The Desert Island Survival Was Just A Scheme For My Long-Lost Sister Chapter 07
Three days later. Port Mercy Morgue.
The coroner, Dr. Corbin Shaw, lifted the sheet. He was a veteran. He didn’t flinch.
But Ethan, even braced, had to dig his nails into his palms to stay upright.
Derek’s eyes were red-rimmed. He hadn’t slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw me. He woke up screaming.
On a tablet, my parents watched via video call. They were still in the hospital. Their monitors began to beep erratically as they saw the body.
Dr. Shaw spoke as he worked, and the court translator supplied the words.
“Subject: female, five-foot-five. Estimated weight at death: seventy pounds. Severe malnutrition.”
Ethan stared at my jutting bones and caved-in cheeks. He thought of Jenna’s hospital report.
She was barely five feet and had dropped barely six pounds in three years. She was healthy. He thought of every time I’d given her my food. It was never “just a little.”
“The subject appears to have been subjected to prolonged physical abuse. There are numerous wounds, in various stages of healing.”
“An old fracture of the right elbow. Large tissue loss on the left ankle. She… had a high tolerance for pain.”
—
The translator winced. “The coroner says the injuries rival those of the worst torture cases he’s seen.”
Ethan finally broke. “She never told us. She never said a word…”
The translator paused. “Full-thickness burns. Deep tissue damage. The internal organs are… essentially cooked.”
She barely made it to the trash can before retching.
Dr. Shaw studied a fresh toxicology report. “Toxins present. Fish, snake venom, plant-based. Severe infections. Frankly,” he said, “even if she’d survived the burns, I doubt she would have lived long.”
My parents’ monitors flatlined.
Ethan gestured for the aide to end the call.
Derek laughed, a bitter, broken sound. “You didn’t know? You Hartwells sure know how to deflect blame.”
Ethan punched him. “I saw you in the bushes with Jenna in the second week! Don’t play the grieving hero.”
Derek lifted his head, his eyes hollow. “Then you should have told her. Let her kill me.”
His voice dropped to a whisper. “I’ll find the person who did this to her.”
I felt my own heartbeat growing stronger, more distinct.
Just a little longer. Soon, I’d be back in the world that was actually mine.