A murder in the city. A city-wide APB. But Lila Monroe, a precinct intern, secretly replaced the bulletin with a love letter to my husband, Detective Mark Vance. The internet erupted. Criticism and outrage flooded in. “A love confession on an APB?” “So unprofessional!” “Misuse of public resources! Neglect of duty!” “He’s married—is he having an affair with the intern?” “Disgusting!” “I hope his wife, the Chief Forensic Pathologist, takes a scalpel to them both!” My husband was suspended. I watched silently. Because in my last life, I caught Lila’s scheme early. I stopped her, reported it, and she was fired. Drunk and devastated, she fell into a river and drowned. My husband blamed me for her death. Later, during a case, I was taken hostage. Mark didn’t try to save me—he provoked the kidnapper, cornering him. I bled out on a dirty floor, a knife in my chest. Watching from above, I saw no grief on Mark’s face—only savage satisfaction. “Evelyn,” he spat at my body, “if not for your pettiness, Lila would be alive!” “It was just a love letter! Was her life worth taking for that?” “You owed Lila a life. Today, you paid.” Mark packed my ashes into fireworks and set them off over Lila’s grave. I could not rest. Then I opened my eyes—and was reborn. 1 I was back. One year earlier. Sitting in the task force briefing room. The entire department’s most urgent priority was solving the “927 Homicide.” A beautiful university student, out for a nightly jog, had been dragged into a park, assaulted, and brutally murdered. The case sent shockwaves through the city. Public outcry was deafening, and our superiors demanded a swift resolution. As the Captain of the Homicide Division, my husband, Mark Vance, was under immense pressure. His eyes were bloodshot, his voice raw from consecutive sleepless nights. There were no surveillance cameras on the section of road where the attack happened, making the investigation incredibly difficult. But after extensive canvassing, the team finally found a blurry image of the suspect, captured on the dashcam of a car that had passed the park at the time of the incident. The resolution was terrible, a mosaic of pixels that completely obscured his face, but it was our only lead. Mark was in the middle of dictating the details for the APB. “Suspect is a male, estimated age between 35 and 45.” “Gait analysis shows a slight inward turn of the left foot. Stride is average, pace is brisk.” “Wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark blue cargo pants…” “A fifty-thousand-dollar reward is offered for any information leading to the arrest of the suspect…” Mark spoke slowly and meticulously. When he finished, he looked at Lila, who was taking notes. “Lila, you get all that? This APB is critical to the case. There can be no mistakes. Every single word has to be one hundred percent accurate.” Lila had just graduated and was still an intern. “Got it, Captain! Your voice is so steady… so magnetic. I wasn't just listening with my ears; I was listening with my heart.” Her eyes shone with undisguised adoration. “Hehe, just the sound of your voice could give a girl chills… the good kind.” She was openly flirting with him, right in front of me, his wife. It was clear she saw me as nothing more than thin air. “That’s enough nonsense. Get to the comms room and issue it, now!” Mark feigned a reprimand, but there was no heat in his words. Only indulgence. It was precisely this indulgence that had allowed the little troublemaker to become more and more reckless, daring to pull a stunt of this magnitude. “On it!” Lila chirped sweetly. “Captain, I promise to complete the mission you’ve given me!” She grabbed her notepad and skipped off to the communications room. As she passed me, she shot me a smug little arch of her eyebrow. That triumphant look was identical to the one in my memories from my past life. In my previous life, shortly after she left, I’d remembered we needed to add information about the suspect’s shoes to the APB. I’d chased her down to the comms room and found her in the middle of altering the bulletin. She had deleted the entire suspect description. And replaced it with a fawning tribute to my husband. I had been furious. I stopped her immediately, saving the department from humiliation and preventing Mark from becoming a public laughingstock. Professionally and personally, my conscience was clear. I was defending the dignity of the law and protecting my family. How was it my fault that Lila, consumed by shame, got drunk and died? But what did it get me? Only in my last life, as the killer’s knife pierced my chest, did I finally see Mark’s true face. My husband was a man incapable of reason, devoid of gratitude. He was a monster in a policeman's uniform. I had saved him, and in doing so, destroyed myself. The memories of my past life were like a corpse