Simon frowned. “Dead? What are you talking about? She’s faking it again, right?”
“No… it’s real.”
It couldn’t be an act-the condition of the body clearly indicated death.
The assistant couldn’t hold it back and retched violently. Simon clicked his tongue in annoyance and walked over to the trunk. “Laura, you’re at it again…”
Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes landed on my body.
Instantly, Simon’s face went pale.
“Should we… should we call the police, sir?”
“How… how did this happen all of a sudden?”
Simon wasn’t listening to anything his assistant said. He couldn’t stop staring at me, his eyes glued to my remains.
After a long silence, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward, picking up a stick to poke at my body. “Stop pretending. You think pulling something like this will make me forgive you?”
The action scraped off a large piece of my rotting flesh.
Simon’s eye twitched, and his lips began to tremble. Hollie screamed and threw herself back into Simon’s arms.
“Simon, I saw Laura run off two days ago. I thought she just needed some privacy, so I didn’t tell you. Could this be her way of leaving this body here to trick us?”
Hollie was smart. She knew Simon treasured her, so she lied first to create the illusion that I had run away, all to protect herself. And Simon-true to form-fell for it.
“She’s as stubborn as ever. Did she think this would get her out of apologizing? I underestimated her. Don’t worry, Hollie, I’ll find her and make sure she begs for forgiveness.”
Simon, Simon… are you truly this naive? Or do you choose to be deceived willingly?
“Sir, the ring on the body’s finger-it’s Mrs. Smith’s…”
“What? Patel, have you been bribed too? It’s just a ring. There are plenty like it. She’s obviously putting on a show, and she’s even using a fake body to fool me.”
“Patel, take this body to the hospital. And shut down Laura’s orphanage.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a few men grabbed my body, tossing it into a black plastic bag without a second thought.
Simon then pulled out his phone and found the contact he had blocked.
“Laura, don’t think I don’t know what game you’re playing. I’m giving you one last chance. If you apologize, I’ll let this go. Otherwise, your orphanage is finished.”
Simon went along to the hospital.
The doctor took one look at the body, and even someone as battle-hardened as him couldn’t bear it. Most importantly, the body’s fingerprints had been completely worn off, making them impossible to detect.
Since my mother passed away, I have been abused every day. Even the servants and maids didn’t spare me. They made me work, and if I ever slacked off, they would shove me into the water tank. After being soaked for a long time, my skin would turn white, and the patterns on it became hard to see. Day after day, year after year, my fingerprints faded.
The results of the examination would take three more days.
Upon hearing this, Simon took out his phone again and sent me a message: “Three days. After the autopsy report comes out in three days, just you wait.”
“I’m going to make sure everyone in Sea City knows you’re a liar.”
Just then, someone called him. I drifted beside him and saw the name James on the screen.
Simon didn’t want to answer, but the persistent ringing annoyed him. He answered the call.
James immediately asked about my whereabouts.
Simon sneered, “What? Haven’t you had enough of being her secret lover? Now you’re trying to provoke me?”
His words were harsh. Ever since I found out about James’s feelings for me, I had stopped contacting him. Whenever we bumped into each other, it was only polite greetings.