I Became the 7th Corpse, and My Boyfriend, Who Believed His Corpse-Whispering Childhood Sweetheart, Went Mad Novel – I was the lead investigator on the serial murder case. The day before the killer was to be sentenced to death, I provided The Court with proof of his alibi. The victims’ families gathered at the entrance to the Police Department, carrying buckets of paint and demanding an explanation. My boyfriend Shane Grant’s childhood sweetheart, an intern detective named Yana Sterling who called herself a “Corpse Whisperer,” defended me with tears in her eyes. “My senior didn’t do it on purpose! She was probably coerced by the killer into providing false evidence. Please, everyone, you have to believe her.” “As her closest Closed-door Disciple, I’ll convince her to see the error of her ways. I’ll make sure the killer is brought to justice.” 「Three days later, on the day of the killer’s execution.」 The victims’ families, joined by media reporters, swarmed my apartment building until it was completely surrounded. When I didn’t show my face, everyone assumed I’d fled to escape justice.
Not until two weeks later, when a farmer looking for his chickens on Blackwood Mountain discovered human remains. I was revealed to the public as the seventh body in the serial murder case. Shane Grant stared at my gruesome corpse and broke down on the spot, his eyes bloodshot as he interrogated Yana Sterling. “Aren’t you the Corpse Whisperer? Didn’t you say the killer was dead? Then why is she dead! Why did the killer murder her?!” … 「Three days after the killer’s execution.」 A group of people pushed open the door to my apartment. A foul stench hit them in the face. The walls of the entire apartment were smeared with sewage and scarlet paint. A rat scurried across a corner, and Yana Sterling’s face went pale with fright. My boyfriend, Shane Grant, quickly took her hand, his voice soft as he comforted her. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.” A colleague behind them sneered at the trashed apartment. “Don’t tell me Captain Lockwood actually skipped town to avoid her sentence,” he joked. “This place looks like it’s been robbed.” Hearing this, Shane Grant strode into the room, his sharp gaze sweeping across it.
Just as he noticed a shattered picture frame on the floor… Yana Sterling’s eyes flickered, and she excitedly squeezed Shane Grant’s hand. She looked at Sam Shaw and loudly refuted him. “Nonsense! My senior isn’t that kind of person. She just made a careless mistake and is hiding for a bit.” “Once everyone has calmed down, she’ll show up on her own.” “Besides, the case is closed now, isn’t it? When we do see my senior, we shouldn’t be too hard on her.” At her words, the worry in Shane Grant’s eyes gradually froze, turning cold. His gaze fell on my photograph, which had been slashed with a knife by the victims’ families. His tone was icy. “Careless? A Chief Detective committing perjury for a killer, taking bribes to help him escape justice.” “If not for her past record, her death would be no great loss.” Sam Shaw, emerging from the bedroom carrying a thick stack of files, quickly chimed in. “That’s right, Yana, you’re just too kind-hearted. You even pleaded her case to The Chief.” “Have you forgotten how Cheryl Lockwood targeted you when you first joined?” Yana Sterling lowered her head, a wronged expression on her face. She looked troubled, as if she wanted to say something but was holding back.
Seeing her distress, Shane Grant’s heart ached for her. He gently stroked her head and said soothingly: “Don’t overthink it. This is all Cheryl Lockwood’s own doing. It has nothing to do with you.” “Also, have you finished writing your speech?” “You were the biggest contributor to solving the serial murder case. Don’t let irrelevant people distract you. Just focus on preparing. Be good.” At his words, Yana Sterling nodded obediently. Her gaze fell on a grimy brown teddy bear in the corner of the sofa. She walked over, picked it up, and gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Brother Shane, isn’t this the bear you gave my senior? She didn’t take very good care of it. Look, it’s all damaged.” Shane Grant stopped Yana’s hand as she reached for a tear on the bear’s back, then tossed it aside. The disgust in his dark eyes was unconcealable. “Don’t touch it. It’s filthy.” As I heard them go downstairs, I bent over, wanting to pick up the teddy bear. But my hand passed straight through the brown teddy bear’s body. ‘The relief in my eyes turned to disappointment.’ ‘If only Shane Grant had looked a little closer, he would have found the severed finger inside.’ ‘And known that I was dead.’ My soul followed them back to the station.
A colleague saw the mountain of files in Sam Shaw’s hands and couldn’t help but sneer. “Where’d you dig up all this trash? Oh, wait, looks like it belonged to Captain Lockwood.” Sam Shaw walked to his desk, sat down, and rubbed his sore shoulder. “Tell me about it. Dozens of pounds of files for a single case.” “Yana solved the case with a single sentence, but in Cheryl Lockwood’s hands, it was all-night stakeouts and fishing bones out of the sewer.” “The killer was caught, but she worked herself to death over it.” Yana Sterling, who had just walked in, had clearly overheard them. A hint of shy pleasure flickered across her rosy cheeks. “Oh no, my senior helped a lot, too. If it weren’t for…” Before she could finish, the two men cut her off with cold glares. “Don’t even say it. Cheryl Lockwood is a disgrace to this department.” “I knew she was bad news the moment she was promoted. And just as I expected…” “Tch. A bootlicker! An accomplice!” He then spat into the trash can beside him. … After parking his car, Shane Grant frowned as he looked at the dirtied items inside. “Hasn’t Cheryl Lockwood’s transfer order come through yet? Why are you throwing all her stuff out?” A colleague rolled their eyes and said snidely, “She has the gall to come back? Isn’t she afraid of being eaten alive?” Shane Grant pursed his lips, a dark glint flashing in his eyes. And I stared at the commendation banner, the trophy, my credentials… all in the trash can. ‘A dull ache spread through my heart.’ I remembered that trophy and commendation banner.
We’d gotten them seven years ago, after Shane Grant and I cracked a rape-and-murder case—our first as detectives. Back then, his face had been flushed with excitement, his gaze resolute as he looked at me. And said with a completely straight face, “Cheryl Lockwood, let’s make a bet: whoever makes Chief Detective first has to buy the other dinner.” ‘Too bad people change.’ Yana Sterling, standing beside him, ignored the filth and stench. She reached right into the trash can with her bare hands, pulled out the trophy, and cradled it in her arms. “Don’t you dare say bad things about my senior! She’s the best, the very best person I know.” The colleague scoffed, taunting her with a contemptuous tone. “Yana, have you forgotten what Cheryl Lockwood did to you?” “She smeared your name just to steal credit, and you’re still defending her? You’re too kind for your own good.” The hesitation in Shane Grant’s eyes hardened into indifference. With a cold expression, he snatched the trophy away, stomped it flat under his foot, and threw it back into the trash can. “From this moment on, I don’t want to hear a single thing about Cheryl Lockwood. Mention her again, and I’m docking your pay.” Yana Sterling averted her gaze, the corners of her mouth twitching with a victor’s smile. My hands, hanging at my sides, clenched into fists as I stared at the “Corpse Whisperer” nameplate on the desk.
My expression turned colder by the second. Ever since Yana Sterling was assigned to partner with me on the serial killer case, she had always been one step ahead, revealing the truth—from the motive to the clues left by the killer—before I could. At first, I thought it was a coincidence. But then the killer claimed his fourth victim. After I had spent two weeks working myself to the bone to finish the field report and was about to submit it, Yana Sterling’s clear, bright voice drifted out of the office. The content of her report was, once again, identical to the document in my hand. My face went pale. When I met her unwavering, confident gaze, it seemed impossible. In the face of our colleagues’ confusion, she simply smiled. And scratched her head, feigning embarrassment.