The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 421

"There's a four-by-three-inch laceration right in the center of the victim's forehead. The edges are jagged, the corners blunt, and it goes deep enough into the skull that brain tissue is visible."

"The trauma is consistent with the head striking the ground during a fall from a significant height."

Nora Hayes shifted her stance, her hands never stopping as she continued her assessment. "The victim sustained fractures to the first three ribs on the left side of her chest, causing the thoracic cavity to collapse. There is no obvious subcutaneous hemorrhaging on the abdomen, but both lower extremities show multiple abrasions and contusions, alongside a comminuted fracture of the left femur."

"This is consistent with landing feet-first during a high fall."

"Her hands—"

Nora's voice suddenly faltered.

Julia Ryland, who was taking notes, and Nathan Peyton, who was observing from the sidelines, both looked up at her.

"Nora?"

Julia's tone was laced with confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Nora nodded.

"The victim's hands show defensive wounds and clear gripping marks."

Julia froze, caught off guard, while a tall figure quickly closed the distance to the autopsy table.

"What exactly are we looking at?"

Nathan's voice was tense, carrying a chill that rivaled the heavily air-conditioned forensics lab.

"Her fingernails are broken, and the pads of her fingers are torn to shreds. I can see traces of fibers embedded in the tissue, likely from curtains or clothing."

"Furthermore, her finger joints are bent, and the hand muscles are in a state of contraction. This is a definitive gripping posture."

"That means before she fell, she desperately grabbed onto some kind of fabric. The force left severe marks on her hands. As she plummeted, her first instinct was to grab the windowsill in a desperate bid for survival, but ultimately, she lost her grip and fell to her death."

"To be absolutely certain, we need to cross-reference the wounds on her hands with the edge of the windowsill in the room she fell from. There should be traces left behind on the sill."

Nathan's brow furrowed tightly.

Nathan clearly had a theory brewing. Nora didn't press him. She nodded and refocused all her attention on the body.

It took another half hour to meticulously document every detail. Nora stripped off her gloves and looked at Nathan. "The toxicology and pathology results will take a little longer."

"But based on the gross examination, the cause of death is definitively a fall."

"Comminuted skull fractures, epidural hematoma, and fractured ribs that punctured the lungs, resulting in a hemopneumothorax."

"The impact from the fall ruptured her heart, liver, and spleen, while completely snapping her leg bones. She suffered an agonizing amount of pain before she died."

Nathan's expression remained grim. He waited for her to finish before speaking. "We need to go back to the scene."

Nora didn't ask why. She simply instructed Julia to write up the autopsy report and send it to the task force group chat, then changed into her street clothes and followed Nathan to the parking lot.

"I suspect the crime scene was manipulated."

The moment they got into his car, Nathan cut straight to the chase. "The autopsy results don't match the forensic evidence we gathered at the scene at all."