn't care less. I stared at the evidence in Lily’s hands, my mind reeling. The Lily I remembered, the one who always had a kind word and a warm hug… how could she betray me too? Her tearful voice echoed in my head like a nightmare. “People change, Liam. He talked to me a lot near the end. He said… he said he felt like a joke.” “You’re the one who’s changed!” I spun around, and without a second thought, I sliced the scalpel across the second twin’s ear. As blood sprayed, Tom let out an inhuman scream. He thrashed wildly, sending his chair toppling forward. To everyone’s surprise, Lily moved with astonishing speed, catching him before he hit the floor. Her movements were so practiced, so fluid, even faster than Raven, the supposed crime lord. My pupils contracted. The scene was too strange. “Interesting,” I purred. “Your concern for the younger Mr. Thorne seems to go beyond simple friendship, wouldn’t you say?” The chat went eerily silent for a moment. Lily’s body went rigid. She quickly straightened up, her voice righteous. “You’re mistaken, Shane. The only man I’ve ever loved is Liam.” I sneered and turned my attention back to the auction. The buyer, BloodMoon, had paid in full and was demanding I harvest the boy’s heart. I slowly picked up the scalpel and leaned over the boy, pressing the tip against his small chest. “Heart claimed by user BloodMoon. Beginning extraction now.” “STOP!” Raven screamed, clawing at the screen. “Shane, there is no other killer! Where do you want me to find one?!” My parents, having just returned from taking Tom for medical attention, rushed back in. “You monster!” my mother shrieked. “If there was a real killer, don’t you think Raven’s people would have found them by now? You just want to destroy our family! Liam is dead, but Tom is our life!” My heart turned to stone. These were my parents. They would sacrifice me in a heartbeat to save Tom. The last shred of affection I had for them vanished. I stared at Raven, pressing the scalpel just enough to draw a bead of blood. “My patience is running out. Either you kill the real murderer, or I cut his chest open right now.” Raven’s face was a mask of terror. Finally, backed into a corner, she screamed, “It was Tom! The killer is Tom!” My parents froze, their eyes wide with disbelief. “Raven, are you insane?!” She ignored them and ordered her men, “Bring Tom here.” He was dragged back in, with Lily trailing behind him, sobbing. “Raven, you can’t…” I tightened my grip on the scalpel. “Do it now,” I commanded, “or I take the heart.” Raven’s hand trembled as she took the knife a bodyguard offered her. Amidst my parents’ soul-tearing screams, she swung the blade and slit Tom’s throat. Blood arced through the air. My parents fainted. Lily collapsed, a broken sound that was half-laugh, half-sob escaping her lips. “Hahaha…” she pointed a trembling finger at me. “Are you satisfied now? Are you finally satisfied?” “You wanted the truth, didn’t you? I’ll give you the truth!” she shrieked, her voice cracking. “When you were kids, it was Tom who distracted your parents so the trafficker could take you! And when he found out you were living with my family, he paid my parents to abuse you! He’s always hated you, because your parents always compared you to him!” The brutal truth hit me like a physical blow. So that was it. All the suffering, all the pain… it was all his design. Lily’s kindness was just another one of his manipulations. I stared at her, a storm of rage and grief churning inside me. He deserved to die. My revenge was complete. I was about to drop the scalpel, to let it all end. But then my eyes fell on Tom’s body. My pupils contracted. Behind his ear, where a dark red birthmark should have been, there was nothing. The skin was perfectly clean. The man who died was not Tom.
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