Chapter 534 An Old Acquaintance Revisited
Justin's panic intensified. He painstakingly revisited the entire investment scenario and realized there were far too many red flags.
"That son of a gun, Kenny." Justin came to the bitter realization that he had been duped by Kenny right from the start.
In his agitation, the hospital's elevator seemed insufferable with its long queue, and Justin had neither the patience nor the desire to wait. So, he opted for the stairs.
Upon opening the stairwell door, his foot found nothing but air. Before he could process what happened, everything went dark, and he lost consciousness.
When he came to, he didn't open his eyes at first, but he could hear the sound of dripping water.
Justin forced his eyes to adjust. The room seemed to spin, and it was growing dim as if sunset was approaching. His gaze eventually settled on something—an elongated laundry sink.
Such an artifact from his school days, something he hadn't seen in ages.
The sound of dripping water was coming from a pipe stuffed with a rag, which was dripping incessantly.
Justin had a vague sense of deja vu with this scene.
Then, a figure appeared within his line of sight.
The slender girl, with her long hair cascading over her shoulders, was washing clothes in faded sweater and pants.
The scene felt eerily familiar.
"Justin, you're here?" The voice that haunted his memories suddenly resurfaced. "Perfect timing. I've just finished washing your clothes. You can take them over to your place to dry."
"Selena!" Justin cried out in shock.
He scrambled frantically toward cover.
"Justin, what's wrong?"
The girl doing laundry slowly turned around. In the dim light, her small face appeared ashen and pale.
It was just like the time Justin saw Selena's lifeless body pulled out of the water, lying there motionless.
Her fringe was still dripping wet.
"Don't come any closer!" Justin screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Why?" She stood there, stiffly craning her neck, staring at him as bloody tears began to seep from her eyes.
Justin screamed, his horror-filled cries almost tearing through the gloomy sky, "You're already dead, the dead shouldn't seek out the living! Go away! Get out!"
"I'm dead?" Selena looked at Justin, dragging her heavy steps toward him. "Right... I remember now, you killed me..."
"It was you who forced me!" Justin yelled hoarsely. "If you hadn't threatened to expose that you wrote my thesis, I wouldn't have done it! I can't afford to lose my education; it's my only way out!"
"You betrayed me!" Selena shrieked.
Her ghostly wail was no joke.
Justin felt as if his very bones were about to shatter.
"I saw it all, you violated Anne!"
"No, that's not true!" Justin waved his hands frantically, trying to ward off Selena's approach.
However, as he backed away, he suddenly bumped into something.
The object swayed away from him.
Then, knocked into his shoulder.
A chill ran down Justin's spine, and he darted to the side.
Looking up, he saw Anne hanging there, wearing the same nightgown she had on in death, her hair wild and untamed, her toes pointed straight down, her calves and feet ghostly pale.
Justin felt like he was losing his mind.
He had personally arranged for Anne’s cremation!
She deserved it, he thought. He’d been so good to her, and all she could think about was running off with Toby Brody.
She didn't even want the baby.
If that's the case, then death was the better option.
Dead people are the most loyal; they can't betray you.
"You're not what?" A raspy voice came from behind him.
Justin's soul nearly left his body in fear.
He fell to the ground, tumbling and scrambling to hide.
Then, Anne still in her nightdress, emerged from the darkness her neck crooked, her tongue hanging out long, was rolling her eyes back to white.
The sight was utterly terrifying.
"That day... in the woods behind the school..."
"I really did love you, and after all, I treated you well, didn't I?" Justin sobbed. "But you didn't love me. You had to leave me. There was nothing I could do, Anne, nothing at all!"
"You'll pay for this. I want you to pay with your life!" Anne's voice was hoarse and desperate.
Justin couldn't think straight; he scrambled to his feet, intending to run.
However, he stumbled.
Water surged from all directions, engulfing him.
He struggled fiercely.
That’s when he saw it—a swollen, human-like shape.
The blanched, bloated fingers wore Maria's ring.
Justin couldn't help but scream in agony underwater.
The shocks kept coming.
Justin couldn’t take it anymore.
His eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
Silence fell for a few seconds.
Then, with several clicks, blinding lights switched on from all around.
Men in black rushed over, pulling Justin out of the water.
They carried him away swiftly.
Fiona and Thalassa helped Selena's mother through a door.
"Great-grandmother!"
The girl playing Selena, wiping makeup off her face, hurried toward Grace, "He confessed just now. He killed our great aunt!"
Grace's hands shook violently.
She had already taken two pills backstage.
"So, it was her!" Tears streaked Grace's face. "Wrongfully accused of suicide, I bore that stigma in my daughter for forty years."
"Should we call the police?" her great-granddaughter immediately suggested.
"These things... A proper procedure is useless," Fiona shook her head.
"What do we do, then?" The young girl was anxious.
“Don’t worry, the real show has just started. He won’t get away.“
Thalassa had remained silent.
She glanced at the dummy hanging there and then at the pretend corpse floating in the water.
Her heart was heavy.
The one posing as Anne was also Grace’s great-granddaughter.
She pulled out the fake tongue.
Touching her face, she said, "Do I look like that Anne? He didn’t suspect a thing."
"It's all thanks to these lights." Fiona glanced around. "Plus your sticking out your tongue, tilting your head, and wearing the same style of clothes as Anne. It's understandable he was fooled."
"Ms. Fiona, please, you must get justice for my daughter," Grace pleaded through tears.
Fiona nodded. "Rest assured, we will."
Justin woke up in a panic in the middle of the night.
He looked around, startled being in an unfamiliar place.
Realization dawned upon him; he was in a ward.
At that moment, the door to the hospital room opened.
"You're awake?" the nurse on duty frowned. "How did you end up fainting in our hospital corridor? Your phone's broken too, couldn't find anyone to contact."
Justin was still in a state of shock.
He watched the nurse warily.
Fear gripped him as if she might turn into something terrible at any second.
The nurse had just finished a night shift dealing with some difficult patients and was already quite irritable.
Seeing Justin with his disturbed disposition, she lost her patience. "You're fine now, just remember to go pay your treatment bill." "
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