Chapter 6
The car was already pushing the speed limit, but Bennett kept pressing harder on the gas pedal.
His bloodshot eyes reflected in the rearview mirror as the GPS announced that his destination was just ahead.
He was rushing to my house.
My soul sat quietly in the back seat, watching him.
The System hadn’t left. Its electronic voice echoed in my ear: “Host, he’s coming to find you. Are you happy now?”
I thought about it seriously, then shook my head. “It’s too late.”
I realized that in my final moment, I had indeed died with resentment, hoping to see Bennett regret his actions.
But now, I felt it was all meaningless.
A WhatsApp message appeared on my phone screen—Bennett had sent it to me.
[Stella, I’ll make up for your birthday today.]
But my birthday had already passed.
Everything from the past was truly in the past.
Bennett stopped several times on his way to my house
11:25
He wanted to buy me some gifts and pick out a birthday cake.
Although I had received many gifts yesterday, they were all bought by Luke using Bennett’s black card. Bennett himself had never put any thought into my birthday—he hadn’t even said “Happy Birthday” to me.
Now, he desperately wanted to make up for it.
Bennett walked into cake shops and gift stores, but each time he entered, he became completely lost.
He didn’t know what I liked.
Dylan loved chocolate, tiramisu, raspberry sauce, anime figurines, and limited–edition sneakers endorsed by basketball
stars.
But he had no idea what Stella liked–absolutely no idea.
Finally, Bennett chose a strawberry–flavored cake from all the various options.
Because he vaguely remembered that I seemed to like pink.
When I had just started first grade, Ruby once took me to the mall. We ran into Bennett, who was carrying Dylan.
Bennett was there to buy toys for Dylan. They bought all kinds of toys–so many that three assistants had to carry them.
Later, perhaps seeing me watching expectantly from the side, Pooking pitiful, Bennett handed Dylan to one of his assistants,:25
That was the first time Bennett had held my hand.
The warmth from my father was so comforting. I was both excited and nervous, staring at the display case full of toys, unable to speak.
I was afraid that spending too much of his money would make the tiny bit of affection he was showing disappear immediately.
So in the end, I only took one doll.
“Is this all you want?” Bennett asked me.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Her dress is pink. I like pink.”
Now, Bennett walked into the elevator carrying that pink cake and a bunch of other gifts.
“Even if Stella doesn’t like the other gifts, she should like that pink cake,” Bennett thought as he stepped out of the elevator.
He was greeted by a crowd of onlookers and police officers.
A police officer noticed Bennett and walked over to ask: “What’s your relationship to the resident of unit 1802?”
Bennett froze.
“What’s your relationship to the resident of unit 1802?” the officer repeated the question.
“I… I’m her father.” Bennett’s lips moved, and it took him a long ime to get those words out.
11:25
He asked: “What happened? Did my daughter commit a crime?
She…”
Bennett didn’t continue because the officer interrupted him, saying gravely: “Alright, then please help us confirm the identity of the body.”
