NovelOnlineFinn was frustrated but dared not raise his voice, murmuring under his breath, “Man, you're one heck of an actor. When your wife was out cold, you were strutting around like some kind of avenging angel, doctors were scared stiff of you. Now you're bawling like you've been dealt the worst hand in life.” Colin said nothing, just stood there crying with tears falling on his shirt without bothering to wipe them away — it made him look so pitiful that | felt like | was the one in the wrong.
With his large eyes and long lashes, those teardrops were like magnets for sympathy — | almost apologized on instinct.
But then | thought, why should I? It wasn't my fault; he had been playing dumb all this time.
“Cut it out!” | threatened.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtColin looked up at me, his voice choked with emotion.
“Phoebe... don't be mad at me.” Stunned silence fell over Stella, Finn, and Robin — their stares seemed to scold me silently, pleading for me to lay off the poor
guy.
He was getting all the sympathy.
It's true what they say, change the gender and the whole game flips. If he were a woman, he'd be the queen of manipulators, making even Melody look like an amateur. His tears had everyone rallying to his side in an instant.
| averted my gaze, pulling out my phone from my pocket and logging into my parents’ ID to hand the journal over to Robin.
Robin browsed through it with a perplexed look. “I get why parents would dote on their kid, noting down every milestone from the day they're born, but Phoebe’s folks... documenting from day one of pregnancy?” Scratching his head, Robin continued, “I mean, that's understandable too, but this method of recording, it feels off, doesn't it?” Down to the minute, the precision was uncanny.
Finn leaned in for a closer look. “Seriously... this doesn’t look like someone charting a child's growth — it's more like data
from a lab experiment.” The water glass Stella handed me dropped with a “clunk.” I looked up at Finn, breathing hard.
Colin was instantly at my side, covering my ears. “Don't listen, don't look. Phoebe, if you can't remember, then don't try... I'm here.” Now | was almost certain Colin knew way more than he let on, and he wasn't planning to share, not even to clear up my suspicions.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWas his silence a way to protect me? “Spot on detective work...” Robin was struck by a realization. “I knew there was something fishy about that journal — it reeks of experimental data.” Finn loved a compliment, chin held high. “Well, what do you expect? When | was running tests on lab rats, this is how I'd record — today’s reaction, same time tomorrow, the rat's condition, and so on, for months, sometimes even monitoring slow-acting drugs for a year or more.”
My fingers tingled as | instinctively sought solace in Colin's embrace.
What was | afraid of? “Maybe it's just the way scholarly parents keep records.
Phoebe’s dad is a medical doctor with international training, and her mom's a professor at Sea City Apex University. It's not far-fetched they'd have such habits,” Stella suggested.
“Phoebe told me once her dad started his own thing in medical tech and hospital construction after leaving Westerly Pharma, nearly went bankrupt over delayed payments for the Sacred Hospital's new wing...” Robin and Finn nodded in agreement. “Could be.” Finn's phone buzzed.
“Officer Finn, Melody’s in trouble!” The serial case took another turn — Melody was the catalyst that set everything in motion again.
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