Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

“Phoebe, you gotta aim high, rise above the crowd if you don't wanna get stepped on. Only then can you break free from all this…”

Damian’s voice was like a curse, echoing in my ears nonstop.

The guy was a lunatic, a true devil.

No wonder I have this amnesia—there's a good chance he's behind it.

“Is it possible... that with the combination of a car accident, hypnosis, medication, and other treatments, someone could forget certain memories and then have false ones implanted during hypnosis?” I asked quietly.

Now I seriously suspect that my belief in Dexter as my decade-long love was all a result of Damian's manipulation. He took advantage of my memory loss to mislead me, to sow errors in my own recollections.

“There's no denying that possibility,” Robin said gravely. “Three years ago, there was a case of a psychologist who induced his patient to commit murder on his behalf.

The reason was that this psychologist had hypnotized his client, who had psychological issues, and transferred his own hatred onto the patient. The patient felt the psychologist’s rage and hatred as if it were his own, even becoming delusional, believing that it was the victim who had harmed him and his family. In a fit of rage, the patient stabbed the man to death in broad daylight.”

I sat there in silence.

There was definitely something off about Damian, and now I was pretty sure of it.

Dexter, it turned out, was just another fly in the web, not an outsider at all.

And Melody’s entrance—could it be what Damian warned me about, that if I didn’t comply, he’d replace me?

Melody was like a catalyst.

It seemed Damian’s real aim was to use her to warn me, to push me, to hasten me completing his task—to have Dexter marry me. But he hadn’t anticipated my untimely death.

Damian never saw my end coming at the hands of a serial killer.

Oh, what an uncontrollable outcome this was for him.

“The case is closed…” Finn muttered when he returned. “The guy confessed clearly, said he found out his son’s disappearance might be linked to the deceased. After repeatedly being rebuffed when trying to find his son, he developed a murderous intent.”

It looked like chance, but it was clearly orchestrated.

A case within a case, cases behind cases, and even cases behind those. Following the trail, forwards or backwards, there were issues everywhere.

I watched Finn sketch out the web of clues on the whiteboard and spoke up softly. “Two cases, a serial murder, and a dismemberment... It looks like the mastermind behind them all was using the victims to kill.” NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

“Because there’s no such thing as a perfect victim in this world,” Finn said, looking at me. “That year, there were six nationwide disappearances of young people with Asperger's Syndrome. Do you know why only the parents of these two kids are still searching?”

I shook my head.

“Because the others saw it as getting rid of a burden. Asperger's, autism, pfft, to them, geniuses are monsters, freaks. Plus, with the kids gone, they cashed in on a hefty amount of donations. Why wouldn’t they be happy?” Finn scoffed. “Guess why the Langley family didn’t bring Caleb, the illegitimate child, home? Couldn’t the Langleys afford it? Were the Langleys too concerned about their reputation? No. Caleb’s mother and Ethan had a legal marriage.”

Colin frowned, giving Finn a warning look.

Finn was asking for it. “Because he was a monster too. Rumor has it that he never spoke a word after being born, was diagnosed with autism, and when he was dumped at the orphanage, everyone thought he was mute.”