My Revenge Begins After My Death

I decided to die on my 28th birthday. It was not suicide but homicide... by my dear sister, Susan Bruno. I had always known that she would kill me.

I told my older brother, Barry Bruno, and he said, Charlotte, don't always think so badly of Susan.

I told my fianc, Calvin Simmon, and he said, You're making up a story to draw attention again.

Hence, I decided to give them the evidence they wanted mosta corpse.

I installed seven cameras, set up an automatic sending program, and wrote a farewell letter. I left clues for the killer, bait for Susan, and a time bomb for my family.

Today, Susan texted: [Charlotte, Dad has something for you at the safe house.]

I replied: [Coming.]

Before leaving, I checked my to-do list one last time. Everything was checked off, except for one thing: death.

I would die. They would never know that the moment my heart stopped beating... the countdown to revenge had only just begun.

Chapter 1

I never thought I would die in the Bruno family's safe house. How ironic. It was clearly a safe house, but it turned out to be the place where Susan Bruno killed me.

My soul floated beside my own corpse, watching the blood slowly solidify. The corpse in the black gown was curled up on the concrete ground, lying in a pool of blood like a discarded doll.

I never thought that so much blood could flow out of my body.

The killers were wiping their fingerprints with such proficiency that it was chilling. The leader was Marco Honduras, Susan's personal bodyguard.

Marco whispered, "Clean it up. Ms. Bruno said the cement won't arrive until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

Cementwhat a familiar mafia tactic!

Whenever my father executed a traitor, he would always say, 'Give him a concrete coffin and let him remain silent forever.'

Now, I was going to be 'silenced' at home.

Music came from upstairs. It was upbeat jazz.

Today was Susan's coming-of-age dinner. It was also my birthday, but no one remembered it.

Marco and the others left and locked the door.

The basement was plunged into darkness. Only my corpse silently lay there, but my soul could see everything. I saw the hidden camera flashing red in the ventilation duct. It was recording everything, transmitting it to the cloud storage I had preset.

The password was 0713the day I met Calvin Simmon.

How ridiculous. Even my password in this act of revenge was related to him.

What was even more ridiculous was that my soul drifted into the banquet hall, where I saw Calvin in a black suit standing beside Susan, looking at her tenderly. My sister, the person who killed me, was wearing a white dress and smiling at Calvin like some pure princess.

The banquet hall was brightly lit. Calvin and Susan looked like the perfect couple.

When he proposed to me back then, Calvin had solemnly promised, "You are the only love of my life."

Now, he stood beside Susan, his arm wrapped loosely around her waist.

Susan raised her champagne glass. "Thank you all for coming to my coming-of-age ceremony. It's a pity Charlotte couldn't make it today..."

She lowered her eyelids with just the right amount of sadness.

My mother... No, my stepmother walked over and hugged her. "Don't be upset, Susan. Charlotte has always been wilful."

Wilfulwhat a word.

My attending the family meeting with a 40-degree fever was wilful.

My taking a bullet for my older brother, Barry Bruno, was wilful.

My designing the perfect money laundering route to double the family's assets was also wilful.

What about Susan?

Her breaking an antique vase was 'innocent and cute'.

Her disrupting a smuggling deal was her being 'still young and needing training'.

She was the Principessa of the Bruno family, and I was nothing.

Barry walked over and handed Susan a gift box. "Happy birthday, Susan."

Inside was a custom Colt pistolDad's favorite, which he said he would pass on to the child who most resembled him. I thought it would have been me.

I had the best shot; I could hit the bullseye from 50 yards away when I was ten. My father had patted my head then. "Charlotte, you were born to handle a gun."

However, he never praised me again because Susan said it was scary for girls to hold guns.

Thus, Dad put the gun away and said, "Charlotte, you must be gentle like Susan."

Now that I was dead, the gun was passed to Susan.

She smiled and held up the gun, "Barry, this is heavy."

"I'll teach you." Barry took her hand, his movements as gentle as if he were handling something fragile.

He had never taught me like that. He always said, "Charlotte, you can do it yourself."

Yes, I could do everything myself. That was why I did not deserve to be treated gently.

Chapter 2

Three hours after my death, the banquet reached its climax because Calvin came on stage.

My soul involuntarily drifted toward him... Just as every time I saw him back when I was alive, my body was more honest than my heart.

He wore a dark grey suit today. The silver cufflinks were the present I gave him for his 28th birthday. At the time, he had said, "Charlotte, it's like you're by my side every time I wear them."

I was by his side now, but he could not see me.

Calvin's voice came through the microphone. "Today, I have something to announce."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire venue before finally settling on Susan.

