Chapter 5 "Dead from heart failure?" Valerie let out a sharp laugh. She leaned back in her chair, pure disgust written all over her face. "Are cop badges on sale now? How much did Gemma pay you for this little show? Ten grand? Twenty?" Chloe giggled right next to her. "Officer, she's playing you. I checked her myself a few hours ago. Her vitals were perfect. She's just a drama queen paying you to scare her mom!" "Faking it to skip training? Paying us?" The lead officer's face darkened with rage. He didn't waste another word.

He grabbed a stack of photos and stamped reports from his folder and slammed them onto the desk! The papers hit the wood with a heavy thud and slid across the table. Right on top was a photo of my face-pale, covered in dark dried blood, eyes wide and unseeing. "Take a good look! We took these ten minutes ago in the alley!" The officer's voice cut through the air like ice. "We don't have time for your little rich-family games. The body is stiff. Her pupils are dilated. She's been dead for over eight hours!" Dead silence. The noisy room froze instantly.

The executives who were just fighting over my inheritance turned pale. They all took a step back. Valerie stared at the clear photo on the desk. Her smile died. Her hands started trembling out of nowhere. The pen in her grip stabbed right into her palm, but she didn't even notice the pain. "No... That's impossible!" Valerie's voice cracked into pieces. All her pride was gone. She stood up so fast her chair flipped over. "She's faking it! The medic said she was fine! That ungrateful brat is lying to me!" She screamed like a maniac.

She shoved the officer out of her way and bolted out of the room. Chloe _followed behind with a ghostly pale face, her legs shaking and sweat soaking her back. They ran down the grand hallway and burst out the back doors of the estate. Yellow police tape blocked off the foul-smelling alley. Forensics officers in plain clothes stood around a filthy trash pile, taking crime scene photos. The gathering crowd whispered and pointed. Every word stung. Valerie completely lost her mind. Her eyes turned blood-red.

She ducked under the tape and shrieked at the top of her lungs: "My daughter is not dead! The medic said she was fine! She's just trying to trick me! Don't let her fool you!" She kept screaming as she looked down- Her voice choked in her throat. Reality hit her like a bolt of lightning. Her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. The stray dogs around my body were chased off by the police, but the damage was already done. _The brutal heat had blistered my skin. Dark red blood clots covered my mangled face. "Gemma...?" Valerie reached out with trembling hands.

She tried to touch my face, but the icy flesh burned her. She pulled back instantly. "Why are you so cold?!" She grabbed my shoulders and shook me like crazy. She let out an ear-splitting scream: "Get up! Stop playing games! I'll give you the gallery! You don't have to do target practice anymore! Open your eyes!" But I couldn't hear her anymore. My soul floated above her, looking down at the woman who used to be so untouchable. "Officer," the chief medical examiner stepped up, handing over a fresh report. "The victim's heart stopped eight hours ago.

After death, her body suffered hours of extreme heat exposure and physical abuse. Severe heel crush marks on her wrists, facial lacerations from sharp objects. This wasn't an accident. This was a brutal murder." Valerie's eyes snapped toward Chloe like a hawk. The butler rushed over, dripping with cold sweat. He leaned in and whispered in her ear: "Ma'am, we just checked the training field security footage. After Miss Gemma suffered cardiac arrest, the medic didn't try to save her.

She threw medical trays at her, slashed her face, and ordered the guards to throw her in the alley." Seeing the killer look in Valerie's eyes, Chloe fell to her knees, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. "No... It wasn't me! You ordered it! You told me to double her punishment!" "Liar!" Valerie's eyes turned blood-red. She lunged forward and slammed her hands around Chloe's neck. "You told me her vitals were normal! You killed my daughter, you bitch! I'm going to murder you!" o oo Support Share