When I was brutally murdered and my body was dismembered, my husband Xavier was buying a bracelet for his first love.
Ignoring my final distress call, he hung up in a rage.
"I've already told you I'm coming home tonight, why are you nagging me? Can't you survive till then?”
Unfortunately, I really didn't make it through the night.
And he didn't come home as promised.
Three days later, the police station received a lunchbox filled with body parts washed clean by a heavy rain.
At a glance, he could tell that the murderer was full of vengeance, scorning the authority of the police.
As the city's most outstanding forensic scientist, he assembled all the body parts in three days.
Yet, he didn't realize that the victim was his most despised wife.
After I was killed by the murderer, I was placed in different lunchboxes.
Three days later, during a thunderstorm, the killer pushed the food cart filled with lunchboxes straight into the police station.
The first person to open one of the lunchboxes was an intern police officer, who instantaneously vomited all over the ground.
Screams followed one after another.
The news was immediately kept under wraps and the lunchboxes were collected back up within ten minutes.
Captain James quickly reached out to Xavier.
Within the police system, he was the most talented and daring forensic scientist.
Fabled to be able to make corpses speak, he had participated in countless criminal cases.
Arriving five minutes later, he ordered unrelated personnel to evacuate, opened all the lunch boxes carrying fragments of a body, the nauseating smell swiftly assailed his senses.
He swiftly exchanged glances with Captain James.
In an unspoken agreement, Captain James immediately said, "At the very first moment, we checked the surveillance camera at the entrance of the police station, but the heavy rain caused a failure of the circuitry, exactly during these past few days it broke."
The most direct and useful piece of evidence had been missed.
Everyone present grew grim.
The murderer even knew about the damage to the police station's surveillance camera, an indication of his terrifyingly detailed familiarity with the place.
On the meal cart were fragments of the body, already washed by the rain till they turned pale.
A few old detectives, hardened by years of service, couldn't help but retch.
Regardless, they swallowed their nausea, instinctively forming a line of defense.
In order not to destroy the delicate clues on the body parts, they refrained from any further movement.
In the end, the decision was made to conduct an autopsy right at the scene.
My soul floats beside him, eyes touching the chunks of corpse, the wrenching pain once again envelopes me.
Hubby, can you let me speak this time?
In order to assure Xavier to proceed with the autopsy, Captain James promptly moved all the other stuff in the hall outside.
For three consecutive days, Captain James stood by his side, assisting him.
They were the most perfect partners for solving cases.
During these three days, Xavier barely ate anything, relying solely on glucose water to maintain his spirits.
Finally, the chunks of corpse bore a vague resemblance to a human form.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he breathed a sigh of relief.
But when his eyes fell on the corpse's right hand, his sharp eyebrows scrunched urgently.
It was missing a finger.
Seeing him silent, an anxious Captain James finally spoke out, "How's it going? Any leads? We've looked through everything related in these three days, and hasn't found anything useful at all. Damn it!"
Xavier picks up the glucose water on the table and takes a big gulp before speaking, "For now, we can only determine that the victim is a young female. There are too many injuries on the body. It is impossible to determine which wound was the fatal one."
"And before she died, her skin was peeled off, which made it easier to break the body into even smaller pieces. The blood was likely intentionally drained out before being washed away by the rain, so there's little blood left on the body, posing a significant challenge to our investigation."
Hearing this, the several veteran detectives around all had red-rimmed eyes.
Unable to suppress his anger, Captain James slammed the table: "Damn beasts!"
However, after he finished cursing, Xavier spoke up again, "If I'm not mistaken, the deceased was recently pregnant. Her pelvis had started to expand, but now it's shattered by a heavy force, making it impossible to specifically determine how far along she was."
The hall fell silent immediately after his words.
The detectives were filled with indignation, their fists tightly clenched.
"What kind of hatred could warrant such a vicious act? Is this even human?"
"With the body dismembered to this extent, the killer must have exerted considerable effort. Tossing the body parts to us now is probably meant to provoke us."
Captain James furrowed his eyebrows, his hawk-like eyes almost popping out.
The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive.
Xavier's right hand, used for writing the report, was shaking violently. After a moment, he slammed his pen onto the table.
Captain James looked up at the same time.
The two exchanged a look.
"Only they are capable of such a heinous act."
Everyone's breathing became heavy.
A massive criminal organization involved in organized crime.
For a full decade, it brought chaos and destruction to the borderlands, shattering countless families in its wake.
No one who got involved came out unscathed.
