Later, a police officer arrived to question about Juliet. I remained silent, leaving the explanation to Violette.
The officer inford that Juliet had dropped her charges, stating that she wouldn’t pursue the matter further. All I needed to do was apologize to her.
I continued to remain silent.
"What do you know about this killing ga? From what we gathered, you’re just an ordinary person who graduated from college a few years ago with little social experience, and you often help holess children.
"How did you manage to walk out of the ruined building unhard? And your husband, he’s intellectually disabled with ntal issues-sorry."
I had never t the officer questioning . I understood he was just doing his job and had no intention of offending when referring to Dexter as intellectually disabled. Nevertheless, I spoke up warily.
"I wouldn’t say I ca out unhard. I did fall down the stairs, resulting in a brain injury. I was in a coma for half a month. I just regained consciousness.
"As for why Juliet was injured, I assu she was overly frightened in that pitch-black environnt, leading her to mistake for an enemy. Thus, I don’t think I owe her an apology," I stated truthfully, though omitting certain details such as intentionally tearing her wound.
"I can vouch for her!" Violette angrily chid in.
She was also telling the truth. She certainly hadn’t seen harm Juliet.
Violette had never perceived as soone who would hurt others, and Juliet’s "malicious" image had been deeply ingrained in her heart. Thus, she was inclined to side with .
The officer glanced at Violette, then back at . "But Mr. Coleman stated that he was present at the scene and implicitly confird that you hard Ms. Turner."
"Mr. Coleman was also overly frightened in that circumstance. I don’t think any eyewitness testimony would hold much significance or value given the situation," I calmly and rationally answered his question.
I then added, "Juliet took a tumble and lost her balance on the stairs. By the ti I saw her wound, she was already sobbing and screaming."
Despite the truth that Juliet fell off the stairs because she was terrified by , I provided a kernel of truth amidst a tapestry of deception, altering the sequence of the events.
The officer nodded. "Understood. Since Ms. Turner has dropped the charges, this matter isn’t significant anymore. Please take a good rest. The task force will co to see you later. We ask for your cooperation."
I nodded as I watched the officer leave, then turned to Dexter, whose gaze remained intense and restless.
Fueled with fury, Violette cursed Juliet with every word she could think of.
After sitting numbly for a while, I slowly confessed, "I did harm Juliet." It was undeniable that I had resorted to violent ans while questioning her.
Violette looked at in surprise. "Then why didn’t you finish her off?"
I stared at Violette speechlessly before responding, "As a coroner, you should know better than to let friendship cloud your judgnt, my friend."
"Oh, right." Violette scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed. She then muttered under her breath, "Oh, whatever. Since Juliet dropped the charges, who cares?"
I knew Damien had ways to make Juliet drop the charges, so I hadn’t been too worried about it.
"I just wanted to see... how many steps it takes to turn a lie into truth," I said.
Obviously, that officer-an outsider-had bought my lies earlier.
The police had already docunted the testimonies of everyone who managed to escape from that ga alive, including Violette, Zion, and Eason. With their accounts and Juliet’s "wicked" image, most
people were more inclined to believe
my version of events.
"Do you know why Quinn could hide among us without being discovered?" I posed the question.
I explained, "It’s because most
people tend to perceive the weak in
a certain way, especially when Juliet, and other malevolent figures are present. We’re moral net likely to suspect Juliet and others like her than those who appear weaker.""
In essence, we could only perceive what others were willing to show us.
Since Peter had been portraying
himself as a loving husband and
devoted father, it suggested that he was concealing sothing beneath this facade. But how many secrets was he truly hiding?
"Dexter, do you think I shouldn’t have lied just now?" I asked Dexter.
He seed to have been silent for the whole ti.
"You lied because you knew that Juliet dropped the charges. Your lies won’t affect the investigation. If the charges hadn’t been dropped, you wouldn’t have lied. Instead, you would’ve confessed," Dexter said softly.
He indeed knew too well.
"It’s human nature to protect oneself. It seems only natural for humans to act selfishly," I muttered. "Honestly, before I realized it, I was already lying just now."
My breath beca heavier, my gaze trembling as I turned to Dexter, who was also staring at intensely.
Dexter was aware that the past Sophia Milford lacked emotions. She was incapable of understanding feelings such as happiness, pain, despair, or heartbreak... even devoid of self-preservation. However, I understood all these... which made sohow emotional.
The mont I learned that Damien had inford the police about my involvent in Juliet’s injury, I couldn’t help but wonder about Juliet’s true intentions. Was she trying to threaten ? And could this indirectly harm Dexter? Consequently, I chose not to engage with the officer despite his inquiries.
However, when he ntioned Dexter, my instinct for self-preservation kicked in almost imdiately.
"Sophia... You’re fine just the way you are, always have been, and always will be... Don’t push yourself too hard," Dexter said as he pulled tightly into his arms, his voice trembling with emotion.
It was clear that he understood the extent of my efforts to fit in... to beco a normal person.
However, while normal people experienced emotions, they were also inherently selfish and capable of lying. They had flaws, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities. Yet, it was these complexities and varied traits that made humans. They were a highly intelligent and adaptable species, surpassing all others on Earth.
So, when I found myself instinctively lying, I was taken aback in disbelief.
I looked at my hands, then shifted my gaze to Dexter.
In my restored mory, the Sophia Milford before amnesia felt like an outsider in this world.
After amnesia, I beca like a newcor who had stumbled into a trial ga by accident. I experienced pain and disappointnt in what seed like a normal life, forgetting the fact that I used to be an "abnormal person".
I had to admit, I felt sowhat grateful to Damien. Without his "episodic teaching", I wouldn’t have beco the current .
I was like an old tree that had been withered for a long ti, suddenly sprouting new shoots. I was now filled with vitality and growing branches.
However, this was a lengthy process as there were still many challenges awaiting in this world...
Suddenly, my train of thought was disrupted by a knock at the door. Glancing over, I saw a tall man in a suit standing there.
The man was good-looking, with
so resemblance to Dexter,though not much. He had a confident deanor, reminding of Damien. He gave off the air of a capable and seasoned senior executive in so company.
I surmised he was the heir Martin had carefully cultivated in secret, the man who had led Martin to treat his son, Dax, as expendable.
"Hey, Dexter," the man greeted Dexter with a smile, his expression genuinely friendly and non-threatening.
However, I could sense the danger emanating from this man’s presence. Sothing told that he was more than t the eye...
"You must be my brother’s wife. Hi, I’m Jimmy Black," the man said as he approached with a fruit basket, extending his hand to in a friendly gesture.
I frowned at him. I had investigated Jimmy Black beforehand because I was wary that Martin might harm Dexter, and "genius" was just one of Jimmy’s least conspicuous labels.
Jimmy grew up in lovia, receiving only the top education along his journey. He was ticulously nurtured by Martin at great expense. Now, I suspected he might also be a geno-edited human. What worried even more was that Jimmy had received a good education on top of his given gift. He was deeply influenced by Ulophia’s aggressive capitalist ideology... Dexter might not be his match.
"You’re in the wrong place," Dexter interjected before I could speak, his deanor cold and commanding.
"Go out, turn right, go straight, take the stairs down, and you’ll find the morgue. If you still don’t know the way, Lean take you to the crematorium," he added, histone sharp and unwelcoming.
When Dexter faced his "enemy" Damien, he often resorted to throwing tantrums and acting childishly because he never regarded Damien as a competitor of his level. Yet, Jimmy Black was different.
He exuded an air of danger, with his
re presence releasing pheromones that instantly set other high-level n on edge. It triggered a response akin to the rivalry observed among powerful animals.
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