Chapter 3

Winona immediately called Mom and tearfully reported what had happened. The instant she hung up, the tears stopped. Then, she sat down on the couch and began playing on her phone, as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, I continued to bleed on the floor, my vision blurring until I eventually lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed. The first thing that greeted me was a resounding slap from Mom.

"How could you be so wicked? she screamed. "Just because Winnie ate an extra egg, you hurt her like that?"

Dumbfounded, I turned to look at Winona, only then noticing the bandages wrapped around her arm.

I was brought out of my memories when I saw Mom lean over to inspect the scar more closely, a frown on her face.

A few seconds later, she calmly said to her assistant, "This is an old scar, not an injury left by the killer."

At that moment, her phone rang—the ringtone specifically set for Winona.

Mom hurriedly took off her gloves and walked into the corridor to answer. Her voice was warm and gentle as a summer breeze. "Hi, sweetheart. What's up?"

Winona's voice came over the line sweetly. "Mom, let's have dinner together."

"Tonight?" Mom hesitated briefly. "Alright, I'll definitely be there."

"You're the best, Mom! I wonder if Sammy can make it. I keep trying to bring her into the family even though I know she doesn't like me. After all, I hogged you and Dad to myself for so many years. Still, I hope she'll come."

The mention of Dad darkened Mom's expression instantly. "Winnie, don't bother with her. She'll never be grateful. If it weren't for her, your dad would still be alive. She doesn't deserve to be my daughter. You, on the other hand, will forever be my baby."

With a tinkling laugh, Winona said, "Mom, Mr. Lintell called me just now to tell me to be more careful. You should remind Sammy to watch out too."

Brow furrowing, Mom said, "You just focus on your own safety. Don't worry about her."

…

The police force gathered in the conference room to listen to Mom's autopsy report. When she finished, a dead silence fell. Sheer disbelief and pain were written across their faces—what I had experienced was far crueler than they had imagined.

Both of my eyeballs had been removed, leaving two gaping holes. Only a thin layer of flesh still connected my head to my neck, and hardly an inch of skin on my body was left unmarred. Broken shards of bone were mixed with blood and flesh, forming a sticky, clotted paste.

Even imagining what I had gone through was enough to make them shiver.

My murder case sent shockwaves through society, and the public was in an uproar.

The higher-ups placed immense pressure on the police to solve the murder as soon as possible.

The increased burden weighed heavily, casting an unprecedented seriousness over everyone. A dark cloud seemed to hang over the department.

After the report, Mr. Lintell lit a cigarette and turned to Mom with a frown. In a low voice, he asked, "I tried calling Sammy earlier, but she didn't pick up. She hasn't answered my messages either. Is she not home?"

Mom scoffed, her tone dripping with disdain. "She has legs, and it's not as if I can keep her on a leash. She's probably just pretending to be missing again. It's not her first time."

Indeed, this wasn't the first time I had gone missing.