Chapter 2
Aunt Sarah was silent for a moment. “That’s been Chloe’s dream for ages. She finally did so well on her exams, and I was planning to invite her over for a big dinner. I bought so much seafood…”
Dad was furious. “I forbid her from applying to the police academy! If she does, then she’s no daughter of mine! She can go die for all I care!”
With that, Dad hung up. He seemed to forget he wasn’t alone, his chest heaving with anger as he stood by the autopsy table, speechless for a long time.
I’m sorry, Dad. I won’t apply to the police academy. Please don’t be angry; it’s not good for you.
I wanted to say that so badly, but all I could do was float in the air, watching everything unfold, utterly powerless. I wanted to cry, but as a spirit, I had no tears.
By now, Dad had pieced together most of the body, but he couldn’t put my ten fingers back together. He frowned deeply, instructing the young officer to record.
“Right ring finger and pinky are missing. Have the officers at the scene search again. If they can’t find them…”
My heart clenched. When I was little, I was mischievous and went to tease a police dog. It bit through the flesh of these two fingers, leaving terrible scars. That dog, because of my accidental injury, was forced into early retirement. Dad scolded me relentlessly for that incident. Had he forgotten?
Of course, Dad didn’t care about me at all…
No!
It’s better if Dad doesn’t remember! I don’t want Dad to know that he personally sent off both his wife and daughter!
The young officer saluted. “Understood! If they’re not found, it means those two fingers have distinct identifying features!”
Dad nodded. “Exactly. To find the victim, look for individuals with old injuries or tattoos on their hands!” He cut a small piece of flesh. “Get a DNA test done. Compare it with the database. Find the direct relatives as soon as possible!”
Hearing Dad say that, my heart clenched. If they checked DNA, wouldn’t I be exposed quickly?!
Dad! Don’t check the DNA! Dad! Let this case go! Don’t investigate further!
I screamed silently, but Dad heard not a single word.
Dad worked in the morgue for over ten hours. He’d arrived at dawn, and by the time he emerged, night had fallen again.
“Dr. Miles, you’ve worked tirelessly.”
Dad nodded, about to head home for rest, but then he saw Aunt Sarah waiting anxiously at the police station entrance.
“Miles, Chloe’s been missing for a whole day and night! I asked her classmates; no one’s seen her! I checked all the entertainment spots near the school, couldn’t find her! What do we do?!”
Dad looked annoyed, his brows tightly knit. “This is just her using petty tricks to make me agree to her joining the police academy! Impossible! Someone as worthless as her just needs to be law-abiding. What, she wants to uphold justice too?!”
Aunt Sarah was on the verge of tears. “Forget about college applications for now! Our child’s safety is more important! I just came here and heard about a major case! A young girl, just turned adult, was dismembered, right?! Aren’t you worried Chloe might have run into those people?”
Dad snapped back. “Don’t pry into cases that haven’t been announced! Chloe is eighteen; she can take care of herself! If something happened to her, she can only blame her own bad luck! Knowing how dangerous it is out there, why did she have to go running off?!”
Aunt Sarah paused. “I’m not prying, I… I’m just afraid something happened to Chloe!”
Dad’s eyes held contempt. “If she can’t even manage basic risk assessment or know how to avoid danger, then what good is she for the police academy? She might as well go get a job!”