Chapter 107

Joshua couldn’t help but feel pleased. Though the compliment was just about his tattoo, it still put him in a good mood. Now, he couldn’t help but wonder if Shermaine was satisfied with his figure.

Shermaine lowered her gaze. She did want to touch him but quickly dismissed the idea. After all, with a fake like him, it wouldn’t be right to make a move. She then headed toward the treadmill.

Unbeknownst to her, Joshua followed her with a desirous, intense gaze.

After their workout and breakfast, Shermaine needed to visit the forensic department at the police station. Joshua wanted to go with her, but she refused. “You should go to the hospital for a full physical examination. As for Wendelyn, I can handle it alone.”

Joshua insisted, “Let me drive you to the police station first, then I’ll head to the hospital myself.”

“Fine,” said Shermaine.

When they arrived at the police station, they found Ruth already waiting there. Ruth had received the call about Wendelyn’s death. Now she had to claim the body of the adopted daughter she’d raised for eighteen years.

Ruth didn’t feel the slightest bit of sorrow; if anything, she found the whole thing utterly disgusting. Frowning at the document the officer handed her, Ruth snapped, “Wasn’t it ruled a suicide? Why do I need to sign an autopsy consent form?”

The officer replied, “While the initial ruling is suicide, this is an order from above, Ma’am. I still need you to sign the document; it’s possible your daughter didn’t commit suicide.”

Ruth had no intention of looking into whether Wendelyn had committed suicide or been murdered. Impatiently, she snapped, “I won’t sign. What a waste of time. I’ll just bury her in a few days.”

The officer was at a complete loss. Ruth could switch moods faster than anyone could blink. If there were a world championship for changing faces, she’d take the gold without a doubt.

Just then, Shermaine and Bradley walked in through the doors.

Bradley urged, “Mrs. Jean, you’d better sign this consent form. There’s more to your adopted daughter Wendelyn’s death than meets the eye.”

Ruth frowned, shooting Bradley a cold stare. But the moment she spotted Shermaine, her demeanor shifted noticeably, adopting an ingratiating tone. “Sheary, was this your idea?”

“That was my decision,” Shermaine said coldly.

“Then I’ll sign,” Ruth said compliantly.

Bradley was surprised by how quickly Ruth had changed her mind. But honestly, it was already too late for her to take Shermaine’s side.

Upon entering the forensics lab, Shermaine found Wendelyn’s body already laid out on the dissection table. She donned the protective gown, gloves provided by the forensic examiner, sanitized herself thoroughly, and then walked straight over.

The forensic examiner, a woman in her thirties, thought Shermaine looked remarkably young for this line of work. Yet when confronted with a corpse, Shermaine didn’t so much as flinch. If it were anyone else, they might tremble with fear.

Aside from the head injury, Wendelyn’s body showed no other signs of trauma. Shermaine examined her fingers and then her eyes, which were bloodshot with abnormal swelling. Pressing against the stiffening body, she felt something suddenly bulging beneath the abdomen. It was alive and moving.

The creature darted frantically inside Wendelyn’s body, but Shermaine’s scalpel was even quicker. With surgical precision, she flicked the living thing out in one swift motion.

The forensic examiner was in awe. This girl’s surgical skills were truly impressive. Even after performing thousands of autopsies, even she couldn’t have gotten that worm out of the body with such a single, precise cut.

The slender red worm, deprived of blood, twitched a couple of times before lying completely still.

The forensic examiner asked, “What kind of worm is this?”

“Never seen anything like this,” Shermaine said calmly, pulling out her phone to take several detailed photos. She made a note to ask around about it later.

The forensic examiner leaned in closer and asked, “So it was a homicide?”

“Yes,” Shermaine replied.

The forensic examiner shook her head. “Using worms to kill people is becoming a thing now? That’s downright creepy.”

She’d heard that before Wendelyn died, she had been repeatedly bashing her head against the wall until her face was covered in blood, only stopping when she finally died.

What went around came around. Wendelyn, who once used worms to harm others, ended up being killed by them herself.

To Shermaine’s surprise, Ruth was still waiting outside the forensics lab as she emerged. The moment she saw Shermaine, Ruth hurried over with an ingratiating smile. “Sheary, it’s almost noon. Why don’t we grab lunch together?”

Shermaine was bemused by her sudden change in attitude. She said coolly, “Mrs. Jean, as far as I recall, we’re not exactly close.”

Ruth’s smile froze. “Mrs. Jean? Sheary, I’m your mother!”

“Is that so?” Shermaine looked at her.

Ruth’s eyes flickered, but she kept up her shameless act. “I was wrong before. I acted foolishly, and I shouldn’t have treated you that way. Sheary, please forgive me,” she pleaded, clearly playing the sympathy card.

If only she hadn’t looked down on Shermaine back when she first showed her talent. Now, it was too late; Shermaine wasn’t so easily won over.

Shermaine didn’t mince words. She said coldly, “Your precious daughter was always the apple of your eye. Now that she’s gone, you’d better focus on handling her funeral arrangements. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”

With that, she turned on her heel and strode off.

The moment Shermaine left, Ruth’s face instantly fell, twisting into an ugly grimace.

Bradley followed Shermaine out of the police station and asked, “Madam, where would you like to go next? I can give you a ride.”

Shermaine paused. “Take me to the hospital to see Joshua,” she said.

“Understood, Madam.”

She went to meet her senior for coffee and to check on the results of Joshua’s medical report. But what she never expected was to coincidentally run into Jameson and his mistress at Yaleview Hospital.

The two of them stepped out of the elevator arm in arm, acting for all the world like a loving married couple.

Chapter 108