preserved in formaldehyde, every detail painfully sharp. Reborn, I wouldn't be so foolish again. So this time, I did nothing. I let Lila work her mischief. I glanced at Mark’s profile. A cold smile played on my lips. Mark, your world is about to come crashing down. After Lila left, the case meeting continued. Mark picked up the autopsy report I had submitted. “Dr. Reed, based on the victim’s wounds, can you determine the type of weapon used?” Though we were married, in public, we always addressed each other by our professional titles. We kept things separate. Except when it came to that little siren, Lila. Then, all of Mark’s principles vanished. I had worked overtime to complete that report; I could recite it from memory. “The wound edges are serrated. I suspect the weapon was something like a butcher’s knife or a boning knife.” Mark nodded. “That suggests the killer likely works as a butcher, a chef, or in a similar trade. That’s the demographic we need to focus our search on.” Mark dispatched officers to canvass businesses near the crime scene. A moment later, Lila breezed back in. A thick cloud of perfume preceded her. Female officers rarely wore perfume. Especially us in forensics. To avoid compromising an autopsy, we wore no cosmetics at all while on duty. Lila, with her heavy makeup, overpowering scent, and uniform blouse paired with black stockings and high heels, was an anomaly. But as Mark’s gaze fell on her, his tired eyes suddenly lit up. Pathetic. Let a man think with his dick, and his brain turns to mush. “Lila, is the APB out?” A grin spread across Lila’s face. “It’s up, Captain! Want to check your phone and see how it looks?” Mark waved a hand dismissively. “No need. I trust you to get it done.” Lila’s smile widened. She turned and brought in a large bag filled with bubble tea and pastries. “Everyone’s working so hard. I ordered some treats for you all.” The team swarmed around her, praising her for being so thoughtful. Lila came from a wealthy family and was always generous, buying loyalty with small gifts and favors. That, combined with Mark’s blatant favoritism, had made her the precinct’s pet. “Captain, I brought you this ginseng from home. You need to take care of yourself. It breaks my heart to see you so worn out.” She handed him a box of expensive supplements. Her words were a cocktail of flattery and thinly veiled insults aimed at me. “Not like some people, who can’t even look after their own husband. So incompetent.” She was always doing this, trying to drive a wedge between us. In my past life, I would have argued back. But now, I acted as if I hadn't heard a thing, my head bowed over the case file. In my last life, this case was never solved. It went cold. The victim’s parents lived in a state of perpetual grief, and the case became a stain on the city police department’s record. Since fate had given me a second chance. I wouldn't just change my own tragic destiny; I would find a way to solve this case. To get justice for the victim and bring peace to her family. A mean-spirited person like her only feels a sense of accomplishment when her provocations get a reaction. My impassive silence clearly disappointed Lila. Her eyes darted around, and a new, malicious idea took root. Swaying her hips, Lila brought a cup of bubble tea over to my desk. “Dr. Reed, I got this for you. I made sure to tell them no ice. I know how you older women are always afraid of the cold, not like us young girls who don’t have to worry about such things.” It was another direct provocation. Even Mark looked uncomfortable. He started to speak, but couldn’t bring himself to scold her. He just pursed his lips and pretended to be deaf. I remained unmoved. “No, thank you. I don’t like sweet drinks.” Lila’s hand froze in mid-air. Her eyes reddened as if she’d suffered a terrible injustice. “Dr. Reed, did I do something wrong? Is that why you won’t take it?” Mark immediately forgot Lila’s provocation and turned on me. “Evelyn, Lila was being nice. Why do you have to be so rude?” “We’re colleagues in the same unit. You need to show some solidarity.” Emboldened by his support, Lila pushed her luck. She deliberately tried to force the cup into my hand. “Come on, Dr. Reed. Don’t be like that.” Her back was to the others. Only I could see the scheming look on her face. “Oops!” She “accidentally” tilted her hand, spilling the hot tea all over the back of her own. Like a seasoned actress, tears instantly welled in her eyes. “It’s burning!” Mark rushed over, grabbing her hand and blowing on it tenderly. “It’s all red!” “Does it hurt?” “Should we go to the hospital?” Tears streamed down Lila’s face. “Captain, I… I’m fine… sob…” This only made Mark more distressed. He spun on me, his voice a roar. “Evelyn, you’ve gone too far!” “This is workplace harassment, you know that?” “Apologize