Chapter 5
No matter how much Henry denied it, the missing persons report led straight to me, all thanks to Zoe.
“Rachel hasn’t been in touch for ages. She used to call me every day,” Zoe insisted as the officers prepared to take down the information.
Just as they were about to proceed, Henry interjected.
“I know where she is. I’ll go get her right
now.”
With a sense of determination, he grabbed Tobey and Zoe, and they headed to the house my mother had left me. This was my only pre–marriage asset, my sanctuary
where I nursed my wounds in solitude.
Tobey, growing impatient, kicked the door, drawing curious glances from the neighbors.
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The door creaked open, and a wary voice called out, “Can I help you?”
“We’re looking for Rachel,” Henry replied, his tone firm.
“Oh, she sold the house to me. Heard she went traveling. Didn’t you know?”
Henry looked at Zoe, exasperated. “See? She’s off gallivanting, deliberately trying to make us worry. Only you would fall for her tricks. Even Tobey can see through her
nonsense.”
Tobey muttered under his breath, “What a
mess.”
My heart sank. I thought at least they would care about me a little more in this
house.
We were connected by blood for ten whole months, and all I got was a dismissive
comment.
After a wave of pain washed over me, I felt a strange detachment from my child;
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maternal love felt like a dwindling resource, and disappointment had drained it dry.
Zoe tried to say more, but they shoved her
into the car and drove off.
“She’s an adult; what could possibly happen to her? You’re just too worried about her.”
I searched their faces for even a hint of
concern, but all I saw was irritation.
Henry didn’t stop to think about why I would sell my mother’s only inheritance.
We had shared peaceful moments in this house. He used to come here to stay, helping me fend off relatives when they tried to claim it. He knew how much this
place meant to me.
But everything changed when Sophie came
back.
Now, all I heard was, “Maybe she’s broke and had to sell her mother’s estate.”
After sending Zoe away, they returned to
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the precinct.
The evidence team reported they found spores on my body from a specific type of plant.
This fungus only grew in certain
mountainous areas, and within that region,
there was an abandoned cabin.
That was where I had been murdered.
With the first crime scene located, it was time for Tobey to shine.
As they stepped into the cabin, a few young officers gagged at the overwhelming
stench.
The floor was littered with decomposing chunks of unidentified flesh.
Tobey donned a mask, furrowing his brow as he meticulously examined every bloodstain in the cabin, shutting his eyes to piece together the scene.
Nobody dared to interrupt him, not even Henry.
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I watched him pace back and forth, perfectly reconstructing the horror of my death. I had been doused with sulfuric
acid, dragged to a corner, and had my limbs severed before my head was chopped off.
Despite being a brilliant child, the
gruesome scene left his face pale with fear.
“Dad, this was torture. This woman must have suffered for a day and a night before she died. And she was alive when they poured the acid on her.”
His voice grew frantic as if he were gasping for air, his fists clenched tightly.
“She fought for her life, her survival instinct was off the charts. There are scratch marks all over the walls and floor. Wait, why did she stop moving here? She should have been alive at this point.”
Yes, I refused to give up on any chance to survive, struggling until my fingernails were torn and raw.
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It wasn’t until the rescue call was finally cut off that I lost all sense of hope. I slipped my ring under my tongue, awaiting death to come for me.
Tobey followed the trail of scratches to the bedside, leaning down and pulling out a blood–stained photo from beneath the bed.
It was taken when he was just two years old, a family portrait I had begged Henry to take with me. In it, Henry had his arm around me while I held Tobey close.
Back then, Tobey was just a tiny bundle, gently whispering to me, “Mommy, you’re my favorite.”
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