Tears welled up in Chester’s eyes as well. "David, Stella, why don’t you both head back to the station? We’ll contact you if there are any updates," he said softly.But my mom did not seem to hear him. Her gloved hand gently touched the bloodstains on the ground. "How much pain did Emily have to endure?" she whispered.Even some of the more emotional officers in the unit were quietly sobbing.My parents, devastated, got into the car. Watching their dazed expressions made my heart ache.From the time I was brought back home to the moment of my death, I had never once heard my parents call me Emily.Just then, Leo from the forensic lab appeared and handed the test report to my dad. He then cast a sympathetic glance at my dazed mom."David, I’m sorry for your loss," he said.My dad’s pupils tightened as he carefully examined the report, repeatedly checking the name written on it.After a long silence, he forced out through clenched teeth, "How is this possible?"Leo sighed and ge
Eddie dropped everything when he heard the news of my death and rushed back, leaving his unfinished business trip behind. When he got home, our parents were sitting on the couch, their faces heavy with pain. Lily was beside them. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, her nose tinged with pink."Eddie, you’re finally back. Emily was murdered!"The killer hasn’t been caught yet. Emily had a habit of offending people. Could this be because of—"Suddenly, my dad’s voice broke, hoarse and filled with anger, "Enough! The killer has already been identified, and the police are closing in on him! Emily had nothing to do with him."As he spoke, he exchanged a pained look with my mom. When they learned that the killer had been seeking revenge for the arrest of his brother, both of them collapsed under the weight of the revelation.Their least favored daughter had lost her life because of them.Hearing this, a flash of nervousness crossed Lily’s face. She clenched the hem of her skirt
When Lily saw our parents and Eddie in the audience, she smiled smugly.I knew what that smile meant. With me gone, she was now the most cherished in the family.During the intermission, Lily cutely clung to my dad’s arm. "Mom, Dad, Eddie, I’m so glad you came."On the awards podium, Lily beamed as she raised her trophy high. Facing the reporters, she smiled sweetly and said, "I wouldn’t be here today without my family’s support. I hope to always be my parents’ pride and my brother’s favorite sister!"Watching her bask in the limelight made me sick to my stomach.Her happiness was built on my suffering. How was it fair that Lily pushed me into the depths of hell, yet she got to enjoy applause and admiration?In the crowd, I could hear murmured conversations. "Didn’t her sister die recently? Poor thing, but she’s still so impressive.""I heard her sister was a troublemaker, involved with a bunch of guys. Probably got killed over some love triangle."Lily heard the whispers too
My body was found in an abandoned building.The construction workers, struggling to hold back their nausea, called the police.My parents rushed from my sister Lily Lambert's celebration banquet to the crime scene.The crime scene investigator, Chester Ford, frowned and motioned for them to put on masks.My dad, David Lambert, was one of the top investigators the police brought in for special cases, and my mom, Stella Zimmer, was the leading forensic pathologist in Jasper City. Even though they had seen countless crime scenes, they still flinched when they saw my body.In the sweltering summer heat, my corpse had bloated significantly. My face was smashed beyond recognition, a bloody mess with no identifiable features. My entire body was covered in wounds, and only a sliver of skin still connected my head to my neck. The overwhelming stench of decay filled the air.Mom closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and put on her gloves to begin a preliminary examination. Her gaze held a r
At the case briefing, after listening to my mom's autopsy report, the officers all had somber expressions.My death was gruesome, making facial identification impossible.The abandoned building where my body was dumped was not the original crime scene, significantly increasing the difficulty of solving the case.Dad instructed the officers to search the area around where the body was found for any suspicious activity."Have the forensic pathologist perform another autopsy to see if there’s anything new, and send the DNA samples to the forensic lab as soon as possible."He left my mom with that remark before hurrying off with his team.They showed more concern for the body than they ever did for me.My mom once stroked Lily's hair and said that being a forensic pathologist was a noble profession. She believed that giving a voice to the dead was an important duty.I watched as Lily nodded in agreement. However, the moment my mom turned away, she wiped her hair in disgust.That time, I sl
