Chapter 1044


    Aiden clutched at his head and repeated the same words. “Have mercy on me! I don’t know what’s going


    on either! I handed the body over to them myself! I don’t know anything else!”


    Sophia knew that he was lying. Looking at the needle scars on his arms, she immediately had an idea.


    Soon, Roger brought some items over and ced them in front of Aiden. Upon seeing those items,


    Aiden screamed like a banshee. It was his life’s blood—heroin.


    He was a drug addict that had been injecting heroin for years. When the addiction of a drug addict red


    up, they were willing to say anything. Sure enough; he spilled everything. It turned out that he had just


    dug up Annabel’s corpse on that fateful night twenty years ago when he met a man before he could even


    step out of the cemetery. That person bought her corpse and paid 10,000 for it. 10,000 was an incredibly


    large amount of money at the time. Thus, he happily sold off her corpse and dug up another random


    female corpse nearby for the family at the hospital.


    Not knowing where her body was now, he casually led them to the female corpse he sold off previously.


    At first, he assumed that he could fool them since all that was left after twenty years was a pile of bones.


    He did not expect them to be so technologically adept that they could determine whether it was Annabel


    just by matching her DNA.


    “What did that person look like? What was their name? Where did theye from?” Sophia continued


    questioning.


    The drug Aiden craved so much was ced right in front of him, but he couldn’t enjoy it. Hence, he was


    so anxious that he looked like he was willing to sell his soul for it. No matter what questions they asked


    him, he answered without fail. “I don’t know him. By the time I finished digging, he was already there


    when I turned around. I nearly died of fright when he appeared at the grave in the middle of the night like


    that! But, I really don’t know him! Besides, it has been twenty years, and it was very dark at the time. I


    don’t know anything else… Please give it to me! Just let me take it… Just a little bit…”Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.


    Sophia could tell that there was nothing else she could get from the man in front of her, and she felt a


    chill in her heart. How I wish I could kick him to death! There was nothing else for her to learn from him. It


    was dark that night, and he only saw that person’s figure. Still, so many years had passed, and he


    couldn’t describe that person’s appearance anymore. It was impossible for them to figure out who the


    buyer of Annabel’s corpse was at this point.


    Snatching the heroin from them, Aiden began inhaling it frantically. At that moment, he looked more like


    a ghost than a human.


    In contrast, Cooper fell silent. He was unusually silent as he nkly sat there with bloodshot eyes. It


    seemed like he couldn’t wake himself up from the great shock he had experienced all day. That was his


    beloved—the one he could never forget but had lost through a strange sequence of fated events! Yet


    now, he couldn’t even find her!


    Comparatively, Sophia was a lot calmer than he was, considering that she had never experienced life


    with Annabel before. After all, Annabel passed away on the day she was born. For that reason, she was


    still much calmer than he was at the moment, even though she, too, was filled with sorrow and rage.


    “Dad, I heard from Aiden that he sneaked out to the grave in the middle of the night and dug up Mom’s


    body. As soon as he finished digging, he turned around and saw the person that offered to buy her


    corpse for 10,000. I don’t believe an ordinary person would show up in a cemetery in the middle of the


    night, much less carry 10,000 around with them. Plus, who would go out of their way to buy a corpse for


    10,000? I’m guessing that that person might be an acquaintance of Mom’s or somebody sent there by an


    acquaintance. Moreover, they were there specifically to take her body away. Even if Aiden didn’t make


    the first move, that person would have done the same. It just so happened that Aiden was one step


    ahead.” Lightly shaking Cooper, who was about to faint, she asked, “Dad, think back carefully. Back then,


    who, among Mom’s acquaintances, could afford to spend 10,000 and might have known about her


    circumstances?


    Cooper closed his eyes, vigorously trying to recall everything he knew about Annabel in his memories. In


    the end, he shook his head. He actually knew little about Annabel. When he first met her, they were both


    very young—they were only 16. They had gotten to know each other and fallen in love in their ignorance.


    As a result, he had never met her family nor visited her house before despite knowing about her family


    circumstances. Not to mention, their rtionship had been a secret that not many knew about.


    Besides, she did not have many friends. Her social circles were very limited, and she generally hung out


    with him. The serving staff that worked with her were jealous of her beauty, so they rarely interacted with


    her and even teamed up to exclude her from their circles. Therefore, he had never seen her with any


    other friends. The only other person they both knew was Sam Edwards.


    Sam was 14 years old at the time. He was still studying and had yet to step into the political world.


    However, he was extremely talented. He took over the family business at a young age. It was his first


    business, and it was a restaurant that was not particrly well-run. As soon as he took over the ce,


    he changed its name to ‘Crimson House’.


    On the other hand, the 16-year-old Annabel had just dropped out of middle school and came to the city


    to look for work. Thus, she became one of Crimson House’s earliest employees. The restaurant was


    located near the university. Since Cooper and Sam were very close friends, Cooper often went there to


    eat. At the time, she was a fair and slender beauty—she was the prettiest member of the serving staff, as


    well as the restaurant’s unofficial mascot. She charmed many men, including him. Theyter got to know


    each other and fell in love. At the peak of their love, something happened and they eloped. Afterward,


    they were caught and a tragedy ensued…


    Who on earth was it that took Annabel’s corpse away? The willingness to pay 10,000 in exchange for a


    female corpse 28 years ago… couldn’t have been for something like necrogamy. Could it have been a


    medical institute that was looking for corpses to perform experiments on? Or, was a medical school


    nearby buying corpses to use for their teaching materials? Did somebody from the Mitchell Family take


    her corpse away? But, why would they do that? Anna… Why did they do that to my beloved


    Anna?! Cooper’s eyes were bloodshot, and his head felt like it was going to split apart. Even so, he


    couldn’t think of any leads. 28 years was simply far too long ago…


    Sophia knew that too many things had happened today, and he was still in shock. He probably couldn’t


    recall anything more in his current state. Hence, sheforted him and told him to rest. However, she


    could not fall asleep. After ruminating and struggling over it all night, she finally decided to question the


    Johnsons. Perhaps they knew something.


    The next day, all members of the Johnson Family who coulde were gathered in the Johnson


    Family’s ancestral hall. Squeezing in the yard, they gossiped about the disappearance of Annabel’s


    corpse. Meanwhile, Sophia sat on the rattan chair in the middle of the great hall. She had an


    extraordinary aura around her as she watched the Johnson Family standing before her. Then, she


    announced loudly, “Everybody, think back to the time my mother was still alive. Were there any strange


    or special people that she interacted with before she died? No matter how big or how small the clue you


    give me, or no matter good or bad, as long as you have news, I will reward you.”


    She was very straightforward. Stacking a huge pile of money on the table before her, her slender fingers


    tapped against the stacks of cash. When everybody saw the mountain of money, their eyes widened.


    There were at least several hundred thousand scattered across the table. All of a sudden, their memory


    became sharp as they racked their brains and started providing clues of what they knew, one after the


    other.


    A woman, who looked to be in her forties, suddenly waved her rough hands from among the crowd and


    yelled, “I know something! I know something! After Anna dropped out of school, she worked at my


    noodle restaurant. One day, a bigshot came into my shop and took an interest in her. After that, he


    brought her to the city to work!”