Chapter 3

3

The morgue was in total chaos.

Because the impact had been so severe, the restoration was a nightmare.

An apprentice who had only been on the job for a few months stood no chance of fixing my face.

My mother walked in, looking irritated.

"You can't even handle a small thing like this? What use are you? I was supposed to be tucked in with my boy."

The apprentice forced a smile, trying to flatter her.

"Not everyone has your magic touch, Ms. Miller. Tell Summer I'm sorry for keeping her mom away!"

The moment she heard my name, my mother snapped.

"It's not her. That brat is out running wild somewhere again. She hasn't been home in days. I should have never had her."

The apprentice looked stunned and smiled awkwardly.

My mother put on her gear and asked seriously.

"What's the status of the body?"

The apprentice pointed to the table.

"The main bone structure is back together, but the face was hit too hard. Every bone is shattered. I'm powerless here."

"But we've made progress. It's a young woman, probably in her twenties. Honestly, her build is a lot like Summer's."

My mother glared at him, clearly unhappy with the comparison.

"Don't use a living person as an example. You know that's bad luck in our profession."

The apprentice shrunk back and stayed quiet.

When my mother pulled back the white sheet covering me, her cold eyes flickered.

Even though my face was a bloody mess, my height and build were identical to hers.

She started thinking about how I'd been gone for days without a single call or text.

Even when I was throwing a tantrum before, I never went this far.

Her breathing hitched, and she grabbed the body's arm to inspect it.

There was nothing but blood and bruises.

She let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't find my birthmark.

She thought she was just overthinking it.

Mom, how could you find my birthmark?

Leo was too smart for that. He didn't want anyone to recognize me.

Before he pushed me onto the road, he had personally used a knife to carve that piece of skin off my body.

It hurt so much, Mom.

Maybe because the body reminded her of me, she worked harder than ever.

Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, but she didn't stop to wipe them.

As my jawline began to take shape, her face grew paler.

She kept telling herself it wasn't me, but the familiarity was overwhelming.

Eventually, her back started to ache, and she had to pause.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open.

A detective from the police station ran in, holding his phone up excitedly.