Chapter 2

A sharp, needle-like pain surged through my heart, threatening to tear me apart. I wanted to cry and scream. Even when Jasmine tortured me day and night, the agony had not crushed me like this.

My child… They should have been born healthy, growing up happy and full of life, calling me "Mom" in a sweet, innocent voice. I would have loved them with everything I had. But Jasmine murdered me, and everything ended five years ago in that abandoned factory.

Even Samuel, hardened as he was, stayed silent for a long time before finally speaking. "We’re looking at either a crime of passion or revenge."

Dylan’s anger flared. "This is definitely a crime of passion! The cuts on the body are uneven, meaning the victim was still conscious when they were decapitated. And the killer knows their way around a body. The perpetrator was probably a woman. Otherwise, why go to such lengths to torture the victim?"

I let out a bitter laugh. Dylan, who used to tremble at the sight of a corpse, had grown sharp over the years. He was right on the money.

Samuel frowned though. "Police work requires evidence. Probably? Is that how a forensic pathologist should speak? Is that what they taught you back in school?"

Samuel had always been meticulous, never jumping to conclusions. It was how he overturned wrongful convictions early in his career and rose quickly through the ranks. But when it came to my case, he was quick to judge. He always trusted Jasmine—the woman who, even after abandoning him for money, remained his perfect, innocent crush.

How pathetic.

Dylan pouted. "I am speculating, but corpses never lie. Look here, Samuel. The skin is waterlogged, but there’s an unusual dark greenish-blue tint to it. That suggests severe decay before death. On top of that, the lungs show signs of extensive infection, and both kidneys are swollen and hardened. These are classic signs of high-dose drug injections."

Samuel’s eyes locked on him. "Did you say drugs?"

Dylan blinked, startled. "Y-Yeah, why?"

"Nothing." Samuel turned away, his voice cold as he removed his mask and headed for the door. "By the way, has your team found any DNA matches to Emilia Crux recently?"

"You mean the traitor?" Dylan frowned, caught off guard by the shift in conversation. After a moment, he shook his head. "No. It’s strange, really though. There was so much blood at the scene. She must’ve been severely injured. But after years of searching, we haven’t found a single trace of her getting medical treatment. Could she be dead?"

Samuel paused in the doorway, and the air suddenly became thick with tension. After a sharp, bitter laugh, he muttered, "Hmph. Death would’ve been too kind for that traitor. Everyone, including Jasmine, trusted her. But she got greedy, sold us out, and defected to the drug lord. She sabotaged the mission, got our colleagues killed, and nearly got Jasmine killed too."

He then growled, "If it weren’t for this damn badge, I’d hunt her down to the ends of the earth and tear her apart myself."