7
First, there was the hospital operating room surveillance footage. It clearly showed him, Alexander, personally pinning me down on
the operating table, personally strapping me into the restraints. He even twisted my wrists until they broke, just to make sure I
couldn’t escape. To prevent me from screaming, the doctors made an incision in my throat, ensuring I couldn’t make a sound.
In a state of complete consciousness, they peeled away my skin, piece by excruciating piece, until my body was a mass of wounds,
without a single patch of intact skin. But even then, those strips of skin weren’t properly collected. Instead, they were shredded and
flushed down the drain. The footage was so horrific that even the detectives turned away, unable to bear witnessing it, their gazes at Alexander filled with undisguised loathing.
Under the onslaught of the images, Alexander fainted again and again. But just as I had been on that operating table, he was repe-
atedly roused by the police, forced to watch the entire video to its agonizing end.
Next, there were the hospital billing records. They clearly documented Eleanor’s frantic efforts in the days leading up to my death,
constantly running around, trying to raise enough money to give me a chance at survival. Her desperate plea to him, kneeling at his
feet, had been her last hope. The moment he kicked Eleanor away, my heart had stopped completely.
Then came the photos. The forensics department confirmed that all of them had been deepfaked. When restored to their original form, they were just random internet images; not a single one was related to me. Even the phone that sent the photos to Seraphi-
na used a virtual account.
Before leaving, the police informed Alexander that a sudden downpour had trapped the fleeing suspects at the airport. They had
already been interrogated. The “skin graft” surgery had been arranged by Mr. Caldwell in collusion with Seraphina. She never actua-
lly needed a skin graft and naturally naves underwent the urgent
rogation” was a complete fabrication Furth.”
lly needed a skin graft and, naturally, never underwent the surgery. Even her “rejection reaction” was a complete fabrication. Furth-
ermore, several individuals involved in Alexander’s “humiliation” case from earlier–the one at the orphanage–were also hired by
Seraphina.
With that, the police officers looked at Alexander with knowing, meaningful expressions, as if silently mocking his terrible judgme-
nt, how he’d mistaken a fake for a true gem. But by then, it was all too late to correct anything.
