“Ms. Brooks, something terrible has happened... your daughter’s body has been desecrated. All twenty-four of her ribs have been removed...”
“What?!”
I sprinted to the funeral home’s morgue, my mind blank with horror.
Several staff members stood there, faces pale with shock.
“This is too cruel... How could anyone do this to the dead—especially a child...”
One of them stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Ms. Ruiz sent people to do it and said her son wanted a bracelet made of human bones. They dragged your daughter’s body out by force..."
"We refused, so we called Mr. Jimenez. But before we could even finish explaining, he just said, ‘Whatever Miss Ruiz wants to do, let her,’ and hung up.”
I looked at my daughter’s remains—her small chest cavity torn open as if savaged by a wild beast.
I felt my breath being crushed from my lungs.
Finally, I understood the true meaning of heartbreak.
It took me a long time to find my voice, trembling uncontrollably. “The security footage... is it still there?”
“No. They smashed the cameras as soon as they arrived and said Mr. Jimenez ordered it.”
I shut my eyes in despair. I had expected this, I could never win against Anthony.