This was a trap Melody had set for the ‘murderer‘.


    My heart skipped a beat, and confusion began to cloud my thoughts.


    What was I even thinking? If Colin really was the murderer, I should despise him with every bone in my


    body, wishing he’d be riddled with bullets already.


    So why… why was I actually worried about him?


    “Foebe, you’re the only one who can stop him now,” Melody’s voice was still shaking. She was hiding


    somewhere; through the phone, I could hear the sound of metal scraping against the ground, as if


    someone was dragging an axe or some other tool.


    “I’m at the orphanage… I’m at the orphanage.”


    Melody had a death wish, sneaking off to the orphanage of all ces.


    “I bet Dexter’s lurking in the shadows, too, huh? You love him so much; he’ll keep you safe. Calling me


    over, you sure know how to cover your bases. What, killing Phoebe wasn’t enough for you? Now, you


    want to get me killed, too? I’m not as naive as she was.”


    I felt a twinge of guilt as I said it.


    “You’lle because you want to know the secret about her…” Melody said confidently.


    I guessed she must’ve plotted with Dexter, wanting me toe and see the real face of the ‘murderer‘,


    who they were convinced was Colin.


    That was also why Melody was so adamant about me going there.


    “He’s here…” Melody’s voice trembled even more.


    “Come now, and you’ll see your husband.” Melody’s shaky voice ended the call.


    I stood there, hesitating for a moment, before deciding to call the cops first.


    If I had called the police in my past life, I wouldn’t have met such a tragic end..


    Reborn into this life, though I couldn’t rely on anyone, the police were surely more dependable than


    Dexter and his crew.


    “Robin, Melody’s at the orphanage,” I finally got through to him on the phone. “She says the murderer’s


    after her, and he’s already there.”


    Robin cursed loudly on the other end, his voiceced with urgency, clearly having lost track of Melody.


    “That woman is crazy! A total lunatic! We agreed to operate on Tangle Lane, and she sticks the


    tracking device on a dog, sneaking off to Nocturne by herself, leaving us running in circles after the


    damn dog!”


    Robin was still in a frenzy, probably leading a team to the orphanage.


    10:10


    “I’m heading there too.” After hanging up, I decided to go to the orphanage.


    Truth be told. I was scared.


    Scared that it was Colin who was out to kill Melody.


    As I dashed out of the vi, therge dog squatting in the yard bolted, wagging its tail and cozying up to


    the approaching figure.


    Colin stood under the streemp, holding a steaming bag of deep–fried mushrooms, grinning at


    1. me.


    It was from my favorite fast–food chain, where there’s always a long line to endure.


    He went to buy deep–fried mushrooms? Somehow, my heart settled back into ce.


    Colin was under the streemp, the light haloing his head, his shadow stretched out beneath


    N?velDrama.Org content.


    him.


    That image was striking, like the fusion of an angel and a demon.


    “Colin…” I rushed over, asking anxiously, “You didn’t go to the orphanage?”


    “You knew I was supposed to go to the orphanage?” Colin asked, puzzled.


    I paused for a moment.


    “Dexter called, told me to head to the orphanage, deliberately provoking me.” Colin said, sounding hurt.


    “And Melody, she intentionally talked trash about you to get a rise out of me, tricking me into going to


    the orphanage to confront her. But I didn’t go. I went to get your deep–fried mushrooms instead.”


    Colin looked at me with his best ‘I’ve been so good, please praise me‘ face.


    My expression darkened, confirming my suspicions. This was all a charade orchestrated by Dexter and


    Melody! They wanted to lure Colin there, to enrage him, to make him lose control, and to convince the


    police that he was the murderer.