As she gently told Lily to rest, my mom received a call from Eddie."Eddie, when does your business trip end? Your sister is waiting for you to watch her match!" Before he could even respond, she rushed to ask.The day I was brought home, Mom and Dad stayed with a sobbing Lily. Only Eddie held my hand, brought me inside, and told me not to be afraid. The only warmth I ever felt in that house came from him.On the other end of the phone, Eddie paused in surprise. "Is it Emily’s math competition? Isn’t that next month?"Mom cut him off angrily. "Oh my, not Emily again! Lily is the sister you've known for years! How many times do I have to tell you? Emily was raised outside and filled with bad habits. She doesn’t deserve to be part of the Lambert family."I could hear Eddie sigh, as if he could not understand Mom’s hostility toward me. "Mom, sometimes you shouldn’t believe everything Lily says. Emily is kind and hardworking. If you paid more attention to her, you’d see that."I just
My mom handed the paper, corroded by stomach acid, to the CSI. She rubbed her sore lower back and said to my dad with a sigh, "I hope we get something from this paper. Did you remind Lily to lock the doors?"My dad nodded grimly. He then hesitated before speaking. "Honey, you know Emily hasn’t answered her phone or responded to Eddie. Do you think something might have actually happened to her? Should I have someone check on her?"My mom was irritated and cut him off. "Come on, don’t you know her by now? She’s just hiding, waiting for us to come looking. It’s not the first time she’s pulled something like this."She just doesn’t want to go to Lily’s match. By tomorrow at the latest, she’ll call us crying and apologizing."The last time I went missing was during summer break, when Lily locked me in the school bathroom. The school was empty during the break, and no one could hear my cries for help.I managed to climb out, covered in dirt, and limped home with a twisted ankle.But in
When Lily saw our parents and Eddie in the audience, she smiled smugly.I knew what that smile meant. With me gone, she was now the most cherished in the family.During the intermission, Lily cutely clung to my dad’s arm. "Mom, Dad, Eddie, I’m so glad you came."On the awards podium, Lily beamed as she raised her trophy high. Facing the reporters, she smiled sweetly and said, "I wouldn’t be here today without my family’s support. I hope to always be my parents’ pride and my brother’s favorite sister!"Watching her bask in the limelight made me sick to my stomach.Her happiness was built on my suffering. How was it fair that Lily pushed me into the depths of hell, yet she got to enjoy applause and admiration?In the crowd, I could hear murmured conversations. "Didn’t her sister die recently? Poor thing, but she’s still so impressive.""I heard her sister was a troublemaker, involved with a bunch of guys. Probably got killed over some love triangle."Lily heard the whispers too
Eddie dropped everything when he heard the news of my death and rushed back, leaving his unfinished business trip behind. When he got home, our parents were sitting on the couch, their faces heavy with pain. Lily was beside them. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, her nose tinged with pink."Eddie, you’re finally back. Emily was murdered!"The killer hasn’t been caught yet. Emily had a habit of offending people. Could this be because of—"Suddenly, my dad’s voice broke, hoarse and filled with anger, "Enough! The killer has already been identified, and the police are closing in on him! Emily had nothing to do with him."As he spoke, he exchanged a pained look with my mom. When they learned that the killer had been seeking revenge for the arrest of his brother, both of them collapsed under the weight of the revelation.Their least favored daughter had lost her life because of them.Hearing this, a flash of nervousness crossed Lily’s face. She clenched the hem of her skirt
Tears welled up in Chester’s eyes as well. "David, Stella, why don’t you both head back to the station? We’ll contact you if there are any updates," he said softly.But my mom did not seem to hear him. Her gloved hand gently touched the bloodstains on the ground. "How much pain did Emily have to endure?" she whispered.Even some of the more emotional officers in the unit were quietly sobbing.My parents, devastated, got into the car. Watching their dazed expressions made my heart ache.From the time I was brought back home to the moment of my death, I had never once heard my parents call me Emily.Just then, Leo from the forensic lab appeared and handed the test report to my dad. He then cast a sympathetic glance at my dazed mom."David, I’m sorry for your loss," he said.My dad’s pupils tightened as he carefully examined the report, repeatedly checking the name written on it.After a long silence, he forced out through clenched teeth, "How is this possible?"Leo sighed and ge