My heartif a soul still had a heartsank for a moment.

Calvin took a deep breath. "I've decided to officially transfer the operation rights of the Simmon family's three casinos in the west district to Susan Bruno."

Applause rang out again.

Susan covered her mouth with her eyes wide open, looking extremely flattered. However, I saw smugness in her eyes... The kind of smugness that came from winning.

The casinos in the west district were the business I spent two years building from near bankruptcy to being the most profitable. I had spent countless sleepless nights in those casinosdesigning security systems, training dealers, cultivating political and business connectionsall to help Calvin.

Now, they had become Susan's birthday present.

Calvin walked up to Susan and placed a bunch of keys in her palm. "Susan, I believe you can do even better."

Susan threw herself into his arms. "Thank you, Calvin! I promise I won't let you down!"

She buried her face in his chest, and her gaze seemed to sweep over where I was floating when she looked up.

Of course, she could not see me. However, she knew I would be heartbroken. She always knew, but she did not know that I no longer cared.

The dead did not feel pain. They only sought revenge.

...

As the new casino owner, Susan chatted confidently with the people who gathered around her. Suddenly, her face paled as she covered her mouth and rushed to the restroom.

Everyone was stunned.

A few minutes later, Barry helped her out. She was pale, and her eyes were red.

"What's wrong?" Calvin asked with concern.

Susan shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "N-Nothing It's just a birthday present Charlotte gave me..."

"What did Charlotte give you?" He frowned.

Susan's hands trembled as she took a small box from her purse... It was the bracelet I bought for her last month.

She opened it, but it was not the bracelet inside. It was a small packet of white powder and a note: [Susan, try this. I guarantee you'll be the center of attention at the party. Love, Charlotte.]

The entire audience erupted in an uproar.

My soul trembled.

It was my handwriting, but I did not write the note.

Susan had spent three years practicing imitating my handwriting. I knew because I had seen her discarded practice papers, but I said nothing because no one would believe me anyway.

The gift I bought her was a bracelet, which I had wrapped myself and placed on her bedside table.

She changed it.

Barry picked up the packet of powder and smelled it, only for his expression to change drastically. "This is Heavenly Powder."

It was a new type of drug.

"No way!" Calvin snatched it away. "Charlotte wouldn't touch this!"

My stepmother said coldly, "But the evidence is here. I knew Charlotte was always jealous of Susan. I just didn't expect her to use such despicable means."

"Mom, stop. Charlotte probably didn't do it on purpose. She might have just had a momentary lapse of judgment..." Susan sobbed while looking at Calvin.

However, Calvin just stared at the note, his eyes filled with complex emotions. What was he thinking?

I floated to his side and whispered, "Calvin, you recognize my writing, right?"

"We in the mafia can deal drugs, but we can never give drugs to our own family. Anyone who does that deserves to die," someone said.

Barry said sternly, "This matter is still undetermined. This is a matter for the Bruno family, so please be careful of what you say."

He looked at Calvin. "What do you think?"

Calvin remained silent for a long time. It was so long that Susan's tears had almost dried. Finally, he said, "Find Charlotte and ask her."

Ask me?

He said they should ask me first instead of capturing me.

A sad surge of warmth welled up inside me... He was still willing to give me a chance to explain, though that chance was no longer important.

Chapter 3

The guests left with strange looks.

The core family members gathered in the study.

Barry asked, "Where's Charlotte? Has anyone seen her today?"

Calvin shook his head and put down his phone. "Her phone is turned off. I've called all the places she often goes, but she's not there."

"She's gone missing again!" My stepmother slapped the table. "Every time Susan has something important going on, she plays this trick! Can't she be more mature?"

"That's why we must find her." Calvin frowned and stood up.

Just then, a scream interrupted everyone.

It was Susan. She rushed out of the room, holding a blood-stained dagger in her hand. "Blood! There's blood in Charlotte's room!"

Barry and Calvin rushed into my room.

There was a large pool of dark red blood on the carpet beside my bed; it was half dry. Beside it was the dagger with my initials engraved on the hilt.

"And this..." Susan trembled as she handed over a note.

Calvin took it and read it out loud, "Susan, you made me do this. If you steal Calvin, I'll kill you and then commit suicide."

Seeing the imitation handwriting again, I was calm. I was even curious about just how much Susan had prepared to deal with me.

Barry's voice trembled. "Find Charlotte! Immediately! Right now!"

Everyone in the manor was mobilized. They searched every room and every corner, except the safe house. Only Susan and I had the keys to the safe house, and mine was with Susan.

"Have you searched the safe house?" Calvin asked.