to her! Right now!” “Don’t think you get special privileges just because you’re my wife!” The rest of the team gathered around, siding with Lila. “Dr. Reed, even if you don’t like Lila, you can’t bully her like this.” “She’s just a kid.” I ignored them and looked straight at Mark. “Captain Vance, you remember I’m your wife? You remember you’re a married man?” “For a moment there, I thought you’d developed amnesia.” “Or are you also a child who doesn’t understand professional boundaries?” “And as for special privileges, I wouldn't dare claim any. The only person here who gets to wear stockings and heels to work is Lila.” A flush crept up Mark’s neck. “Evelyn, don’t change the subject! We’re talking about you harassing a colleague!” “I didn’t harass her. I never touched that cup. If you don’t believe me, have the forensics unit dust it for my prints.” “I’m a medical examiner. Trying to frame me is a losing game.” Lila’s face paled slightly. She had clearly forgotten she was in a police station, a place where evidence was everything. Framing someone wasn’t so easy here. So she just cried harder. “Captain, it was… I was clumsy… I spilled it myself…” “It’s just… Dr. Reed glared at me. She’s so intimidating. It scared me.” “She works with dead bodies all day. Who wouldn’t be creeped out?” “I’ve heard old folks say that women who are always around corpses carry a dark energy. It brings bad luck. Curses their husbands and children. They either can’t have kids, or they die in childbirth, and their husbands are destined for disaster…” When framing me failed, Lila resorted to curses. It was a vile thing to say. It wasn't just an insult to me; it was an insult to the sacred profession of forensic pathology. What is a forensic pathologist? We are the ones who stand beside a cold steel table and scrape a killer’s skin cells from under a victim’s fingernails. We are the ones who find trace amounts of poison in decaying flesh to reconstruct how a victim was murdered. We are the ones who painstakingly compare wound patterns to sketch the murder weapon, leaving a killer with nowhere to hide their methods. We don’t deal in “dark energy.” We give the dead their final chance to speak. We face cold bodies. But we protect the burning heat of justice. The falsely accused are exonerated by our reports. The victims who cannot rest in peace find justice when our expertise forces a killer to confess. These hands of mine have touched dismembered bodies and examined bloated corpses. But they are clean. And they will not be defiled. In the eyes of a forensic pathologist, the dead are never what’s truly frightening. It’s the living. Corpses never lie. Only living people spew poison. Hell is empty, and all the devils are here. She could covet my husband. That man was rotten to the core anyway. I no longer wanted him. But she would not slander the profession I had dedicated my life to. CRACK! I raised my hand and slapped Lila hard across the face. “Lila Monroe, you watch your damn mouth.” A red handprint bloomed on Lila’s delicate cheek. I could see the flicker of triumph in her eyes. She’d been hit, but the homewrecker had achieved her goal of provoking me. Of course, she didn’t show her delight. She clutched her face, the tears falling even faster. “Captain!” “Does Dr. Reed really hate me this much?” “What did I ever do wrong?!” How could a woman like her, who knowingly pursued a married man, have the audacity to play the victim? Mark, like a protective mother hen, rushed forward and pulled Lila into his arms. Then he shoved me violently away. “Evelyn, are you insane? Why are you being so barbaric?!” “I’m barbaric?” I stared at him, a cold, humorless laugh bubbling up. “You’re a police officer. Don’t you understand the importance of forensic science?” “The filth she just spewed, was that human? And you just let her?” “Mark, you’re headed for disaster!” “But it won’t be because of me. It will be because of this little troublemaker.” Mark’s face was beet red. He knew perfectly well that what Lila had said was superstitious nonsense. But he couldn’t bear to see her punished by me. So he gritted his teeth and stood his ground. “Evelyn, don’t make a mountain out of a molehill!” “Lila is just a naive girl. She speaks her mind, that’s all. What trouble could she possibly cause?” He was still trying to defend her when an officer, staring at his phone, froze. He rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, then looked again. Finally certain it wasn’t a hallucination, his voice trembled. “Captain! You need to see the official site! Now!” “The APB… there’s a problem with the APB!” Mark was startled. “What kind of problem? A typo?” He took the officer’s phone. One look, and the color drained from his face. I pulled out my own phone and opened the webpage. The page that should have contained the suspect’s