
The Remorse Deep in the Bones
Chapter 2
White Bone Case
Ever since I was young, I knew that my parents' work was unique. My father was a detective who had solved many major cases, while my mother was a forensic artist who was capable of finding clues from the victim's bones.
Together, they solved numerous cases. Their most famous one was the White Bone Case five years ago. It was a case about a criminal gang who abducted and killed homeless people before using their bones to smuggle drugs.
Since these were real human bones, they could easily avoid being caught by claiming these bones as medical materials.
Under my father's leadership, the gang's hideouts were uncovered one by one. The criminals kidnapped me for the sake of revenge. At that moment, my father snuck into their base and rescued me, as well as another girl who was also held captive.
During our escape, the girl accidentally exposed our location, leading the gang to catch up with us. Sure enough, my father was brutally murdered and dismembered, while I was thrown off a cliff, breaking both legs and becoming permanently disabled.
However, when I woke up from my coma, all I saw was the hatred in my mother's eyes.
"Ariana, why did you kill your father?"
Only then did I know that the girl my father rescued had lied, claiming that I was the one who caused a commotion and led the criminals to discover us, which resulted in my father's death.
"It's my fault; I didn't know Ariana was afraid of caterpillars. If I had stopped her sooner, Mr. Jeff wouldn't have died."
I was in utter disbelief at what I was hearing, but I still tried to defend myself, "It was you who made a noise and alerted them."
Alas, my mother slapped me across the face, knocking me to the ground.
"How dare you still lie, Ariana? Everyone said that it was you who exposed your father's location. How can you be so vicious?"
When I saw the evidence my mother threw in my face, I knelt on the ground and pleaded desperately. "It wasn't them. They're not the ones who killed Dad. Mom, I didn't do it. It wasn't just these people."
Unfortunately, no one believed me. Whether it was the evidence or the criminals' testimonies, including Angelina's accusations, it all stated that everyone who was involved in the White Bone Case had already been arrested.
Moreover, the doctors even concluded that I had created a nonexistent person to avoid facing reality when I hit my head during the fall. In the end, I was claimed to be my father's killer. My mother didn't even allow me to attend his funeral.
Ever since then, I became obsessed with trying to find evidence and questioning Angelina about why she lied. Sadly, my mother would always appear just in time. Then, she would accuse me of bullying Angelina.
On the day of my father's funeral, Mom took Angelina to finalize her adoption paperwork and threw all my belongings out of the house.
"Ariana, I don't have a daughter who is a murderer. From now on, don't disturb our lives."
I begged my mother to give me more time to prove my innocence, to prove that the real murderer who killed my father was still out there. Most importantly, it was to prove that Angelina wasn't as simple as she seemed.
However, it was futile. I was soon sent to the apartment my father had lived in before.
My mother ignored me entirely for five years, raging at the mere mention of my name. I paid for my own tuition and living expenses by working online. Even still, I kept investigating the truth.
Just as I was about to uncover the truth, the killer kidnapped me. At that moment, I called my mother for help, but she was busy celebrating Angelina's birthday.
"It's Angelina's birthday. Just die if you're so eager for attention."
Her remark seemed to inspire the killer as he carved wounds into my body, tortured me, fed my flesh to dogs, and shattered my bones bit by bit before scattering them in various places.
As he discarded my final bone, I heard him say in satisfaction, "I guess I fulfill her mother's wish perfectly."
I lingered in silence by the filthy ditch, waiting for the day when my mother would remember me and wonder where I had gone.
Alas, I didn't get to see her. Instead, an old woman found me.
In the end, I was still killed by that remaining killer who was still out there.