Chapter 47: So This Is What Death Feels Like

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: So This Is What Death Feels Like

Madeline Quinn trembled from head to toe as she followed Zeke Shaw.

Julian Fletcher also trailed behind them, not saying a word, but his expression was grim.

I looked at Julian Fletcher and suddenly smiled.

The police had finally found my body.

This way, Julian Fletcher would truly be free.

’He’d probably been wishing me dead for a long time.’

"Are you sure you want to go?" Zeke Shaw asked Madeline Quinn again before she got in the car.

Her face was just as pale, and when she got into the car, her legs gave out, nearly causing her to fall.

I subconsciously reached out to steady her, but it was useless. My hands passed right through her body.

I couldn’t touch anyone.

"She’s not dead," Julian Fletcher said with a frown, still seeming to insist on it.

Madeline Quinn just shot Julian Fletcher a hateful glare and got in the car.

I sat beside Madeline Quinn, staring blankly out the window.

Having come this far, I no longer held any feelings or expectations for Julian Fletcher.

He and Erin Whittaker had brought me to this point. Any love or gratitude I once felt was completely gone.

The orphanage was already surrounded by the police, with officers patrolling everywhere.

A few ambulances were parked there as well, looking rather redundant.

It was clear this was the primary crime scene for all the murders.

I smiled bitterly. ’What good were ambulances? I was surely... already dead.’

"Why wasn’t this cellar found after so many searches?" A superior had also arrived; after all, this was a major case.

Zeke Shaw quickly explained. "I’m sorry, sir. This orphanage has been abandoned for a long time. There are no blueprints, and this cellar was hidden too well..."

I looked at the cellar curiously. It was in a small warehouse behind the abandoned courtyard. A privately dug cellar lay beneath the wooden floor, emitting a wave of chilling air.

I had no memory of this place at all. I was unconscious before the killer dragged me in, and by the time I woke up, I was already inside. I had no idea how I’d gotten to that dark place.

"It’s true an ordinary person wouldn’t find this cellar. We could have come a few more times and still missed it. Who found it first?" Zeke Shaw asked.

"Zeke, I found it. It’s strange... I was here several times yesterday and didn’t notice anything unusual. But today, I came over and saw footprints on the floor..." Zane sounded doubtful, wondering if he hadn’t been observant enough yesterday. "It’s my fault. I didn’t look closely enough yesterday."

"It’s not your fault. The killer wanted us to find it." Zeke Shaw’s expression was grim. He lit a cigarette. ’This killer is smart.’

"Isn’t the killer that lunatic?" Zane asked curiously.

"Either he has an accomplice, or he’s deliberately taking the fall for someone." Zeke Shaw shook his head. ’There are too many suspicious things here.’

Zane and the others fell silent, all of them standing at the entrance to the cellar, not daring to go down.

"Zeke, you should... prepare yourself. Director Carter went down for a moment, and he threw up as soon as he came out... The situation inside is a bit complicated. The medical staff is still trying to figure out what to do."

Zeke Shaw took a deep breath, then looked back at Madeline Quinn and Julian Fletcher. "They are the victim’s family, here for identification..."

"There are doctors? Does that mean... Cece is still alive?" Madeline Quinn frantically grabbed Zeke Shaw’s arm. "Is she still alive?"

Zeke Shaw’s expression was grave. "You two... come down with me."

Julian Fletcher also looked agitated, but at the critical moment, he seemed to lose his nerve, hesitating for a long time before going down.

I stood to the side, mocking his cowardice. ’So now he’s scared?’

’Aren’t you the one who did this to me?’

’Julian Fletcher... you’re an accomplice.’

I followed Madeline Quinn down into the cellar, and a wave of fear washed over me, nearly overwhelming me.

I trembled and clenched my fists. Even as a spirit, I was terrified beyond measure.

"BLEGH!" Suddenly, Madeline Quinn stopped in her tracks. Upon seeing the scene before her, she began to tremble uncontrollably, her face deathly pale as she turned and vomited.

It was a physical reaction to extreme grief and terror, not necessarily because the scene itself was so disgusting...

In the dark cellar stood a life-sized glass case, lit from below, looking very much like a museum exhibit.

Inside the glass case, I could be seen hooked up to countless IV bags, posed like a doll. My eyes had been gouged out, and the killer had covered them with a strip of red cloth...

My skin was a bloodless, deathly white. I was wearing only a red slip dress, and my feet were nailed to the display stand.

The firefighters and doctors carefully opened the glass case. Everyone gasped as they looked at me.

In that moment, my body was like the most beautiful work of art, put on display...

Julian Fletcher stood frozen, his gaze darting around, his eyes filled with overwhelming terror and a storm of complex emotions.

I didn’t know what he was thinking at that moment. Even I... couldn’t bear to look for more than a second.

"That psycho... he pulled out all her fingernails and embedded crystals in their place. Her earrings are crystals, too, and there are crystals pierced into her skin... Everything on Cecilia Caldwell, the clothes, the decorations, it’s all incredibly valuable. Even this glass case isn’t ordinary glass..."

"The patient still has a pulse, her breathing is weak!" a doctor shouted, signaling for everyone to be careful when touching me.

I stared at the doctor in astonishment. ’A pulse? Weak breathing? What does that mean...’

’I’m not dead yet?’

"The killer must have injected the victim with a large amount of drugs. These are nutrient solutions to maintain basic vital signs. Right now... the victim is in a comatose state, but she’s still alive," the doctor explained.

Madeline Quinn’s legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground, emotional and out of control. "Cece... Save her! Please, Zeke Shaw, save her! Doctor... please, I’m begging you, save her!"

Kneeling on the ground, Madeline Quinn trembled as she bowed her head to the floor, begging.

She didn’t know who she should beg to keep me alive.

"That man is a lunatic... The victim can only be kept in this position. If we move her..." The doctor sighed.

"No... Please, save her," Madeline Quinn cried, pleading with them.

I stood there numbly and slowly closed my eyes.

In that moment, I think I understood why my spirit hadn’t disappeared along with my body.

Because I hadn’t truly died yet.

"Save her..." Julian Fletcher stood rooted to the spot, finally forcing out the two words in a hoarse voice.

Save her.

Such ironic words.

His face was terribly pale. He numbly shuffled forward a couple of steps, as if trying to get a better look, to confirm if the person displayed in the glass case was really me.

"That lunatic... I’m going to kill him," Julian Fletcher said, his voice low and raspy, as if searching for an outlet for his rage.

He was trembling. After getting a clear look and confirming that the person in the glass case was indeed me, he lowered his head, unable to look up again.

His eyes welled up, rimmed with red, as if in extreme grief.

But to me, his every action right now was a mockery.

Pathetic.

"You’re the one who killed her!" Madeline Quinn screamed, losing control. She rushed forward and slapped Julian Fletcher hard across the face. "You’re a bastard."

Julian Fletcher stood there limply, letting Madeline Quinn vent her fury, not moving an inch.

I stood rooted to the spot, watching the anxious police and doctors, watching my best friend lose control, watching Zeke Shaw try to restrain her, watching Julian Fletcher stumble backward until he collapsed onto the ground...

"Zeke! Cecilia Caldwell has no heartbeat!"

"BEEP BEEP BEEP..." The heart monitor let out a piercing shriek. I watched as my life slipped away, until all was quiet.

’So this is what it feels like to die.’