My mom was a DEA agent, lost in the line of duty. Since I was a little kid, I had one dream: to reclaim her badge number. The moment I found out my scores were high enough for the police academy, I called my dad, buzzing with excitement. But he blew up. “You, a good-for-nothing loser like you, want to be a cop? Reclaim your mom’s badge number?! Don’t you dare shame your mother! Get lost!” My heart froze solid, my world crumbling around me. I stumbled home, only to be surrounded by a gang of addicts in a dark alley. “Heard your mom, Sergeant Dana, was a narcotics expert, trained a bunch of hotshots, made it impossible for us to even get a fix? Come on, let’s talk!” Naturally, I fought back with everything I had. But they were ready. A sharp knife plunged into my lower back, draining all my strength. Before I blacked out, my dad’s last words echoed in my mind. Dad, did I really disgrace Mom…? It was the dead of night when the police got a call. A large pool of blood was found in a dark alley in South Bayport, but no one was around. The caller thought it was just some drunk fight and quickly reported it, hoping the police would find the injured person and get them to a hospital fast. The police rushed to the scene, only to find the heavy rain had already washed away most of the blood, making it a chaotic mess! There wasn’t a trace of the injured person nearby. They immediately launched a carpet search and soon found dismembered body parts in an abandoned factory nearby. The morgue lights flickered on. “What’s the situation with this case?” A calm, steady male voice broke the silence. A man in a crisp forensic uniform walked in with two young police officers. This was my dad, Dr. Miles, the top forensic pathologist in Bayport. “Dr. Miles, the victim’s condition is pretty grim. Maybe you should prepare yourself…” Dad waved a dismissive hand. “What kind of body haven’t I seen? Just start the autopsy. Let’s solve this case as soon as possible!” He was right. Dad had been practicing for nearly twenty years. He’d seen it all: bloated bodies, headless corpses, dismembered remains, even bodies encased in concrete or reduced to fluid. When it came to forensics, he was a pro. But Dad, did you ever think that the body on that autopsy table… would be your most disregarded daughter? I floated in the air, watching my dad work with a strange detachment. The moment he unzipped the body bag, his brow furrowed. It wasn’t just the jumbled mess of flesh and bone inside; it was the missing, most crucial part. “Where’s the head? Where did it go?” “Uh… Dr. Miles, we searched that abandoned factory thoroughly, but we couldn’t find it. Most likely, the suspect took it.” “Forget it! Let’s start the autopsy.” Dad put on his gloves and began his professional sorting. Bone fragments, tissue, finger pieces… Everything he could identify was carefully laid out. “The victim is female, growth plates were narrow, not yet fully fused, estimated age between eighteen and twenty-three. Height between 5’3” and 5’7”. Probably a student.” “Based on the vitality of the cuts, the culprits must have first brutally broken this kid’s finger bones, radius, ulna, humerus, tibia, and femur while she was still alive. Then they dismembered her limbs. It seems that wasn’t enough for them; they used other blunt objects. Her ribs and spine are almost entirely fractured into tiny pieces…” Dad reported the findings professionally, while the young officer in charge of recording had already gone paper-white. Just hearing the description made him want to throw up! It was even harder to imagine the pain and despair the victim must have experienced! Dad suddenly turned. “Was a murder weapon found at the scene?” “Uh, yes, sir.” The young officer quickly handed a set of photos to Dad. It showed a saw covered in rust and blood, and a large sledgehammer caked with blood and tissue. A dull saw, used to savagely cut off every one of the victim’s fingers, every joint… The pain such weapons would inflict on a living person was beyond words!