My mom seemed to sense something was wrong. She grabbed my dad’s arm, her nails digging deeply into his skin."The victim is your daughter, Emily."She collapsed to the ground, repeating in disbelief, "Emily? How could it be her?"My dad held her up tightly, preventing her from falling completely.One of the officers whispered, "Mr. Lambert, we found the crime scene. It was located in a privately-built house near the abandoned building."My dad immediately responded, "Let’s head to the scene. The forensic lab must have made a mistake."In the police car, my mom kept dialing my number over and over. My dad focused on driving, his eyes fixed on the road.He tried to reassure my mom. "Don’t worry. Maybe Emily went to the station and is in on this prank with the forensic team."But deep down, he must have known this was not the kind of thing anyone could fake.I could not describe how I felt. It was as if a venomous snake had wrapped itself around me, squeezing tighter and tighter
My mom handed the paper, corroded by stomach acid, to the CSI. She rubbed her sore lower back and said to my dad with a sigh, "I hope we get something from this paper. Did you remind Lily to lock the doors?"My dad nodded grimly. He then hesitated before speaking. "Honey, you know Emily hasn’t answered her phone or responded to Eddie. Do you think something might have actually happened to her? Should I have someone check on her?"My mom was irritated and cut him off. "Come on, don’t you know her by now? She’s just hiding, waiting for us to come looking. It’s not the first time she’s pulled something like this."She just doesn’t want to go to Lily’s match. By tomorrow at the latest, she’ll call us crying and apologizing."The last time I went missing was during summer break, when Lily locked me in the school bathroom. The school was empty during the break, and no one could hear my cries for help.I managed to climb out, covered in dirt, and limped home with a twisted ankle.But in
As she gently told Lily to rest, my mom received a call from Eddie."Eddie, when does your business trip end? Your sister is waiting for you to watch her match!" Before he could even respond, she rushed to ask.The day I was brought home, Mom and Dad stayed with a sobbing Lily. Only Eddie held my hand, brought me inside, and told me not to be afraid. The only warmth I ever felt in that house came from him.On the other end of the phone, Eddie paused in surprise. "Is it Emily’s math competition? Isn’t that next month?"Mom cut him off angrily. "Oh my, not Emily again! Lily is the sister you've known for years! How many times do I have to tell you? Emily was raised outside and filled with bad habits. She doesn’t deserve to be part of the Lambert family."I could hear Eddie sigh, as if he could not understand Mom’s hostility toward me. "Mom, sometimes you shouldn’t believe everything Lily says. Emily is kind and hardworking. If you paid more attention to her, you’d see that."I just
At the case briefing, after listening to my mom's autopsy report, the officers all had somber expressions.My death was gruesome, making facial identification impossible.The abandoned building where my body was dumped was not the original crime scene, significantly increasing the difficulty of solving the case.Dad instructed the officers to search the area around where the body was found for any suspicious activity."Have the forensic pathologist perform another autopsy to see if there’s anything new, and send the DNA samples to the forensic lab as soon as possible."He left my mom with that remark before hurrying off with his team.They showed more concern for the body than they ever did for me.My mom once stroked Lily's hair and said that being a forensic pathologist was a noble profession. She believed that giving a voice to the dead was an important duty.I watched as Lily nodded in agreement. However, the moment my mom turned away, she wiped her hair in disgust.That time, I sl
My body was found in an abandoned building.The construction workers, struggling to hold back their nausea, called the police.My parents rushed from my sister Lily Lambert's celebration banquet to the crime scene.The crime scene investigator, Chester Ford, frowned and motioned for them to put on masks.My dad, David Lambert, was one of the top investigators the police brought in for special cases, and my mom, Stella Zimmer, was the leading forensic pathologist in Jasper City. Even though they had seen countless crime scenes, they still flinched when they saw my body.In the sweltering summer heat, my corpse had bloated significantly. My face was smashed beyond recognition, a bloody mess with no identifiable features. My entire body was covered in wounds, and only a sliver of skin still connected my head to my neck. The overwhelming stench of decay filled the air.Mom closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and put on her gloves to begin a preliminary examination. Her gaze held a r