Chapter 10 Joseph's voice was hoarse. "What made you think of doing this test?" Thomas' voice was weary as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep drag. "The hospital absolutely refused to release the body, saying we had to prove our relationship to her." Joseph was stunned. "But everyone knows Cynthia was adopted." "I know!" Thomas shouted desperately for the first time. "So I didn't hold out any hope! But then... Then..." He pointed at the reports, his voice breaking. "The genetic similarity... is extremely high. God guided us to save our lost sister, and we killed her with our own hands!" Joseph's eyes were vacant, as if his soul had been ripped out. Meanwhile, Sarah was trembling violently. Minutes ago, she had been throwing tantrums, confident in her position as their real sister. And now, the very leverage she had been counting on for survival had been completely shattered. "No! Impossible!" she screamed, lunging for the reports on the floor, trying to tear them apart. "You made a mistake! You must have made a mistake!" Thomas kicked her away, but she crawled back and grabbed Joseph's pants. "Joe, my eyes are blue like yours! Cynthia's were brown! How could she possibly be your real sister?" She frantically rolled up her sleeve, exposing a birthmark on her inner arm. "This birthmark! It's in the childhood photos too-" "Shut up!" Joseph growled, his eyes showing a madness Sarah had never seen before. "Until we get to the bottom of everything..." He stepped closer. "You'll stay here and reflect on what you've done." He grabbed Sarah's arm. Ignoring her screaming and struggling, he dragged her toward the cold, damp little room at the end of the hallway. "No! You can't do this to me! I'm your sister!" Sarah kicked and fought in terror. "Sister?" Thomas' voice was even colder than Joseph's. "Do you deserve that title?" The door slammed shut and was locked. Sarah pounded frantically on the door from inside, crying, screaming, and cursing. Joseph and Thomas stood outside the door, listening to the commotion inside, their faces expressionless. Meanwhile, I floated in the air, watching them. Once, I too had been locked in there, desperately beating on the door. Was this atonement? But I didn't need it. Even if I were still alive, I wouldn't accept this kind of belated compensation. Much less now that I was dead. 1/3 Chapter 10 Thomas and Joseph used every connection and resource they had to uncover the truth in seven days. A sickening truth. +25 Bonus On the evening of the seventh day, the door to that cold room was opened. Starvation and fear had left Sarah barely recognizable as human. Joseph and Thomas stood in the doorway. Their faces were frighteningly pale, their eyes sunken with dark circles beneath them. "Sarah." Joseph's voice was unusually gentle. He crouched down and even reached out to smooth her disheveled hair. "You really are our sister." Sarah's clouded eyes instantly blazed with ecstatic joy. "Joe... you finally figured it out? I knew it! I knew I was the real one!" "Yes." Thomas also smiled gently and extended his hand. "Come, walk with us." Sarah was completely reassured. She threw herself into Thomas' arms, crying pitifully. "I thought you were going to abandon me... I'm so hungry! I was so scared! You have to make it up to me!" She cried and vented freely, just like countless times before, waiting for gentle comfort and compensation. However, there was none. They just quietly watched her cry and throw a tantrum. When she had cried enough, Joseph's smile deepened. "Are you done crying?" he asked. Sarah sniffled and nodded in confusion. "Good." Joseph stood up, and Thomas stepped forward as well. The two flanked her on either side, lifting the weakened Sarah. "What are you doing?" Sarah struggled in terror. "Just taking you somewhere." Thomas' voice also carried that eerie gentleness. "A place... where you belong." 11 Ignoring Sarah's screaming and struggling, they roughly dragged her downstairs and shoved her into the car. The car sped along until it finally stopped at the best cemetery in the suburbs. A brand new marble headstone stood quietly in the center, engraved with, "Cynthia Sinclair. Forever in Our Hearts." Fresh lilies lay before the headstone. They forced Sarah to kneel, and Thomas bent down and whispered in her ear, "You want to know what we found out, don't you?" His voice was cold and smooth as he whispered menacingly in her ear, "We'll tell you." 2/3