Chapter 2

The air in the morgue was chillingly damp.

Even as a spirit, I felt a shiver run down my spine.

The slab was piled high with body parts. The stench of decay mixed with the filth of the outbuilding made me want to retch.

I've always been a coward. Alive, I would have fainted from sheer terror. But now, as a ghost, I felt nothing but a chilling numbness.

Julian's brows were tightly furrowed as he stared at the gruesome remains.

He had seen countless horrific bodies, but nothing as utterly brutal as this. It was a first.

Yet, he was always professional. No matter how challenging the case, he gave it his all.

He put on his gloves and bowed deeply to my body.

It was his custom, a sign of respect for the deceased.

I wondered, if he knew that the body before him was his own sister, the one he deemed too 'unclean' to even glance at, would he still be so calm?

Commissioner Hayes, who had just returned after throwing up, walked past me, clamping a hand over his nose and mouth. "Julian, the coroner already did a preliminary examination before you arrived."

"Her entire skin has been peeled off, and the body parts were scalded with boiling water. Not a single lead."

"Now, it's all up to you to reconstruct the body and piece together the victim's memories."

Julian didn't speak, only nodded gravely. He picked up a piece of ankle bone, no bigger than a palm.

He closed his eyes, and a blurry image flashed in his mind.

He saw a rusty axe strike a woman's slender ankle, the sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone sending shivers down one's spine.

I instinctively gasped, as if I were reliving the living hell I had endured.

Julian's brows furrowed even deeper.

Did he feel my dying pain?

I suddenly found myself hoping, hoping he would see my face.

But also, I was afraid. Afraid that if he knew it was me, he would simply abandon the case.

Just like two years ago, when Celeste invited me out of the city to admire the snow. We were robbed and left in the snow, barely clothed.

Julian arrived and immediately rushed to Celeste.

He wrapped her in his heavy cloak, blowing warm air onto her hands.

Celeste feigned concern, "Julian, Elara is cold too. You should check on her."

Julian shot me a look of pure disgust and sneered, "A murderer like her doesn't deserve my concern."

He got into the carriage without looking back, where a heater warmed the interior.

I could only hug myself, stumbling and struggling to follow the carriage.

After falling for the ninth time, the carriage vanished from sight.

That time, Julian still didn't wait for me.

Lost in thought, Julian picked up another of my severed hands.

My memories invaded his mind once more.

He saw my fingers brutally crushed, one by one. The killer seemed curious about the appearance of broken finger bones, so they plunged my hand into scalding boiling water.

Then, they used a metal scraper to peel off the boiled, festering flesh, examining the exposed bones meticulously.

Julian, who had seen his fair share of horrors, couldn't help but dry-heave.

But to see the killer and my face, he still gripped my severed hand tightly.

Alas, the killer wore a mask, their face completely hidden.

Julian looked back, seemingly wanting to know who this poor victim was.

Strangely, despite nothing obscuring my face, he simply couldn't see it.

He only saw my throat moving, a fragmented melody drifting from my blood-soaked lips.

Julian froze for a long moment. Then, his eyes snapped open. He flung the severed hand away as if it had burned him.

He turned urgently to Commissioner Hayes. "Send someone to the West End villa! Tell Celeste to come see me!"

I finally felt a flicker of happiness.

It seemed Julian recognized me.

He must have realized the little tune was the clue I left for him...