Chapter 38: Are You Happy Now That I’m Dead?

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Are You Happy Now That I’m Dead?

Zeke Shaw stared at his colleague in shock. "How did we miss such an important clue before!"

"The situation with this orphanage is complicated," the colleague explained. "It was privately run, so it didn’t have many records or files. Years ago, its director was exposed for child abuse—he’d been molesting the orphans for years. He was sentenced to prison, and the orphanage was shut down. Some of the unadopted children were transferred to other welfare centers, but the records for those who were adopted are incomplete, making them very hard to trace."

"I heard from the victims’ neighbors and some of the older residents that they were adopted. So I started digging in that direction and discovered that all the victims were adopted, none of them were biological children. Many of the families were reluctant to talk about it at first, but eventually, they all admitted it: the adoptions were from this exact orphanage!"

"Looks like we were on the wrong track from the start... We thought the victims were people who frequented places like Nocturne. Turns out that was just a coincidence." Zeke Shaw lit a cigarette in frustration.

I stared at the police in astonishment. ’If all the victims were women from that orphanage, then something’s wrong. I’m my parents’ biological daughter. I wasn’t adopted...’

’Does that mean I was just the unlucky one?’

"Julian! About Erin... I heard Lily say that Erin was actually adopted! The Whittaker Family does a lot of charity work. They thought Erin was clever and brought her home to be a companion for Lily!" Jake Abbott suddenly blurted out, panicked. "Is it possible the killer was really targeting Erin...?"

’So, it’s not that the killer targets women in red dresses. He puts them in red dresses *after* he kills them.’

I recoiled, a bitter smile on my face. ’So in the end, I actually died in Erin Whittaker’s place? How unjust. I can’t accept this.’

’Why?’

"Cece... it’s not..." Asher, who had disappeared to who-knows-where, returned through the door. He was carefully cradling a photo frame, which he handed to Zeke Shaw.

I glared at Asher with pure hatred. ’Liar! You’re nothing but a liar! A psycho! A murderer! Stop the act, you sick freak!’

’You killed so many people...’

I lost control, desperate to grab Asher by the collar and scream that he was the murderer.

No one could hear my voice. It was another form of despair.

Utterly hopeless.

Zeke Shaw held the photo frame and looked up at the medical examiner. "The little girls who were adopted wore red dresses. When their adoptive families took them, they all wore red dresses for a keepsake photo..."

The M.E. glanced at the photo, then back at Asher.

Because he was mixed-race, he was instantly recognizable. "This is you?"

Asher nodded.

"No... Cece isn’t an orphan. Cece is her parents’ biological child. She wasn’t from the orphanage! Does that mean the killer might have spared her, that maybe he didn’t kill her? Is that why her body hasn’t been found? She’s waiting for me... She’s waiting for me to save her!" Julian Fletcher shouted, starting to lose control. He seemed frantic.

"Zeke Shaw... find Cece. Find her. I have to find her. She’s waiting for me." Julian grabbed Zeke Shaw’s arm, his voice desperate.

Such a proud man, yet he was suddenly begging the police with such humility and urgency. "Please... I’m begging you, find her..."

I watched Julian Fletcher, finding it all laughable. ’The contrast between his behavior before and now was so stark, it seemed completely fake.’

"I thought you didn’t believe she’d been taken by the killer?" Zeke Shaw frowned, clearly annoyed.

Julian Fletcher fell back a step, deflated. "I didn’t know..."

He hadn’t known it would turn out like this.

He truly hadn’t known that Cecilia would still go to the Street Alley on the 15th.

"That fool... Why did she still go there on the 15th? Why didn’t she call me...?"

"We checked Cecilia’s phone," Zeke Shaw cut him off. "She called you multiple times. You even answered."

Julian Fletcher froze. It felt like a blow to the chest.

I smiled and said, "You did answer, Julian Fletcher. You told me to go die..."

’Your wish came true, Julian Fletcher.’

Julian stumbled backward, collapsing onto the floor and looking utterly wretched.

He said nothing, falling completely silent.

He clearly remembered.

He remembered what he had said.

"No... I didn’t... I didn’t mean to say those things, I just..." The rims of Julian Fletcher’s eyes reddened. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he was so deeply in love.