information now displayed a few lines of sickeningly sweet text. “Captain, I know you have a wife, but I can’t stop myself from loving you.” “Every time I watch you catch a killer, I think you’re so handsome!” “I’m willing to wait for you, even if I have to be your shadow for the rest of my life. I have no regrets.” “Love, your kitten, Lila Monroe.” It was identical to the letter from my previous life. Not even a single punctuation mark was different. I looked at my petrified husband. Let’s see you get out of this one, Mark. The rest of the team had now seen the altered APB online. The normally bustling precinct fell silent. You could have heard a pin drop. It was as quiet as the vacuum of space. Homicide detectives are a hardened bunch. They can face murder and arson without batting an eye. But now, every face in the room was grim. Many had broken out in a cold sweat. This was a catastrophe. Though it had only been online for half an hour, it had already gone viral. It wasn't just the hundreds of thousands of hits and tens of thousands of shares and comments on the official site. It had been reposted across every social media platform. #APBloveletter was trending. The comments were a tidal wave of condemnation, sarcasm, and outrage. “My God! I’ve seen it all now! A police APB turned into a love letter? Are they treating this murder case like a joke?” “So irresponsible! Someone needs to file a complaint for this gross negligence!” “The victim isn't even cold in her grave, the killer is still out there, and you’re pulling this disgusting stunt? What do you think her family feels right now? You’re just rubbing salt in their wounds!” “The killer must be laughing his ass off.” “Is this a police department or the set of a cheesy drama?” “I suggest a thorough investigation into this Lila Monroe. Bet she got the job through connections!” “This is a gross misuse of public resources! Dereliction of duty!” Of course, a few outliers tried to defend her. “I think it’s kind of romantic.” “Yeah, a girl has the right to pursue love.” This, naturally, was met with even fiercer backlash. “Romantic? The detective is married! This is an affair with a homewrecker!” “This is messed up!” “I heard his wife is the Chief Forensic Pathologist. I support her taking a scalpel to these two degenerates!” “Pursuing love is one thing. Pursuing an adulterous affair is unforgivable!” Mark finally snapped out of his stupor, roaring like a cornered lion. “What the hell is this?” “Who changed the APB?!” “Lila, did someone mess with you? Who was at the comms computer? Did someone threaten you?” He stared at her, wide-eyed. Everyone knew what had happened. But Mark was still trying to shift the blame, to protect Lila. But Lila was a spoiled, reckless brat. Seeing Mark’s frantic state, she wasn’t scared at all. In fact, a radiant smile bloomed on her face, and she giggled. “I did it myself, Captain.” “Surprise! Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you?” She took a step forward, her eyes gleaming with a manic obsession. “I love you, Captain!” “So what if you’re married? I have the right to love you! And I want the whole world to know how I feel!” “Don’t listen to those boring people online! Homewrecker? In love, the one who isn’t loved is the third wheel!” “You’re not happy with Evelyn. Only I can save your lonely soul!” She turned, her eyes flashing with defiance as she declared war on me. “Dr. Reed, I hope you know when to quit. You need to face reality.” “You might be able to keep his body, but you’ll never have his heart!” “Mark’s heart is filled with me, Lila Monroe. There’s no room for you anymore.” “You’re the unloved one in this marriage. You’re the real third wheel. If you have any sense, you’ll leave with your dignity intact.” “You can’t beg for love. Don’t use a marriage certificate to hold Captain Vance’s happiness hostage.” “Set love free!” She spoke with righteous conviction, as if she were the heroine of this story. I’d met my fair share of mistresses, but Lila was the first one I’d ever seen who was so shameless, so fearless, who wore her homewrecker status like a badge of honor. She was a complete failure of moral education. But then again. If her worldview wasn't already twisted into a pretzel, she never would have been stupid enough to swap a wanted poster for a love letter. Lila was still ranting. I remained calm. But Mark had heard enough. He understood perfectly the catastrophic consequences this would have for him. “Lila, shut up!” “You’re insane!” Mark’s hands were trembling with rage. “This is an APB! It’s for catching a murderer! You turned it into a love letter! What will the public think of this department?” “How am I supposed to explain this to my superiors?” “You’ve ruined me!” Seeing Mark genuinely furious, Lila finally realized she’d gone too far. A flicker