In response, the provincial bureau assembled criminal investigation experts from various regions to form a special case team.
Years they sparred with the organization.
However, that gang apparently went down a month ago.
The cloud of doubts hanging over everyone's heads continues to grow heavier.
At this moment, a few young police officers, who were asked to work at the entrance, came in with a parcel.
After the autopsy results came out, the defense line was pulled back.
A person holding a parcel labeled with their husband’s name approached him.
"Xavier, this is your package."
Captain James hastily peered over, noticing my name written as the sender on the box.
Heavily relieved, he patted Xavier's shoulder.
"Chloe is thoughtful, you haven't been home for three days, right?"
Xavier evidently also noticed my name on the parcel.
His already gloomy face instantly transformed with rage.
"Is she trying to bother me? Don't I know how to go home? Blocked my number and now she's sending me packages. Is she going to write me letters next?"
It was the first time they've seen him lose his temper; the few young delivery guys who came in with the package shrunk back without daring to react.
"Next time you see this name, just throw it away, don't inform me!"
Furiously, he threw the box he held towards the trash bin.
But Captain James swiftly reached out his hand and intercepted it midair.
Xavier's phone rang at this moment.
When he picked it up and saw who it was, the anger in his eyes softened.
"What's the matter, Cece? Is there anything wrong?"
Rubbing his tired eyes, his face skillfully concealed the name displayed on the screen.
Yet, I was still able to guess who it was.
Cecelia.
That was his first love.
She was also the hostage he had saved in a major case a month ago.
Or maybe that's just what he thought.
His tone instantly lost the previous impatience and intolerance. It was as if he suddenly became a different person, his eyes filled with a tenderness I had never seen before.
"Did you see her send the parcel? Hmm, I received it, okay, I'll open it now."
He continued to remind Cecelia to eat and sleep on time.
He mentioned that her wound had just healed and that her body was weak.
After hanging up the phone, he reached out to Captain James.
The parcel was returned to his hands. Thanks to Cecelia, the parcel with my name on it finally saw the light of day again, but it wasn't sent by me.
Seeing his expression, Captain James opened his mouth to say something but couldn't get it out.
My heart, broken a month ago, sank deeper and deeper.
He would rather believe the devilish snake woman than listen to my single piece of testimony.
The contents of the box were wrapped layer by layer.
However, the sticky and stinky liquid on the outside looked like blood.
At the moment he recognized the contents, his pupils dilated instantly.
A collective gasp echoed around the room.
The next second, the parcel was forcefully thrown back into the trash can.
The sound of shattered porcelain was especially clear in this environment.
Xavier's chest rose and fell violently with fury, gasping heavily.
Captain James furrowed his brows, a troubled expression on his face.
Nonetheless, he reached out to pat his shoulder.
"Go home and check on things. You really haven't been home for a while, maybe Chloe just misses you."
Xavier's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, his lips squeezed into a straight line.
The pen he used to write the report just now was smashed onto the table with force.
"She's just crazy right now! I'm not going home, I'm investigating a case, did I cheat on her or something?"
His eyes widened, staring at Captain James as he began to speak, "James, you're like a brother to me, tell me, have I cheated on anyone these days? Who is she trying to threaten?"
Seeing his face twisted with indignation, a sour feeling rose in my chest.
Captain James continued to console him, "It's just a porcelain doll, no big deal. Probably Chloe got something wrong since she's a beginner."
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my lips, by the time that decoration was made, I was already a cold corpse.
A sarcastic smile twisted Xavier's face, shadowing his features.
"So this is someone who doesn't care about her own father's life... should I expect her to love my child if she gets pregnant?"
"She's not even human, how is she worthy to be a mother? All I did was to take care of the hostages I rescued, yet she continues to play games with me!”
“So disgusting a person, even if she becomes a hostage one day and dies in front of me, I wouldn't want to spare her a glance!”
Enraged to the extreme, he closed his eyes.
Honey, I don't have the chance to become a hostage anymore.
I want to cry, but my tears ran out the day I died.
I want to scream, I want to tell him.
That terrifying package wasn't sent by me.
I never threatened him.
Even if the hostage he helps every day is his first love, even if he doesn't come home all night for her, I didn't mind.
But I truly didn't lie to him.
My health was deteriorating, after finding out I was pregnant, my stomach would hurt intensely every few days.
The doctor said I had to be very careful to keep this baby.
I never lied to him.
Quickly, he composed himself and finished the autopsy report.
He took dozens of photos of my corpse from different angles.
He recorded every detail meticulously.
