Chapter 2

When I was 12, I went hiking with Zack.

As the mountain was dangerously steep, and with the sudden downpour, he slipped and tumbled over the guardrail.

In a moment of panic, I reached out my right arm and grabbed Zack's hand, gripping it as tight as I could.

I held on for a full three hours, only letting him go when the rescue team arrived. We were both taken to the hospital afterward.

Zack was mostly unharmed—but my right arm had suffered a permanent fracture. I would never be able to exert any strength with it again for the rest of my life.

Was he about to realize that it was me?

I instinctively held my breath despite being a soul, my heart caught in my throat.

Zack said, "The victim's right arm shows signs of fracture. Based on the scarring, it likely occurred during childhood. You can use that to narrow down the search for the victim's identity."

Hearing his words, a deep bitterness welled up within me. I didn't want him to recognize me—but I couldn't help but feel heartbroken when he actually didn't.

Zack had been overwhelmed with guilt after I sustained that injury. He busied himself tending to each of my needs, taking care of me with utmost tenderness.

He told me that from now on, he would be my right arm. But it seemed like he had forgotten all about it now.

I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

At that moment, Officer Wright, who was standing by the side, said solemnly, "That's definitely a critical lead—I'll get my team to take note of this."

"Alright." Zack nodded as he continued to examine the reassembled body. "Based on what we have so far, the victim was female, likely between 18 and 22 years old."

His gaze was filled with fury and despair when he said, "She was so young—at the prime of her life, and yet subjected to such inhuman cruelty!"

"I'll definitely catch the killer!" Officer Wright slammed his fist hard against the wall.

The other police officers present also wore sorrowful expressions.

"Other than this, how else can we confirm the identity of the victim?" Officer Wright asked.

Zack fell silent for a moment. "At this point, our only option is to run a DNA test or attempt a facial reconstruction from the skull. But the skull is partially damaged, so it'll take some time."

"Got it." Officer Wright sighed before saying, "I'll keep assigning people to search the area—maybe we'll recover more of the missing remains."

"You have to find these monsters!" Zack said with a trembling voice, his fists clenching instinctively. "The victim's lower body was severely torn—indicating she was assaulted more than 50 times."

I froze. As expected, he didn't overlook a single detail.

Those drug dealers took turns assaulting me—52 times in total.

The nauseating stench mixed with their frenzied thrusts overwhelmed me completely. I struggled desperately, but to no avail.

Instead, they started taunting me.

"As expected of the younger sister of a forensic pathologist—she's wetter than any other woman."

"I wonder if Zack Smith had touched his sister before this? Do you think the reason he remembers all those muscles so well is from feeling his younger sister up?"

"This woman is so promiscuous—look at how well she's taking all of us!"

They continued to humiliate me.

In the end, I was completely numb. The only thing I could do was to close my eyes and count the times.

Officer Wright let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, his expression changed just as he recalled something.

"Do you think this could be a case of revenge, like what happened with your mom, Zack?" he asked.