Elise had already formed a guess from the look on Cynthia’s face. She gripped her sleeve tightly and mumbled, “So, you have news about Mikayla?”
Cynthia gazed at her and nodded. Without warning, Elise’s legs gave away, and she stumbled. Neither were her tears controllable, as she could clearly feel tears gliding down her cheeks.
“That’s… That’s impossible! Nothing’s going to happen to her! How could she have…”
Cynthia tried her best to calm her down. “We are not a hundred percent sure right now. It’s just that… the rescue team has found a body with descriptions that resemble her.”
The shocking news shattered Elise’s world, and she refused to accept the reality. Jack showed up out of the blue and grabbed Cynthia’s arm, descending into madness as he barked at her, “Is that true? Where is she now? Tell me! Where is she?”
Jack’s reckless reaction put a frown on Cynthia’s forehead. She knew the guy, but she had not expected him to act in such a rash manner. Based on his anxious reaction, she had a vague idea of his relationship with Mikayla. Therefore, she decided to forgive his rudeness and shared all the details with him.
“The body is placed at the rescue station. No one has come forward to claim it.” She barely finished speaking when Jack dashed out of the hospital. Elise followed suit with tears brimming in her eyes.
When Mikayla’s parents got the news, they almost fainted from crying. Finally, the group rushed to the temporary mortuary at the rescue station. Elise was shaking from head to toe when she laid eyes on the white cloth that was draped over the body.
“Mikayla…” Elise couldn’t help but mumble her friend’s name, and tears kept falling down her face. Meanwhile, Mikayla’s parents were out of breath from crying, and the atmosphere sank to the lowest point.
In an attempt to keep Elise calm, Alexander stood firmrly and held her hand in silence.She stumbled forward and flipped the cloth open to reveal a body that was almost unidentifiable. However, because the size of the victim was similar to Mikayla’s frame, she once again plunged into sadness. The people around didn’t seem too positive either
Yet, Jack was the only one who reacted differently. Looking like a lifeless walking corpse when he arrived, he suddenly perked up after seeing the body, and his eyes shone. “That’s not Mikayla!”
Without a doubt, his curt declaration changed the air around them.
Meanwhile, Elise watched on through her misty eyes as Jack explained with all seriousness, “That is not her! She wore a different outfit on that day. She’s also wearing a fishbone necklace, which is not seen anywhere on this body!”
Elise’s gaze traveled over to the body and confirmed that there was no fishbone necklace, which rendered her speechless. “W-What is going on?”
Again, Jack declared with confidence, “You got the wrong person! This body is not Mikayla’s! Trust me!”
Then, he turned around to leave. The rest of the group was utterly confused by Jack’s words. Soon, Mikayla’s parents regained their composure. Staring at the body, they seemed to prefer Jack’s narrative, even if it was only for emotional relief. “That’s not Mikayla. It’s not her,” Mrs. Jameson muttered repeatedly, but her husband remained rational. “Since we can’t identify her, the best way forward is to send the body for a postmortem exam.”
So, Mr. Jameson contacted a local lab for a postmortem exam. The results were out in less than 24 hours and delivered to them.
Everyone held their breath as he took out the document. When they saw that the body did not even have a 1% match with Mikayla’s DNA, they let out a collective sigh of relief.
“I knew it! It was not Mikayla. It’s definitely not her…” Mrs. Jameson burst into tears agitatedly. Since the body was not Mikayla, there was hope that she could still be alive.
Elise’s heart slowly calmed down as well. Mikayla, you must still be alive. Am I right?
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