Dad frowned deeply. “This wasn’t a random attack, was it? How much hatred could they possibly have for this kid?” Normally, even in a revenge attack, the assailants wouldn’t go to such extremes. The young officer respectfully replied, “Dr. Miles, preliminary investigations by Detective Reed’s Serious Crimes Unit have ruled out robbery and random attacks. It’s definitely a vendetta. Detective Reed and his team are now checking all newly reported missing person cases across the city.” “Understood.” Dad quickly pieced together the body parts, hoping to find some useful information to help solve the case. But it was all in vain. Even teeth, which can identify a person no matter how disfigured, had been taken by the criminals along with the head. Identifying the true identity of a nearly pulverized body, without any clothing, was almost impossible! I floated in the air, half relieved, half wistful. Good, Dad didn’t recognize me. Otherwise, he’d probably call me a loser again… Dad sighed. “What a pathetic kid! Why inflict such cruelty on a child because of their parents’ feuds…” There were tears glimmering in Dad’s eyes. Dad, meticulously piecing together every inch of bone. Dad, desperately searching for every bit of useful information. Dad, showing sympathy for a stranger, a headless female corpse. He felt so… unfamiliar. I knew Dad didn’t like me. When I was in elementary school, I had a fever on a rainy night. He took me to the emergency room alone. Dad thought Mom, who worked tirelessly day and night, deserved some rest, so he didn’t wake her. But Dad didn’t know that Mom got an urgent mission notification shortly after. She didn’t even wash her face before rushing to the scene. And it was that rainy night that Mom died in a shootout with The Viper. Mom’s body… Dad handled that one too. I was too young then to understand what death meant, what it felt like. Now that I think about it, even Dad wouldn’t want to personally send off his own wife, right? It was all my fault, for getting that strange fever on that particular night. It was only natural for Dad to hate me. If I hadn’t been sick, Dad would have fought to stop Mom from going on that mission, and if she hadn’t gone, Mom wouldn’t have died. It was all my fault… I looked down at Dad, who still hadn’t recognized me on the autopsy table. I glanced at the body again, fragmented and soiled. Covered in what looked like mud or blood, each piece of flesh looked gray and black, no different from leftover food dumped in a sewer. Even I couldn’t have recognized myself. No wonder Dad didn’t. The tranquil morgue was suddenly pierced by a ringing phone. Dad stopped, frowning, and looked at the two young officers. They shook their heads quickly. “Dr. Miles, we didn’t bring anything in!” Dad then realized it was his own phone. He pulled off his gloves to check. It was Aunt Sarah. “Hello? I’m busy…” “Oh, Miles, I don’t know… Chloe, have you seen her? I can’t reach her phone…” “Chloe?” Hearing my name, Dad’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know! I disciplined her yesterday. She’s probably out messing around. Just ignore her!” Aunt Sarah sounded anxious. “Why did you scold her again? I heard Chloe scored really well on her college entrance exams, enough for the police academy! She was so happy yesterday!” “Police academy, my foot! Someone as worthless as her? She should just pick some easy major, get a regular job, and make money! Becoming a cop would be an insult to the entire profession!” Dad’s voice was as sharp as ever.
Aunt Sarah was silent for a moment. “That’s been Chloe’s dream for ages. She finally did so well on her exams, and I was planning to invite her over for a big dinner. I bought so much seafood…” Dad was furious. “I forbid her from applying to the police academy! If she does, then she’s no daughter of mine! She can go die for all I care!” With that, Dad hung up. He seemed to forget he wasn’t alone, his chest heaving with anger as he stood by the autopsy table, speechless for a long time. I’m sorry, Dad. I won’t apply to the police academy. Please don’t be angry; it’s not good for you. I wanted to say that so badly, but all I could do was float in the air, watching everything unfold, utterly powerless. I wanted to cry, but as a spirit, I had no tears. By now, Dad had pieced together most of the body, but he couldn’t put my ten fingers back together. He frowned deeply, instructing the young officer to record. “Right ring finger and pinky are missing. Have the officers at the scene search again. If they can’t find them…” My heart clenched. When I was little, I was mischievous and went to tease a police dog. It bit through the flesh of these two fingers, leaving terrible scars. That dog, because of my accidental injury, was forced into early retirement. Dad scolded me relentlessly for that incident. Had he forgotten? Of course, Dad didn’t care about me at all… No! It’s better if Dad doesn’t remember! I don’t want Dad to know that he personally sent off both his wife and daughter! The young officer saluted. “Understood! If they’re not found, it means those two fingers have distinct identifying features!” Dad nodded. “Exactly. To find the victim, look for individuals with old injuries or tattoos on their hands!” He cut a small piece of flesh. “Get a DNA test done. Compare it with the database. Find the direct relatives as soon as possible!” Hearing Dad say that, my heart clenched. If they checked DNA, wouldn’t I be exposed quickly?! Dad! Don’t check the DNA! Dad! Let this case go! Don’t investigate further! I screamed silently, but Dad heard not a single word. Dad worked in the morgue for over ten hours. He’d arrived at dawn, and by the time he emerged, night had fallen again. “Dr. Miles, you’ve worked tirelessly.” Dad nodded, about to head home for rest, but then he saw Aunt Sarah waiting anxiously at the police station entrance. “Miles, Chloe’s been missing for a whole day and night! I asked her classmates; no one’s seen her! I checked all the entertainment spots near the school, couldn’t find her! What do we do?!” Dad looked annoyed, his brows tightly knit. “This is just her using petty tricks to make me agree to her joining the police academy! Impossible! Someone as worthless as her just needs to be law-abiding. What, she wants to uphold justice too?!” Aunt Sarah was on the verge of tears. “Forget about college applications for now! Our child’s safety is more important! I just came here and heard about a major case! A young girl, just turned adult, was dismembered, right?! Aren’t you worried Chloe might have run into those people?” Dad snapped back. “Don’t pry into cases that haven’t been announced! Chloe is eighteen; she can take care of herself! If something happened to her, she can only blame her own bad luck! Knowing how dangerous it is out there, why did she have to go running off?!” Aunt Sarah paused. “I’m not prying, I… I’m just afraid something happened to Chloe!” Dad’s eyes held contempt. “If she can’t even manage basic risk assessment or know how to avoid danger, then what good is she for the police academy? She might as well go get a job!”