The few remaining blood-stained body parts were collected for testing.
Experienced detectives in the station gathered for discussion.
They unearthed a decade worth of case overturning tactics used by the corporation.
Surprisingly, there was an archival record of skinning and dismembering bodies.
Upon seeing this, everyone's eyes lit up.
The culprit of that particular case was the kingpin of that corporation.
A severely psychologically disturbed deviant.
Yet, he was just shot dead when caught last month.
Probably reincarnated by now.
As they continued sifting through the records, the spark in their eyes dimmed once again.
Captain James irritably scratched his bald head, "A pregnant lady, and such a young one. How come her family didn't report after she went missing for more than three days?"
Another detective sighed, "Her husband didn't even show up. Is it possible that he doesn't know that she's dead after all this time? What kind of relationship is that for having a child?"
"I am utterly flabbergasted. The surveillance system on the streets was paralyzed due to torrential rain. And now, there are no missing reports to follow up, and the blood on those body parts is painfully scanty. What the hell are we supposed to investigate?"
At that moment, Captain James proposed with a hint of suspicion, "The body parts are missing a finger. If it's not a congenital condition, could it be hiding some important clues? Could it be deliberately kept away from us?"
Inborn.
Xavier suddenly remembered something.
My heart almost leaped out of my chest.
A month ago, the tip of my little finger was missing.
As a result, I even bid goodbye to the piano stage.
But the next second, Xavier said, "Pregnant women will definitely have prenatal check-up records, and her husband will surely accompany her."
After saying that, he immediately slapped the table.
"That's the way it is, we'll split into two teams, one to check the hospital records, and one to stay in the hospital to see if there are any missing pregnant women at home."
Hearing this, hope reignited in my eyes.
There are clues in the hospital, as long as they see my name, they can investigate!
As we were getting ready to leave, Captain James suddenly asked,
"Isn't Chloe also pregnant? I remember you mentioned it, why not call and ask if she had seen any suspicious situations during her prenatal check-ups?"
After hearing this, Xavier immediately frowned.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, "She has never had a prenatal check-up, what pregnancy are you talking about? Wouldn't I, as the father-to-be, know about the check-ups?"
His tone suddenly turned cold, and his gaze was full of distaste.
"You think I'm an idiot to be lied and played with?"
The smile that had just curved at the corners of my lips froze on my face.
I had sent him messages numerous times about going to the hospital.
But either he would have deleted them outright, or he would have directly scolded me for being pretentious and melodramatic.
To prove it, I once took a photo at the prenatal examination area in the hospital.
But just because my hand blocked the name on the form while taking the photo, he accused me of deceiving him with someone else's report.
Ever since then, I never mentioned anything about the child to him.
Seeing the situation, Captain James could only remain silent.
Xavier's misunderstandings about me were too deep.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Xavier went directly to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology to check my prenatal examination records.
My heartbeat accelerated with the flip of each page.
Just when he was about to see my name, a sudden clamor rose by my ear.
Several nurses rushed in, surrounding a pregnant woman lying on a stretcher.
But too many people were there for prenatal examinations, filling the corridors.
Xavier immediately organized an evacuation with Captain James.
I watched my name appear back and forth on the prenatal checkup record book, giving a bitter smile as I shed tears.
We were so close.
Xavier helped them wheel someone into the emergency room.
Then he pulled out his phone, apparently there seemed to be new developments in the case.
The nurses around him finally exhaled in relief.
An older nurse pats her chest and says, "You guys are new here and don't know, sometimes children have a resilient vitality. I think it was last month, what was the pregnant lady called again?"
Someone promptly added, "Chloe!"
Xavier's finger swiping the screen suddenly stopped.
My heart was already lodged in my throat.
Hubby, listen to them finish talking.
That's the truth you're seeking!
Just at that moment, his phone rang.
The criminal genetic database had a small number of cases, it made the first batch of results available.
As he answered the call, the nurse next to him quickly narrated the details of the case.
"Yes, that pregnant woman was almost out of breath when she was brought in, it seemed like a chunk of her little finger was missing. Even after the operation was over, we didn't see her husband, she pitied indeed."
The call ended, and the nurses left too.
Despair was written all over my face.
In fact, I was quite hopeless.
When I followed Xavier back to the police station, there was a forensic report on his desk.
The deceased had no criminal record.
Next, it was about comparing with the citywide genetic database.
This would require more time.
Suddenly, his mobile phone received an anonymous message,
"A gift prepared especially for you, do you like it?"
