Chapter 1The Grave Robber Was My Widower

His first love, the woman my husband called his "moonlight," suffered from severe depression. The mere sight of me would send her into a self-harming spiral.

So, to keep his precious moonlight safe, he sent me away. He didn't care that I was nine months pregnant. He dumped me in his family's dilapidated ancestral home in the countryside and forgot I existed.

Five years after I was defiled and left for dead, his moonlight was diagnosed with kidney failure. The doctors said a blood relative would be the best match. Only then did he remember me—her older sister.

He called, his voice a cold command, ordering me to come back at once.

My five-year-old daughter answered the phone. Her small voice trembled. "Uncle...? My... my mommy... she's been dead for a very long time."

* * *

“Who is this?” Wayne Heins’s voice was sharp with impatience. “Where’s Beth? Put Beth on the phone!”

My daughter, Jenifer, stammered, “You… you wait a minute.”

She put down the receiver and ran to find the village elder. “Grandpa, someone’s on the phone for Mommy.”

The old man, his back bent with age, shuffled to the phone. “Mr. Heins?” he asked. “You finally…”

Hearing an old man’s voice, Wayne’s face darkened. He pressed his temples, taking a deep, calming breath, but his eyes, when they opened, were filled with a barely contained rage.

“Where is Beth?” he snapped. “What, is she too scared to take my call? First she has some kid tell me she’s dead, now an old man? Is she going to try that line again?”

His voice dripped with condescending fury. “She just wants me to come get her myself, doesn’t she? Fine. For Claire’s sake, I’ll drag her back myself.”

He slammed the phone down without waiting for a reply.

The next day, a sleek, black car wound its way through the forgotten country roads and pulled up in the village. Wayne stepped out, his expensive suit a stark contrast to the poverty surrounding him. He stared at the half-collapsed old house, his brow furrowed in disgust.

The door hung open on one hinge. The inside was gutted, stripped of all furniture. Broken floorboards lay scattered amidst a thick carpet of dust and cobwebs. The windows were shattered.

He shot an irritated glance at the young man who had guided him here. “Where is Beth? Tell her to get out here. If she agrees to donate a kidney to Claire, I’ll take her back.”

The young man looked pained. “Mr. Heins, I… well, you see… maybe you should wait for the village elder?”

Wayne’s eyes narrowed, a muscle ticking in his jaw. Just then, the elder arrived, leaning heavily on a cane.

“Mr. Heins.”

Wayne gave him a dismissive glance. “Beth. Where is she?”

The elder tucked one hand behind his back. “Beth… she can’t come out to meet you.”

A cold, mirthless laugh escaped Wayne’s lips. “What, are you going to tell me she’s dead? Tell her to stop with the petty games. I’m not in the mood. I came all this way to get her. What more does she want?”

What more did I want?

Nothing. I just wanted to live. I wanted to watch my daughter grow up. But I couldn't even have that.

My soul hovered nearby, watching him, a hollow ache where my heart used to be.

Five years ago, on the very night I was sent here, I gave birth to Jenifer. A few weeks later, Claire found me. She was consumed with jealousy—that I had married Wayne, that I was carrying his child.

First, she sent thugs to destroy the old house. Then, she sent them to harass me, day after day. Finally, she sent them to rape me and kill me. They left my broken body in the mountains for the wild dogs to devour.

It was the village elder who noticed I was gone. He organized a search party. They found what was left of me and gave me a proper burial.