“Miles Chen! Listen to yourself! Chloe lost her mom when she was little; she’s already had it tough enough! She didn’t let it get her down; she became even more driven, and you keep knocking her down every single day! Are you even human?!” Aunt Sarah shrieked, tears streaming down her face. “I’m telling you, you’d better pray to God the victim in this case isn’t Chloe! Otherwise, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!” My heart leaped. Had Aunt Sarah found out? But looking at her expression, it didn’t seem like she knew the truth. It was more like she was deliberately trying to provoke Dad. Sure enough, at her words, Dad’s face instantly changed. “Impossible! Don’t you think I’d know my own daughter?! The victim in there absolutely cannot be Chloe!” Aunt Sarah bit her lip. “If it really is Chloe, don’t even think about claiming her body back! You never liked the kid anyway; let her come back to our family!” Dad raised his voice. “Fine! Take her! Do you think I care?! I’ve wanted that bad luck charm out of my life for years!” Aunt Sarah trembled with rage. “You rotten Miles Chen! If you don’t want Chloe, I do! Such a good kid, she’s suffered enough injustice living with you! You cold-blooded, heartless bastard! Ugh!” I floated in the air, a little overwhelmed. I knew Aunt Sarah was incredibly good to me. After Mom died, Dad rarely paid attention to me. Beyond making sure I ate, he ignored everything else. I still remember Aunt Sarah being the one who bought me my first bras and sanitary pads during my teenage years. I wanted to study hard and get into the police academy, but Dad wouldn’t pay for tutoring classes. In the end, it was Aunt Sarah who secretly took me to enroll. From the smallest daily necessities to tutoring, smartphones, tablets, and computers, Aunt Sarah almost always paid for them out of her own pocket. To Aunt Sarah, I was practically her own daughter. Aunt Sarah, fuming, stormed out of the police station, her trembling fingers typing a message on her phone. I floated over, peering at the screen. ‘Chloe, it’s not safe out there right now. No matter how angry you are at your dad, you still need to come home! If you don’t want to come home, that’s fine. Come to Aunt Sarah’s. I’ll send you to college and pay your tuition! We don’t need your dad. Aunt Sarah’s place will always be your home, sweetie. Be good.’ I blinked, feeling tears well up. Aunt Sarah had lost her only sister on that rainy night years ago too. Yet, she didn’t hate me like Dad did. Instead, she poured all the love she had for her sister into me. I’m so sorry, Aunt Sarah. I’m afraid I’m destined to disappoint you. It seemed that because my body was inside the police station, I couldn’t follow Aunt Sarah further than a certain distance. I could only watch helplessly as she left. When I floated back into the station, I found Dad slumped in a chair, looking exhausted. Officer Miller saw him and couldn’t help but advise, “Dr. Miles, you’ve worked for twenty hours straight. You should go home and rest!” But Dad shook his head. “No, I’m a bit uneasy about this case… I’ll just rest here briefly, then go back and see if there are any more clues on the body.” “Uh… alright.” I watched Dad’s swaying body, both admiring his dedication and wishing he’d get some proper rest. … “The DNA results are in!” A shout echoed through the police station, instantly energizing everyone! Even I couldn’t help but feel a surge of tension! Dad, who had been staying at the station for two nights, rushed to the data room. “The database, has it been checked? Have you identified the victim?” “Still comparing. It’s taking a bit. Don’t rush!” Everyone gathered around the computer, nervously watching the progress bar crawl forward. 75%… 88%… 95%… 100%! Everyone held their breath, waiting for the final result.
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