Maisie Lynch had originally planned to throw this down jacket away last night, but when it came down to it, she couldnât bring herself to do it.
Ever since she stubbornly dropped out of school to be with Ivan Warren, her family hadnât given her a single penny.
Maisie Lynch had arrived at Ivan Warrenâs home without a penny to her name. Every day, besides trying to get pregnant, she did chores and waited on Ivanâs entire family.
She had no job and no income. If she needed money, she could only ask Ivan Warren for it. Even if she wanted to buy clothes, she had to get his approval first.
Ivan Warren liked sexy women, so he was only willing to buy Maisie Lynch sexy, mature-looking clothes.
Moreover, Ivan Warren wouldnât buy her expensive clothes, only cheap stuff that looked good but wasnât practical.
Take the wool hip-hugging skirt she was wearing, for example. Ivan Warren had bought it for her for 50 yuan before the cataclysm. It looked nice, but it was stiff and scratchy, irritating her skin and making it really uncomfortable to wear.
Thatâs why Maisie Lynch was so reluctant to part with this down jacket. Its design was fresh and beautiful, the materials were solid, and it was thick and warm. It was one of the few good pieces of clothing in her closet, and she truly loved it.
If she threw it away, she didnât know if sheâd ever have the chance to own a piece of clothing like it again.
Yesterday, she had stood in the snow for over ten minutes, clutching the jacket and agonizing over what to do. In the end, she had quietly brought it back and hidden it in a bag of old shoes in the storage room.
Maisie Lynch reassured herself. âMelody Summers doesnât know I bought this jacket. She probably wonât suspect me.â
But she never expected Melody Summers to actually know!
Officer Tate looked at Maisie Lynchâs pale face, held up the down jacket, and asked her, "Is this down jacket yours? Then why did you just deny it and say you didnât have one?"
At his words, Maisie Lynch swayed slightly as if she were about to faint. She lowered her head and stammered, "I... I..."
Maisie Lynch was now too flustered to speak. Facing Officer Tateâs stern gaze, she could only press her lips together tightly, forcing herself to stay upright and not pass out.
Mr. and Mrs. Sutton exchanged a look, and both saw the unease in each otherâs eyes.
They hadnât expected this woman, Maisie Lynch, to be so useless, falling apart at such a critical moment.
In this situation, Maisie Lynch should have just denied it outright like Melody Summers did and claimed she couldnât remember clearly.
After all, you couldnât see a face in the surveillance footage. As long as she insisted that Melody Summers was the thief, there wasnât much the police could do for the time being.
But looking at Maisie Lynch now, Mr. and Mrs. Sutton knew it was obviously impossible to count on her.
So Mr. Sutton cleared his throat twice and spoke up to get Maisie Lynch out of her predicament. "Officer, even if she has a similar jacket, that doesnât prove anything, does it? We saw the thiefâs face in the living room. The thief is Melody Summers!"
Mrs. Sutton nodded as well. She stepped forward and gently put an arm around Maisie Lynchâs shoulders, trying to calm her frantic heart. "Perhaps the poor girl was just afraid of getting dragged into this, so she didnât dare to admit she owned the jacket."
Mr. and Mrs. Sutton were, after all, seasoned veterans of the business world. The current situation only proved that both Maisie Lynch and Melody Summers were suspects; it didnât prove that they had colluded with Maisie to set Melody up.
But unexpectedly, just as Mrs. Sutton finished speaking, Melody Summers, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly spoke up. "Officer Tate, I suggest you check the bank statements and transfer records for the Sutton Family, Ivan Warren, and Maisie Lynch."
Melody Summersâs voice wasnât loud, but it exploded like a clap of thunder in the silent room.
Mr. Sutton, Mrs. Sutton, and Ivan Warren all looked up at almost the same time, staring at Melody Summers with expressions of utter shock, their eyes filled with panic and disbelief.
Feeling the entire roomâs gaze lock onto her, Melody Summers remained perfectly calm and continued, "Just now in the hallway, the three of them repeatedly claimed this was the first time theyâd met, that they didnât know each other, and that Maisie Lynch was just a witness they happened to run into..."
"If thatâs the case, then letâs check their bank statements. If they really donât know each other, there shouldnât be any transfer records between them, right?"
"If there are transfer records, it proves theyâve been lying the whole time. If thereâs been a financial exchange between them, then todayâs incident is nothing but a setup they orchestrated together to frame me!"
Melody had been wondering why Maisie Lynch and Ivan Warren would have the guts to participate in this frame-up right after she had threatened them at gunpoint.
Neither Ivan Warren nor Maisie Lynch had the courage to do something like this on their own.
Unless... the Sutton Family had promised them a significant reward.
As the saying goes, money makes the world go âround. With enough profit on the line, Ivan Warren and Maisie Lynch would be willing to take the risk.
And knowing Ivan Warrenâs personalityâhe wouldnât act without seeing a reward firstâthe Suttons must have at least paid a deposit upfront. That was the only reason he and Maisie Lynch would have dared to agree to this.
Melody Summers had only been suspicious at first, but when Maisie Lynch offered to buy apartment 1606 in full out in the hallway, Melodyâs theory solidified.
If Ivan Warren and Maisie Lynch really had enough spare cash to buy 1606, why would they have bothered with the smaller unit, 1602?
It was highly probable the Suttons had given them the money.
The moment Melody Summers finished speaking, the room erupted!
When the four of them had made the deal yesterday, Ivan Warren, afraid that Mr. and Mrs. Sutton would burn their bridges after crossing, had demanded payment upfront. Since Ivan couldnât appraise jewelry, he had insisted on a cash payment.
And so, Mr. and Mrs. Sutton had transferred a large sum of money into Maisie Lynchâs account.
If the police really investigated, everything would be exposed!
At this thought, even Mr. and Mrs. Sutton struggled to maintain their calm facades. Mrs. Sutton said anxiously, "Why check our statements? Weâre the victims here!"
Mr. Sutton was a bit calmer than his wife. Forcing himself to stay composed, he said to Officer Tate, "Officer, checking statements is too much trouble. My wife and I are old, we donât want to go through all this fuss... How about this? Weâll withdraw the case. Thereâs no need to investigate any further."
Mrs. Sutton quickly added, "Yes, yes, thatâs right! Letâs not investigate. Itâs just a plate of pastries and a ring. If theyâre gone, theyâre gone. We donât want any more trouble."
With that, the two of them turned to leave.
Seeing this, Melody Summers almost laughed out loud.
âTrying to leave? Itâs not that easy.â
Sure enough, Officer Tate took a few steps forward, blocking Mr. and Mrs. Sutton. He said with a grave expression, "Please do not leave yet. Wait for the results of the investigation."
Then, using the identification information of Mr. and Mrs. Sutton, Maisie Lynch, and Ivan Warren, Officer Tate began investigating their financial records on the internal network.
During the wait for the results, everyone in the room, aside from Melody Summers, had their hearts pounding in their chests with worry.
Maisie Lynch leaned against the back of the sofa, unsteady on her feet and looking like she might collapse at any moment.
Ivan Warrenâs face was even paler, and he periodically raised a hand to wipe the sweat beading on his forehead.
To the four of them in the living room, the short span of ten-plus minutes felt like an eternity!
A little over ten minutes later, the investigation results came in.
The bank records showed that at around 10 p.m. last night, Maisie Lynchâs personal account had received a large transaction. And the owner of the account that made the transfer was none other than Mrs. Sutton.
The moment this result was revealed, before anyone could even react, Ivan Warren suddenly spun around and viciously slapped Maisie Lynch across the face!