Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

“Maybe… we’ve all been looking in the wrong direction? Maybe the killer isn’t a man at all, but a woman? What if it’s Phoebe herself?” the female officer shared her hunch with Robin.

Robin stayed silent.

I tried desperately to explain, but it was no use.

They couldn’t hear my screams, nor could they understand why the murderer would kill me and scatter my belongings across so many victims.

First, it was a bracelet, then earring.

What was this lunatic trying to do?

I followed Robin to the desolate stretch of Boundless River, far from the old, abandoned orphanage.

Clearly, the killer was dumping the body after the deed, letting the river carry it downstream to this secluded spot where they would eventually be found.

Standing by the riverbank, I looked at the body covered with a white sheet and, despite being dead, I was still scared enough to cover my eyes.

See, I’m a coward even as a specter.

“The earring is definitely Phoebe’s. The last body had Phoebe’s bracelet, and this one has her earring. What is the killer trying to say?” Cory pondered with suspicion. “Could Lilly be spot on about Phoebe being the killer?”

“Even if it’s not Phoebe, she’s definitely connected. She’s missing now, and her friends are adamant she’s not dead, just playing a game of hide–and–seek. Maybe she is the killer or the killer’s accomplice!” Cory said in anger.

“I heard people say Phoebe had her eyes on Dexter and would do anything to marry into the Fitzgeralds. She wouldn’t really know the killer and leave her stuff at the crime scene to provoke Dexter and Melody, would she?” Amelia, another officer, joined in.

I looked helplessly at Robin and shook my head frantically, “No, it’s not me. I didn’t do it.”

Robin was quiet for a long while before finally speaking, “Issue a warrant for Phoebe.”

The last sliver of hope in my eyes shattered at that very moment.

Watching the police with irony, I turned away, feeling powerless.

They didn’t trust me; they were even issuing a warrant for my arrest.

I wondered if they would feel guilty for their suspicions when they found my body. But then, none of that mattered to me anymore.

13:16

In this world, no one trusted me. No one believed I was dead. And nobody believed I was killed by Melody. They all trusted Melody.

In the Constantia Estate.

I found myself wandering back to my old home without realizing it. It’s where I lived with my family before the accident that took my parents.

We weren’t a rich family in Sea City, but we lived a comfortable, happy life.

Before I turned eighteen, I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world with loving parents, a beautiful life, and a bright future.

But it was all destroyed. I could never go back to how things were.

Walking aimlessly through the streets, I let the relentless traffic pass through my soul.

Turns out, the despair is greater after death. As a lost spirit, I didn’t even have the right to seek death.

“Phoebe…”

“Phoebe, where are you? Please, come back…”

I faintly heard someone crying at the base of the apartment building. The slim figure was squatting and incessantly dialing a phone.

Standing under the streetlight, I felt myself shaking.

It was Stella, my childhood friend and my best friend who grew up with me.

She kept dialing my number which had long been unreachable.

“Phoebe, don’t scare me, please don’t scare me,” she murmured between sobs, her voice hoarse due to her crying. She was pleading for Phoebe to come back.

I squatted beside her helplessly. I wanted to embrace her, but I couldn’t. “Stella, I’m here, I’m right here…” I cried to her. “Don’t cry, Stella, I’m here.”

But she couldn’t hear me.

“Phoebe, get to the bottom of this: I’ll avenge you,” Stella said with a raspy voice as if she

had made a decision.

“Stella…” A bad feeling crept into my heart, a premonition of impending disaster.

“Stella!” Stella was the only one who cared about me, so I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

I followed her, calling out her name in panic, but she didn’t turn back. She was just wiping her tears and making a call.

“Did you find anything?” she asked the other side.

“The police found another body today with an earpiece that belonged to Phoebe. They can’t confirm the identity, but the DNA doesn’t match Phoebe.”

Stella was in medical school with friends in forensic science: getting information wouldn’t be hard for her.

“Get in touch with Robin for me, tell him I’ve been frequenting Nocturne for a while and can be his bait to draw out the killer. If he doesn’t agree, I’ll go on my own,” Stella said with determination.

“You’re crazy!” I screamed, teeling that Stella had lost her mind.

How could she go after that murderer!?