Chapter 4 The Memory She Left Behind
“Hey, wait! What do you mean?” Joanna tried to chase after the man as he disappeared down the hospital corridor. “Hey!”
“Millie?”
The voice made her stop. Joanna turned and found Jonny approaching her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh, nothing.” She shook her head and glanced toward the corner where the man had vanished.
That man was seriously strange.
“Everything’s done. Let’s go home.” Jonny immediately began pushing her wheelchair.
Joanna fell silent.
Now, her new life was beginning.
Joanna studied the modest house in front of her. Compared to the home she had lived in before, it was nothing. Not even half as impressive.
The difference felt even greater when she stepped into Millie’s bedroom. The room was small, furnished with only a single bed, yet it felt warm and lived in. Joanna suddenly realized she barely remembered her own bedroom from her previous life. She had never spent much time there.
Sleep.
Prepare.
Leave.
The same routine over and over again.
“Millie, get some more rest. I’ll call you when lunch is ready.”
Millie’s mother gave her a gentle smile before closing the door.
Joanna took a deep breath and looked around.
A study desk.
A simple wooden wardrobe.
Not many belongings. Even the bathroom was outside the room.
Alright. What do I have here?
She began searching through everything she could find. She needed to understand who Millie Hart had been. She couldn’t keep living in this body without knowing anything about its original owner.
“Huh. Nothing.” Joanna placed her hands on her hips after checking every corner. There were no photographs. Even Millie’s phone appeared to have been reset before her suicide attempt.
“Then why did she kill herself if everything seemed fine?”
Muttering to herself, Joanna sat on the edge of the bed and lay back. Her eyes fixed on the white ceiling. Instinctively, her hand swept through the air.
Blue numbers immediately appeared before her.
86:14:38:13
And they continued counting down.
Joanna bit her lip and grabbed her phone. If she couldn’t find answers here, she needed another approach.
“Hello, Joanna?” Liana answered.
“I think you should start getting used to calling me Millie.”
Joanna sat upright.
“Okay, fine. You didn’t call just to correct me, did you? What do you need now?”
“I need surveillance footage from the accident scene, my house, and my office. One week before the accident and several days after. I also need you to investigate Millie. I searched her room and found nothing.”
Liana was quiet for a moment.
“Alright. Looks like I need to put together an investigation team. That’s a lot of work.”
“Do whatever you need. I just need results.”
“Got it. Oh, there’s something else.”
“What is it?”
“Alarich Vance. He’s coming to your company in two days. I think you might be able to meet him there. I can help arrange it.”
She sounded unusually excited, as though she had just made a major breakthrough.
A faint smile touched Joanna’s lips.
“Relax. He told me I wouldn’t need to look for him.”
“Huh?”
“He said he’d come find me himself.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I have no idea.” Joanna rubbed her temple. “Anyway, keep me updated. My head hurts, and I want to rest.”
Without waiting for a reply, she ended the call.
Her body felt heavy. Maybe she still hadn’t adapted to Millie’s condition. Maybe all the thinking had drained her energy.
She settled into bed. The moment she closed her eyes, sleep claimed her.
“Help! Let go! Let go of me! No! Don’t do that!”
The scream ripped through the darkness. Joanna’s eyes snapped open. But she was no longer in Millie’s room. She stood inside what looked like a storage warehouse.
Then panic hit her.
Millie.
The girl whose body she now occupied. She was being attacked by two men.
“Please, don’t do this to me.” Millie’s desperate sobs twisted something inside Joanna’s chest.
“Hey! Let her go!”
Joanna lunged forward. Her hands passed straight through them. The men couldn’t see her. They didn’t even know she existed. And they continued assaulting Millie.
Joanna could do nothing. Her chest tightened. Her breathing became difficult. The pain was unbearable.
Then suddenly, the screams stopped.
When Joanna opened her eyes again, the scene had changed.
Millie was sprawled on the floor. Four women stood around her. The atmosphere remained just as suffocating.
“So this is the woman who likes seducing her boss?”
“I didn’t do anything. They were the ones who...”
Millie never finished. One woman yanked her hair. Another slapped her. A third kicked her in the ribs.
Instantly, Joanna felt the same pain. A sharp agony exploded through her body. Her legs gave out. She collapsed onto the floor. All she could do was watch. Watch Millie suffer. Watch Millie cry.
The men who had assaulted her and the women who bullied her laughed together. The sound was revolting.
Joanna could feel everything. Anger. Humiliation. Despair. Helplessness. A crushing depression that threatened to swallow her whole. She knew these emotions belonged to Millie.
“You monsters!” Joanna surged to her feet and grabbed one of the men by the collar.
For some reason, this time she could touch him. Yet he showed no reaction. He kept laughing. Then Joanna noticed the logo on his uniform.
Vance Global Enterprise.
She froze. And behind him, she saw someone standing silently. A black coat. Sharp eyes. Watching her without saying a word. Then he slowly turned away.
Alarich!
Joanna’s eyes widened. Before she could process what she was seeing, something icy crept around her ankles. She looked down. Millie was there. Her face was deathly pale, drained of all color.
Her empty eyes stared directly into Joanna’s.
“Help me!”
“Ahhh!”
Joanna jolted upright in bed. Her eyes darted wildly around the room. Her breathing was ragged. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
Then she heard Millie’s phone ringing.
“Hello?”
Her voice came out sharper than intended, irritation and fear still tangled inside her. She didn’t even care that the number was unfamiliar.
“Miss Millie, you’ve already been absent for more than five days. If you don’t come to work today, we’ll terminate your employment.”
The call ended immediately afterward.
Joanna sat frozen.
Millie’s job?
A terrible possibility suddenly formed in her mind.
Don't tell me!
This has something to do with him.
Alarich.
