Chapter 3

Philip and Joe exchanged a glance.

Looking at the anxious young man in front of them, Philip pressed his lips together tightly. He didn't know how to break the news that might completely devastate him.

"We've just discovered an unidentified female body..." he finally spoke, his voice low and hesitant.

Zayne's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor, muttering, "No... this can't be happening..."

Philip opened the evidence bag, carefully taking out a pink sweater. "This is clothing we found at the scene. Can you confirm if this belongs to your wife?"

Zayne lifted his red, swollen eyes and looked closely at the label on the sweater, then suddenly shook his head. "Wait, Lisa never wears this brand. She's allergic to wool—she only wears cotton..."

Joe and Philip exchanged a glance.

"Are you sure?" Philip pressed.

"Absolutely certain," Zayne's voice carried a hint of hope. "Let me try calling her one more time..."

With trembling hands, he took out his phone and dialed his wife's number. This time, the call went through.

A woman's voice came through the speaker: "Zayne, where are you? Why aren't you home yet?"

"Lisa! I thought something had happened to you! I'm coming home right now!" He wiped his tears, quickly turned to thank Philip and Joe, then ran off swiftly.

Both Philip and I breathed a sigh of relief.

When they tried to investigate the case further, all the detectives sent out returned empty-handed. They brought back no useful leads.

As time ticked by, Philip's frown deepened. The case wasn't making any progress.

...

Two days later, Joe came to see him, clearly distressed. "Philip, I think something's wrong. Evelyn has been missing for several days now. This isn't like her."

Already agitated from the slow progress, Philip flew into a rage at the mention of my name.

"I told you she's fine, Joe. I don't have time to deal with her tantrums. I need to focus on solving this case. At this rate, I won't even catch a glimpse of the killer."

Joe lost his patience too. "Stop being so stubborn, Philip! If you won't help when Evelyn might be in trouble, then I'll find her myself!"

Philip dismissively waved his hand. "Whatever! I don't care if she comes back or not."

Joe shouted, "Who's gotten to you now?" Cursing could be heard behind him.

I hid in the corner, watching Joe defend me, tears streaming down my face.

When would Philip finally realize that I was already dead, that something was really wrong?

As soon as he left, Philip's phone rang.

It was Sarah again.

"Philip, Evelyn really hasn't responded to my messages for days. No one else can reach her either. I'm really worried. Could you—"

"How the hell should I know where she's run off to? Stop bothering me! I don't give a damn if she's dead or alive!" Philip cut her off.

After hanging up, he opened his messaging app and quickly sent a harshly worded text.

"Have you had enough? If you don't come home, I swear I'll make you regret it!"

My tears wouldn't stop flowing.

I'm right here beside you, Philip. I've been lying in the morgue for two days. When will you recognize that it's me? When will you listen to Joe?

Just then, Sophia walked into the office carrying a lunch box.

Philip's eyes lit up as he rushed to greet her. "Sophia, what brings you here?"

"I was worried about you, so I brought your favorite food," she said with a sweet smile.

Philip looked at her adoringly. "You're the best, unlike that selfish woman who only causes trouble."

Suddenly, Sophia's eyes filled with tears, and he immediately panicked. "What's wrong? Who hurt you?"

She bit her lip, putting on a wounded expression. "I ran into Evelyn on my way here and tried to say hello, but she pushed me away. Then she threw this ring at me and said she never wanted anything to do with you again."

Philip looked down and saw that her wrist was indeed red and swollen.

He reached for his phone to call me, cursing, "That vicious woman!"

Joe noticed the ring and snatched it away. "You're saying Evelyn gave you this?"

Sophia was startled by his reaction, nodded, and retreated behind Philip.

"I told you she's fine, Joe. But since she pushed Sophia, I'm definitely going to make her pay."

But Joe shook his head gravely. "No, this doesn't make sense. Evelyn has worn this ring every day since your wedding. You crafted it for her yourself, so she treasures it deeply and would never take it off."

But Philip put the call on speaker and said, "Watch, she'll answer."

This time, even I didn't expect the call to go through.

Philip immediately erupted: "Evelyn, you better get over here right now! How dare you push Sophia? You're asking for trouble!"

His shouting abruptly stopped when a voice came through the phone.

"Philip, we found this phone at the crime scene."