Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace ( Dexter )
Chapter 324

Chapter 324

Finn was frustrated but dared not raise his voice, murmuring under his breath, “Man, you're oneheck of an actor. When your wife was out cold, you were strutting around like some kind ofavenging angel, doctors were scared stiff of you. Now you're bawling like you've been dealt theworst hand in life.”

Colin said nothing, just stood there crying with tears falling on his shirt without bothering to wipethem away – it made him look so pitiful that I felt like I was the one in the wrong.

With his large eyes and long lashes, those teardrops were like magnets for sympathy – I almostapologized on instinct.

But then I thought, why should I? It wasn’t my fault; he had been playing dumb all this time.

“Cut it out!” I threatened.

Colin 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, pleadingfor 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 bethe queen of manipulators, making even Melody look like an amateur. His tears had everyonerallying to his side in an instant.

I averted my gaze, pulling out my phone from my pocket and logging into my parents’ ID to hand thejournal over to Robin.

Robin browsed through it with a perplexed look. “I get why parents would dote on their kid, notingdown every milestone from the day they’re born, but Phoebe’s folks… documenting from day one ofpregnancy?”

Scratching his head, Robin continued, “I mean, that’s understandable too, but this method ofrecording, 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’tremember, then don’t try… I’m here.”

Now I was almost certain Colin knew way more than he let on, and he wasn’t planning to share, noteven to clear up my suspicions.

Was his silence a way to protect me?

“Spot on detective work…” Robin was struck by a realization. “I knew there was something fishyabout that journal – it reeks of experimental data.”

Finn loved a compliment, chin held high. “Well, what do you expect? When I was running tests onlab 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 I instinctively sought solace in Colin’s embrace.

What was I afraid of?

“Maybe it’s just the way scholarly parents keep records. Phoebe’s dad is a medical doctor withinternational training, and her mom’s a professor at Sea City Apex University. It’s not far-fetchedthey’d have such habits,” Stella suggested. “Phoebe told me once her dad started his own thing inmedical tech and hospital construction after leaving Westerly Pharma, nearly went bankrupt overdelayed 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.