My Last Plea Was His Worst Mistake Chapter 05

My Last Plea Was His Worst Mistake Chapter 05

Ethan burst into the medical examiner’s office, nearly knocking over a chair by the door.

The chair legs scraped against the floor with a harsh, grating sound.

He slammed the preliminary report down on the desk.

“Get a secondary forensic review done, right this second.”

The medical examiner looked up at him.

“Chief Carter, the ring, the necklace, the dental records, the phone fragments—everything is consistent.”

“I said run it again!”

His voice rose sharply, and everyone in the room stopped what they were doing.

The examiner was silent for a few seconds, then slid another preliminary autopsy report across the table.

“There’s something else. You should see this first.”

Ethan’s hand hovered over the report, but he didn’t pick it up.

The examiner flipped open the first page.

“The victim didn’t die instantly. Based on soot deposits in the lungs and the degree of airway burns, she remained conscious for at least nine minutes after the fire door was sealed.”

The color drained slowly from Ethan’s face.

The examiner continued.

“In plain terms, during those nine minutes after you departed the area, she remained conscious, repeatedly beating against the barrier door and holding out hope for rescue the entire time.”

The faint hum of lab equipment suddenly seemed deafening in the silent room.

Ethan gripped the edge of the table, his whole body going rigid.

Chloe stood by the door. She wasn’t crying anymore.

She bit the dead skin off her lip, licked the blood with her tongue, and quickly looked down.

Wyatt played the restored call recording.

It started with violent coughing.

Then my voice—hoarse, broken.

“Ethan… I wasn’t lying to you… East wing storage room… there’s a child… save me…”

The thudding of fists against a door echoed through the speaker. Dull, heavy, growing weaker.

Ethan tried to hit pause. The first time he missed. The second time, his finger hit the edge of the screen. The third time, it finally stopped.

But the room still seemed to echo with those pounding sounds.

Chloe walked over, reaching to tug his sleeve the way she always did.

“Ethan, I really didn’t know she was in there. I was panicking back then, and I figured she was just pulling another dramatic stunt.”

Ethan whipped his head toward her.

Her hand stopped in midair.

In the past, when she looked at him with red-rimmed eyes like this, he’d hand her a tissue, comfort her, shield her from every accusation.

This time, he stepped back half a step.

Chloe’s face went white.

“Ethan?”

He didn’t answer her.

At 11:47 PM, the DNA results came back.

The medical examiner handed the report over.

Ethan didn’t take it.

Wyatt took it for him. One look, and his eyes welled up.

“Chief, it’s confirmed. The victim is Luna Moore.”

Ethan grabbed the report.

Luna Moore—printed in black ink on white paper.

He stared at it for a long time.

Then he doubled over suddenly, his breathing turning ragged.

He played the recording over and over.

“Ethan… save me… I wasn’t lying… there’s a child…”

On the seventh playback, the phone died, the screen going black.

The darkened screen reflected his own face.

He looked up and called down the empty hallway.

“Luna.”

I stood right in front of him.

He couldn’t hear me.

And I didn’t want to answer anymore.