The school bell rang, its shrill cry cutting through the air like a siren warning of an approaching storm. Veronica Lin walked the marble halls with silent footsteps, her expression unreadable.
But inside?
The silence screamed.
She didn't flinch when the whispers followed her—she'd grown used to them. Reverence. Suspicion. Envy. Even fear.
Yet none of that mattered now.
Because today, a ghost from the past had returned.
Or rather… had been unearthed.
One Hour Earlier – Anonymous Tip-Off
Lucas's phone buzzed against his thigh.
A secure message.
Encrypted. No sender.
Just a single line of text:
"If Amy Lin is dead… then who's buried in Plot B7?"
Plot B7.
The grave the Lin family had purchased years ago, when Amy went into her medical coma—a quiet corner in the family's private cemetery, filled with symbolic markers, never questioned.
Until now.
Lucas didn't reply.
He was already moving.
Now – Back at Elite Private High
"Miss Lin."
Veronica looked up, meeting the sharp gaze of Principal Chen.
He stood in the doorway of her classroom, flanked by two faculty members and a stone-faced campus security officer.
"We need you to come with us. Immediately."
The classroom went silent.
Every eye turned toward her.
Veronica stood slowly, tucking her pen behind her ear. Her classmates watched with thinly veiled curiosity.
No one dared speak.
She followed them through the halls, her gait steady, her breathing even.
But her mind?
Her mind was racing.
Something had been dug up.
And she hadn't authorized the shovel.
Principal's Office – Lin Estate Lawyer Present
Veronica took in the sight with calculated ease.
A folder sat on the principal's desk—thick, bound, and sealed with a red stamp that made her pulse skip.
Confidential. Family Records Division.
Seated across from her was Mr. Han, the Lin family's most trusted legal retainer.
Or so she thought.
He wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Miss Lin," Principal Chen said, clearing his throat. "We've received a formal complaint from the education board. A whistleblower has raised questions regarding your academic records and identity documentation. Specifically, whether you are… legally Amy Lin."
Veronica blinked.
"Pardon?"
Han interjected quickly. "We are treating this as a clerical error—someone has obtained falsified documents suggesting that the real Amy Lin died during her coma, and that her current records are being used by an impostor."
Veronica's face remained blank, but her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
So it had begun.
Someone had gone digging.
Someone had found… something.
"You have my birth certificate. Medical history. School files. What exactly are you suggesting?" she asked coldly.
Principal Chen tapped the file. "The complaint includes genetic data—taken illegally, we assume—from a recent blood drive sample. It doesn't match the DNA in your original hospital records."
She didn't speak.
She couldn't.
"Miss Lin," Han said cautiously. "Do you understand the gravity of this situation?"
Veronica slowly leaned forward, voice quiet. "I understand betrayal. Deeply."
Han flinched.
Her eyes didn't leave him.
"Tell me something, Mr. Han. Did my father authorize this interrogation?"
He hesitated. "He's… currently out of the country."
Of course, he was.
Veronica smiled thinly. "Then I suggest you remember exactly who pays your salary."
She stood.
Principal Chen shifted nervously. "Miss Lin, until the matter is cleared, the board will temporarily suspend your candidacy for student council president."
There it was.
The knife.
She accepted the blow with a nod.
And left the office.
But not before turning to Han.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Whoever dug up that grave… tell them to dig two more."
Rooftop – East Wing
Lucas stood with his back to the door, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
Veronica joined him, the wind whipping through her loose hair.
"I assume you've seen the file."
He didn't answer immediately.
Then: "Yes."
She folded her arms. "And?"
Lucas finally turned to her. "They're using a fragment of your old blood sample to prove you aren't Amy Lin. It's illegal. And dangerous."
Her eyes glittered. "But not inaccurate."
He watched her for a long moment.
Then said, "You knew this was coming."
"Eventually. You don't take over two identities without someone noticing the seams."
Lucas's voice dropped. "I can make this disappear."
"No," she said firmly. "Let it bleed."
He raised a brow.
Veronica leaned against the railing. "Let them question who I am. Let them be afraid. The more they dig, the deeper they fall. I've already buried my old self. If they want to exhume her corpse, they better be ready for what crawls out."
A pause.
Then Lucas spoke quietly. "I found the grave. Plot B7."
She said nothing.
"It was empty."
"I know."
His gaze sharpened. "You faked the burial."
"No," she said. "She did."
Lucas frowned. "She?"
Veronica looked out at the horizon.
"She may have been weak, but she wasn't stupid. Amy Lin knew her family would bury her like a scandal. So she made a deal… with me."
Lucas didn't interrupt.
"She gave me her body. Her name. But she made me promise one thing in return."
He waited.
Veronica's voice was barely a whisper.
"To make them remember her."
Flashback – One Year Ago, In a White Hospital Room
The girl in the bed was pale. Hooked up to wires. Her lips were cracked, and her breath came in shallow wheezes.
Veronica stood beside her, a spirit without a body, the weight of her death still clinging to her soul like a shroud.
Amy opened her eyes, weak but lucid.
"You're not real," she rasped.
"I'm you," Veronica answered. "Or I will be."
Amy gave a sad smile. "Then do better. Don't die quietly like I did."
Veronica reached for her hand.
Cold.
Fragile.
But still warm enough to pass something on.
"I'll make them remember," Veronica promised. "And I'll make them pay."
Present – Lin Family Cemetery, Plot B7
That night, Veronica stood under the pale moonlight, a bouquet of red camellias in her hands.
Lucas stood behind her like a shadow.
The gravestone read:
Amy Lin
Beloved Daughter
199X–Never Forgotten
She laid the flowers gently at its base.
"You wanted them to remember," she whispered. "And now they will."
Lucas broke the silence. "What happens when the world finds out the truth?"
Veronica turned to him.
"I'm counting on it."
Meanwhile… Unknown Location
A dark room. Monitors lined the walls.
Victoria stared at the screen showing Veronica at the gravesite, lips curling into a satisfied smile.
"She's hiding something," she said.
Beside her, a man in a tailored suit and gloves tapped on the flash drive labeled "AMY LIN – REAL IDENTITY."
"Then let's bury her with it."