Chapter 3

I honestly had no idea why the door was locked after Elena had shoved me into the bathroom, nor did I understand why the door wouldn't open, no matter what I did.

It had happened all too suddenly, and I had dropped my phone outside.

Even now, I could still hear Elena's terrified screams in my ears.

I had cried and shouted so much that my throat bled, and in the end, I had fainted from exhaustion.

When I had woken up, the interrogating police officers had told me that the door was locked from the inside. Michael had almost strangled me to death right then and there.

And now, I was indeed burned, albeit not to ashes. Still, if they figured out my identity, Michael would probably feel a little happier.

Anyway, right now, solving the case was more important to him.

Charles calmed down a little. "Sorry, I've spoken out of turn. You've been quite busy these days, so hurry home and get some rest."

Ignoring him, Michael turned and went downstairs.

Just then, his phone rang again. Michael would always reject calls from unknown numbers, but this particular caller was quite persistent.

After several rejected calls, the caller finally sent a message.

"Hello, I'm from the bank. Ms. Summers has failed to pay the mortgage within the deadline this month. We've tried contacting her and visiting her in person, but we still couldn't get in touch with her.

"After looking into the records, we found that you're her brother, so please tell her that continued defaulting on her mortgage will negatively impact her personal credit."

After reading the message, Michael had an extremely dark look on his face.

He furiously called back. "Now listen here! I have nothing to do with that monster, and I don't care about her loans! Also, don't ever call me again if it's something about her! I'll sue you for harassment!"

Charles was walking into his office then, but he backed out when he heard the commotion. Rubbing between his tense eyebrows, he asked, "What's this about Ruth's loans?"

"That's none of my business." Michael stared coldly at him. "Charles, if you still want to solve the case, you'd better watch your mouth."

Charles frowned again, but this time, he just let out a deep sigh before returning to his office.

Just then, a man's cries rang out downstairs.

"Please help me, officer! My younger sister is missing! She said that she was going shopping with her classmates when she went out this morning, but she still hasn't come home even at this hour. I can't reach her on her phone, either. I… I can't afford to lose her!"

Once again, Charles came back out and rushed down the stairs.

Michael seemed to have thought of something as he followed suit.

"Please calm down. Can you show us a photo of your sister, preferably one where she's showing her teeth?" Charles asked the man.

It wasn't hard to figure out the intention behind Charles' words.

The man was panicking so much that he didn't realize that something sounded off. He was sobbing as he frantically scrolled through his phone. "Our parents died a long time ago, and my sister is my only concern. If something happens to her, I'd be too ashamed to face my parents in the afterlife!"

With a bitter smile on my face, I drifted over to see the photo.

She was an adorable girl. She looked quite happy in the photo as she hugged her brother's neck and made a peace sign with one hand.

I used to have such happy times, too…

Charles was shocked as he exchanged glances with Michael. A long while later, he said slowly, "We found a burnt corpse today. We couldn't identify the victim, but the teeth…"

The girl in the photo had a chipped tooth as well.

"My sister!" When the man heard that, he instantly broke down. He fell to the floor and began wailing. "What am I supposed to live for now?"

Michael frowned again as he looked away.

I knew what he was thinking. Even if he witnessed the close bond between other siblings, he would only hate me even more.

Charles sighed. "My condolences, sir. To completely verify her identity, we'll need more of your sister's details and characteristics."

With that, he gestured toward a police officer who had come downstairs with him. "Get a statement from him."

Michael obviously didn't want to stay there, but he was a forensic pathologist, and anything the man was about to say might become their key to solving the case. So, he had to stay behind and listen.

He even had to record the statement and listen to it repeatedly. Thanks to this unique habit, he could obtain more clues from the corpse.

"My sister is…" The man opened his mouth in despair, but he couldn't utter another word.

Just then, his phone rang.