Ian Sterling burst in. Seeing Vincent Wentworth there, he froze. "What are you guys doing?"
"Just talking," Vivian Quinn answered. "Where’s Jett? I haven’t seen him all morning."
"He’s busy with the investigation." Ian Sterling shot Vincent Wentworth a dark look. "You, on the other hand, seem to have a lot of free ti."
"Ian, how can you say that?" Vivian Quinn shot him a look. "Mr. Wentworth is here to visit . He ans no harm, so don’t get the wrong idea."
"I can tell he’s not like Shirley Wentworth."
Vincent Wentworth stood up. "Miss Quinn, I won’t disturb your rest any longer. I’m going to find Jett and help with the investigation."
"Take care, and look after yourself."
"I will."
After Vincent Wentworth left, Ian Sterling plopped down brazenly. "That’s the first ti I’ve ever seen Vincent Wentworth cry. Vivian Quinn, you sure are sothing else."
"What’s that supposed to an?"
"Do you know what kind of person Vincent Wentworth is? He’s a lot like my uncle—he never lets his emotions show. I’ve known him since we were kids, and I’ve never seen him cry once."
"His father just passed away. Isn’t it perfectly normal to be overco with grief?"
"What do you know?" Ian Sterling said, recalling. "When did his mother pass away? Seven or eight years ago, right? We went to the funeral, and he didn’t shed a single tear."
Vivian Quinn couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. "We can barely handle our own problems, why worry about others? I’m a little worried now. The mastermind who killed Chairman Wentworth is no ordinary person. I’m afraid they’ll try to hurt Jett."
"You think any ordinary person could hurt my uncle?" Ian Sterling said dismissively, crossing his legs and starting to play a ga on his phone. "Stop worrying and just focus on getting better."
"Don’t you have school?"
"My uncle ordered to stay here and watch over you, in case soone targets you again while he’s away."
A warm feeling spread through Vivian Quinn’s heart. "Well, since your uncle was the one who asked, I suppose I can reluctantly let you stay."
"Hmph. Having , your lord and master, keep you company is the honor of a lifeti."
"Oh, thank you so much."
"..."
...
The police investigation had reached a dead end. With no new leads, Vivian Quinn remained the sole suspect.
On the day Vivian Quinn was discharged from the hospital with Elle, the police arrived at Sycamore Bay. "Miss Quinn, all the evidence currently points to you. You must co with us to the station for questioning."
"What do you an?" Nanny Jenner blocked their path. "Our madam would never kill anyone! You’ve got the wrong person."
"We’re just following procedure. You can’t obstruct us."
"No way! How can you take our madam in for questioning like she’s a murderer!"
"Nanny Jenner, calm down." Vivian Quinn patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. "It’s fine. You can go back to what you were doing."
"Madam, I’ll go get the Young Master right away."
Vivian Quinn looked at the two police officers. "Officers, could you please step over here for a mont? I have sothing to tell you."
"Alright."
Vivian Quinn led them to the tea room, took out her phone, and played an audio file.
"I’m a naturally cautious person, so when I was invited to lunch that day, I recorded the whole thing, even though I couldn’t take a video. Please, have a listen."
The two officers listened patiently. The first part was just conversation, followed by a loud THUD!
"That’s when I fainted," Vivian Quinn explained.
Mr. Wentworth’s rather anxious voice ca from the phone. "Miss Quinn, what’s wrong? Miss Quinn? THUD!"
"So... soone... It’s you... You want to kill ... Help..."
The sounds that followed were just rustling, and a few minutes later, Jett Sterling and Vincent Wentworth arrived.
Vivian Quinn turned off the audio. "Based on my speculation, after I passed out, Chairman Wentworth was also knocked out by the drug and fell. But his condition wasn’t as severe as mine. He was still conscious, just without the strength to fight back or even call for help. That’s why you hear that exchange."
"If this recording is authentic, it does provide us with so new leads."
"I know you’ll have doubts about the recording’s authenticity, and that’s fine. You can take the audio file to analyze it. You can even take my phone to run tests and see if I fabricated it."
"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Quinn."
Vivian Quinn thought for a mont, then said, "Officers, if the killer finds out I have this recording, they might fly into a rage and try to harm and my family. So I hope this audio can be kept confidential for now."
"Rest assured. This is a lead in a criminal investigation. We will keep it strictly confidential."
"So, do I still need to go to the station with you?"
"We’ll take the recording back to verify it first. If we can confirm it’s from that day, this audio could clear you of suspicion. For now, you don’t need to co to the station."
"That would be for the best."
...
Only after Vivian Quinn saw the police off did Jett Sterling co downstairs. "You gave them the recording?"
"Yes. I’m not afraid of being questioned at the station, but if I was just taken away like that, the news would get out, and it would damage the Sterling Family’s reputation, wouldn’t it?" Vivian Quinn gave a slight smile. "Your mother already dislikes . I can’t give her any more ammunition."
Jett Sterling took her hand. "As long as I like you, that’s enough."
Vivian Quinn let out a laugh. "Mm-hm."
"Vivian, there’s still sothing on your mind," Jett Sterling said, looking at her. "Tell ."
"It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, I just don’t know how to say it..." Vivian Quinn said, troubled. "It’s about the day of the incident."
"Then that’s all the more reason to tell ."
Vivian Quinn nodded and said thoughtfully, "Didn’t I tell you before that a normal knockout drug shouldn’t have been able to affect ?"
"Yes. That just proves the person who used the drug is highly skilled."
Vivian Quinn shook her head. "How skilled the person is isn’t my main concern. Do you know what it made rember?"
"What?"
"When I was young, I studied dicine under my master. To build up my resistance to drugs, he would often administer them to . One ti, he used a knockout drug on , and I fainted on the spot. When I woke up, I had a splitting headache and felt awful, just like the other day."
"I was angry with my master at the ti, but he just laughed and coaxed , saying that one day he’d definitely develop a knockout drug that didn’t make you feel terrible when you woke up."
The more Vivian Quinn thought about it, the more wrong it felt. "Jett, I really hope it’s just my imagination, but the feeling of fainting and waking up that day was just so, so similar to that ti when I was a child..."
"Vivian, are you saying... the drug ca from your master?"
"I do have that feeling."
Jett Sterling pulled her into his arms. "Vivian, there’s no evidence it was your master. Don’t let your imagination run wild."
"My master is a good person. He wouldn’t hurt anyone, let alone kill soone," Vivian Quinn said with conviction.
"Of course I believe you. If it really is your master, the fear is that he was forced to provide the drug to the mastermind."
"That’s what I’m worried about too."
"Don’t think about it anymore..." Jett Sterling held her. "This mastermind dared to make a move on the Wentworth Family and provoke the Sterling Family. They must be powerful, which ans they’ll surface sooner or later."
"Mm-hm." Vivian Quinn leaned into his embrace. "Jett, I feel so uneasy. I want my master to appear, but I don’t want it to be like this."
"I understand."
...
Two days later, new information arrived from the police!
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