Susan's expression changed slightly. "It's... It's locked. Charlotte might not be there..."

"Open it and see," Barry said.

"I... I can't find the key," Susan said.

"Then get the cutting machine," Barry ordered.

Susan suddenly screamed, "No! Charlotte... Charlotte's secret is inside! She doesn't want anyone to know!"

"What secret?" Calvin turned to look at her.

"She... She hid drugs and... evidence of dealings with the police in there. She once said she would expose everything and ruin the family if you pressured her too much!" Susan spoke quickly like she had it memorized.

It was the perfect frame-up.

Everyone's eyes changed, even Calvin seemed to waver.

Susan saw this and continued, "Yesterday Yesterday, I overheard her on the phone, saying she was going to sell the family's money laundering network to the FBI..."

My stepmother was furious. "She'd better not let me find her, or I'll make her regret being alive!"

A series of dangerous statements silenced everyone, including me.

Barry just patted Susan's shoulder. "You're not fully recovered yet. Don't get too worked up."

Calvin opened his mouth but said nothing.

I watched it all from the air and suddenly felt incredibly tired. I was too tired to explain or prove anything. I was already dead anyway. The voices of the dead were inaudible to the living.

After a long while, Calvin softly broke the silence. "No matter what, Charlotte is most likely injured. Even if she deserves to die, she should be brought back and dealt with."

However, no one had a clue where to look for me. After all, I had always been dispensable to them.

I clung to Calvin, carefully observing him as I pondered it. I used to stick around even after arguing with him. I needed him to recall this as he was a key part of my revenge...

Chapter 4

Calvin suddenly spoke up as if he had heard my voice. "I'll go and check out her apartment."

"I'm going too," Susan said immediately.

Calvin hesitated for a moment. "Stay at home and rest."

"No." Susan grabbed his arm, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I want to ask Charlotte to her face... why she hates me so much... "

Look, what a perfect victim!

I was floating in the air as I watched and suddenly felt like laughing, if souls could laugh.

...

Calvin stood outside my apartment door, hesitantly looking at the combination lock. I never told anyone the password because it was my only sanctuary and refuge from reality.

He tried my birthday and his birthdayboth incorrect. Finally, he entered 0713, and the door opened. I saw a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth before he pulled open the door.

Susan followed him into my apartment.

My bedroom was exactly as I had left it. On the bedside table was a photo of Calvin and me from last year in Venico He was holding me while I smiled like a fool.

Below the photo was my diary. I had deliberately placed it there.

He opened the first page...

[List of Disappointments

[1. At eight years old, Susan broke the vase Mom left behind and accused me of it. Dad punished me by making me kneel all night.]

...

[23. At 15 years old, I was shot and hospitalized. My family was with Susan for her birthday. Only the butler came to see me.]

...

[51. Calvin forgot our anniversary for the first time. He said he was 'busy with family matters,' but I later found out he was shopping with Susan.]

...

[69. I hid in a garbage can for eight hours to avoid being kidnapped. Barry kept blaming me for dirtying his car but wouldn't listen to my explanation.]

...

[81. Yesterday, Susan poisoned my coffee. I told everyone, but no one believed me.]

...

[99. I've decided to die and use my life to bring you all to your senses. Once it reaches my 100th disappointment, I'll choose death.]

I saw Calvin's hands trembling. He kept flipping through the pages until he reached the last page, which I had written last night.

[To the person reading this diary,

[If it's you, Barry, I'm sorry. Forcing you to come to your senses in this way might be frightening, but I had no other choice.

[If it's you, Calvin, I love you, and that has never changed. But I don't know who you love.

[If it's Susan, congratulations. You've won, but the game isn't over yet.

[If I'm already dead... The show enters its second act.]

Calvin slammed my diary shut and rushed out of the room.

Susan stopped him at the door. "Calvin, where are you going?"

"Charlotte might be in trouble. She wrote a lot of strange things in her diary..."

Susan's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her sweet smile. "No, she's probably jealous because she knows you celebrated my coming-of-age ceremony and forgot her birthday.

"She's probably drowning her sorrows in some bar now. You know how much she loves to drink."

Calvin paused. "Charlotte's birthday?"

Susan smiled. "Yes, but you're all busy and forgot. Knowing Charlotte, she might be spending her birthday with other men."

Calvin fell silent.

He always did thischoosing to doubt me over believing me.

Did he not know that I never drank? I had been allergic to alcohol since I was a child. I had not seen any other men since our engagement.

Calvin remembered Susan's birthday, preferences, and menstrual cycle, but he never remembered anything about me or even believed me.

It was fine, though. He would never forget what was to come.