of panic crossed her face, but there was no remorse. Instead, she immediately put on a show and started to cry. “Captain, I just love you so much, I wasn't thinking straight… Please forgive me this one time, okay?” “I promise I’ll be good next time, okay?” Her tears were like a fire extinguisher, instantly dousing the flames of Mark’s anger. He was still furious, of course, but he couldn’t bring himself to scold her further. He let out a long sigh. “Lila, what am I going to do with you…?” “Go back to the comms room, delete the letter, and post the real APB. Then issue a press release.” “Just say… just say the website was hacked. That it wasn't our fault.” Seeing that Mark was no longer raging, Lila’s face broke into the sly, triumphant smile of a fox that had just stolen a piece of rotten meat. I had remained silent throughout Lila’s tirade. I hadn’t argued with her. Not because I couldn't win, but because her words were so utterly debased. Arguing with trash like her would only lower myself to her level. What was the point of arguing with a shameless creature who had no regard for the law and zero moral compass? It would be like barking back at a rabid dog on the street. But when I heard Mark’s crisis management plan, a cold smile touched my lips, and I finally spoke. Because his plan was even stupider. It would do even more damage to the department’s reputation. “Mark, do you really think that excuse will work? Do you think the public will believe it?” “And what if they do? What’s worse than them not believing it?” “If the police department’s own website can be hacked, if we can’t even secure our own digital territory, how are we supposed to protect the public? That would be an even greater embarrassment!” “Have you lost your mind?” “Instead of taking that ginseng, maybe you should try eating some pig brains!” “The only thing you can do now is issue a public apology! And then you fire this troublemaker, Lila Monroe!” “Someone with such a blatant disregard for discipline has no place in this department!” “The only way to restore the department’s honor is to focus on catching the killer, and fast!” My words were sharp and merciless. Mark was speechless, his face flushing red, then pale. He was furious. “No matter what, we are not firing Lila!” “She just made a mistake! A warning will be sufficient!” “I’m the Captain, and what I say goes!” This man was a lost cause. Even now, he was still protecting and covering for this reckless girl. Just then, the door swung open, and the Chief of Police walked in, his face a thundercloud. “This is an absolute disgrace!” “Lila Monroe, pack your things and get out! Now!” “We have no room for a liability like you in this department!” Lila panicked and grabbed Mark’s arm. “Captain, save me!” “I don’t want to leave you! I can’t!” A muscle twitched in Mark’s jaw. Though nervous, he spoke up for her. “Chief, this was her first offense, and she’s still so young. Can’t you give her another chance?” “You can’t fire her!” The Chief slammed his hand on the table. “Mark, have you lost your mind?” “Do you have any idea how bad this looks?” Mark dug in his heels. He pulled out his badge and slapped it on the table. “Chief, the public is just looking for entertainment. This is a big deal now, but in a few days, there will be a new scandal, and they’ll forget all about it. Who’s going to care?” “We’re police officers. As long as we catch the killer, we haven’t failed in our duty.” “If you insist on firing Lila, then I’ll resign too. I’m partly responsible for this, after all.” “Lila and I will take responsibility together. That’s only fair.” “But the department is already short-staffed. If I leave, this case will be even harder to solve, and the killer will be harder to catch. That would be truly irresponsible to the victim’s family.” “And the public will be even angrier then.” He was using the case to threaten the Chief. Lila’s eyes lit up. She grabbed Mark’s hand. “Oh, Captain, you’re so good to me!” “I knew I wasn’t wrong to love you!” “If you resign, so what? My family owns a company. You can be a manager at my parents’ firm. It’s a much better job than being captain of this stupid precinct!” Mark was one of the best detectives in the city. The Chief was in a bind. The rest of the team immediately chimed in. They had all benefited from Lila’s generosity in the past, so of course, they sided with her. “He’s right, Chief. Lila is usually a hard worker. She just messed up this one time. She’s young, give her another chance. Don’t be so harsh.” “We’re in the middle of a major case. We can’t afford to lose anyone, especially not Captain Vance’s leadership.” The Chief frowned and looked at me. “Dr. Reed, what are your thoughts?” He knew my relationship with Mark, which is why he asked for my opinion.
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