Chapter 504


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    Chloe frowned but answered the call anyway.


    Lucas''s slurred voice came through the line, "Chloe, did you call me? Sorry, I missed it."


    He continued rambling, "It''s been years since youst called me. I''m thrilled, Chloe..."


    Chloe''s voice was steady and calm, "Linda had a miscarriage. She''s at Ryan General Hospital in the maternity ward."


    Lucas snapped out of his haze instantly, "What? Say that again!"


    Chloe hung up without another word.


    A smirk tugged at her lips.


    As a father, he was definitely dropping the ball.


    She''d mentioned the miscarriage on purpose.


    He had iting.


    Leaving the hospital, Chloe found herself at a loss for where to go next.


    She made her way to the Riverbrook Police Station.


    Chloe had once interviewed the Chief of Police there.


    She''d given him a heads-up beforehand.


    Chief Peterson had a records clerk ready to meet her.


    Clerk Lee took a while but eventually brought out a pile of old case files.


    "Ms. Chloe, here are the records from the case you were asking about, from five years back," Lee said.


    Chloe thanked him, "I appreciate it."


    Clerk Lee, having spent years in the records department, had never seen such a strikingly beautiful woman in person before.


    So, he was especially attentive to Chloe.


    "Ms. Chloe, what do you need these records for? It''s just a routine drowning case."


    "When they found the body, he''d already been dead for two days. This Shawn was a local thug, always causing trouble. His idental death was almost a relief around here. Maybe it was karma, you know, evil begets evil."


    Chloe had already opened the file.


    She carefully scanned through the records.


    Lee leaned in, offering more context,


    "This Shawn grew up in an orphanage, no family to speak of.


    When he died, no one came forward for him. Found at noon, filed away by that afternoon."


    "Ms. Chloe, these are old cases, from five years ago. Why the interest?"Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.


    Chloe didn''t bother answering Lee''s question.


    Her eyes were glued to a particr report.


    It was the coroner''s autopsy certificate.


    One sentence made Chloe''s heart pound and her pupils narrow.


    "The deceased''s lungs had no water."


    If it was drowning, how could Shawn''s lungs be dry?


    There was only one exnation.


    He was already dead before being tossed into the reservoir. That''s why his lungs had no water.


    Chloe''s fingers tightened, her expression taut, like a string about to snap.


    She turned to Lee, "His lungs were dry, obviously not a drowning. Why didn''t anyone look into this?"


    Lee scratched his head, "I''m just a


    records clerk, but this was the first case I documented during my internship, so it stuck with Content belongs to


    swn yel


    ?


    Lee continued, a bit sheepishly, "No one reported it, and he had no family to press for justice. Plus, he wasn''t exactly a model citizen. The station was swamped with big cases back then, so this one just fell through the cracks..."


    S


    Chloe felt a chill.


    Her instincts had been right.


    Shawn wasn''t a drowning victim; he was murdered.


    Who was the killer?


    Did it have any ties to her?


    Chloe left the police station.


    She got a call from a friend, saying they had found Rat.