Chapter 191 - 190: Cecilia Caldwell is First Place in the Genius Competition

Chapter 191: Chapter 190: Cecilia Caldwell is First Place in the Genius Competition

Thankfully, Zeke Shaw was on the phone. Madeline Quinn just thought I hadn’t been harsh enough. "She doesn’t even deserve a gutter. She should be thrown into a septic tank."

"..." Madeline’s ferocity instantly overshadowed my own rash words.

I watched as the suspicion in Lucas Grant’s eyes slowly faded.

Zeke Shaw hung up the phone and looked at Lucas Grant. "The dismemberment case is closed?"

Lucas Grant paused for a moment. "He confessed?"

"My superior called. Said I was a great help with the arrest, got honorably wounded, and made a huge contribution to closing this dismemberment case. He said they’re coming to the traffic police detachment to present me with a banner..." The corner of Zeke Shaw’s mouth twitched. ’He’d thought he might get his old post back, but that seems like a long shot now.’

"That’s it?" Lucas Grant gritted his teeth.

"They also gave me a long leave... Said I can come back to work after my arm has healed."

Lucas Grant scratched his head. "The case is closed that quickly? Hah..."

Clearly, someone from the top was applying pressure. A serial killer case had dragged on for so long without being fully solved. Now that a suspect was caught for this so-called dismemberment case, they had to close it quickly, or it would incite public panic.

"You guys can head back first. I’m going to go see what’s happening." Lucas Grant turned and went to find his superior.

I looked at Asher. He was still hugging me, refusing to let go.

Julian Fletcher scoffed and turned to leave.

"President Fletcher, you lost..." Asher added, unable to resist a smug reminder.

He even spoke carefully, as if afraid of making me angry.

Julian Fletcher’s face darkened with anger. "Childish!"

Asher snorted, his arms around me tightening. He cursed at Julian Fletcher in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Shameless. This is my wife. We have a marriage license; we’re protected by the law."

Julian Fletcher was so angry he looked like he was about to lunge forward, but Erin Whittaker tearfully stopped him. "Julian, let’s just go..."

Julian Fletcher angrily shook off Erin Whittaker and stormed away.

Erin Whittaker glanced back at me, a cold, almost imperceptible smirk flashing in her eyes.

’It’s like she’s planning something and is on the verge of success.’

I scoffed. ’Let’s see what tricks she has up her sleeve.’

"Let go," I said in a low voice, looking up at Asher.

Asher held me, looking aggrieved, and refused to let go.

"Let go," I said a second time.

Only then did Asher cautiously loosen his grip on me.

"Madeline, if there’s nothing else, I’m going to head back," I said quietly. My face must have still been pale, because I saw my reflection in the glass, as white as a sheet.

After all, I had just had a miscarriage not long ago. My body was still struggling to cope.

"You should hurry back and rest. If there are any clues related to the serial killer case, I’ll let you know immediately." Madeline Quinn looked at me with heartache, gripping my hand.

She seemed to want to say more but held back, finally just choking out, "Go home."

My eyes welled up too. ’Did she recognize me?’

I said nothing and quickly walked away.

Madeline Quinn knew that my obsession after being reborn would definitely be the serial killer...

As a victim, as someone who was brutally murdered, I have the right... to know the truth.

"The guy confessed. Admitted it was intentional homicide. He’s also from the demolition area at 37 Riverside Road. Said he and the one who jumped off the building both lost their fortunes trying to find their children. It’s also linked to a human trafficking case..."

"So the dismemberment case is closed, but now a human trafficking and child abduction case has popped up."

I had just stepped out of the office area when I overheard two police officers discussing the dismemberment case.

"If you ask me, those two deserved to die. Human traffickers deserve to die."

I stood frozen, looking at Zeke Shaw.

’The two people who died were both connected to missing persons?’

’The man who jumped, the missing eighteen-year-old girl, the murder victims...’

"Riverside Road... Number 37," I murmured, my head suddenly spinning.

That place... was Meridia’s last ’slum’.

It was inhabited by migrant workers, the homeless, and penniless scavengers—all people from the lowest rungs of society.

The man who jumped to his death was named Simon Zane. He was an elementary school teacher, and his wife was a nurse at the county hospital. They were diligent, hardworking people. While not wealthy, they lived a comfortable and happy life.

Their daughter was born with Asperger’s syndrome. They never once complained. In fact, to help her better integrate into society, they actively encouraged and nurtured her talents and strengths, allowing her to shine in her areas of expertise.

’What did they do wrong?’

’Was it wrong for their daughter to be too exceptional? Did she become a shining light, and was that why she was targeted?’

Leaning against the wall, I suddenly froze. I turned and walked back into the room, looking at Zeke Shaw. "Simon Zane, the man who jumped—what was his daughter’s exceptional talent?"

"I heard she was especially sensitive to numbers, and her spatial reasoning was a hundred times that of a normal person. She could get a bird’s-eye view of the city, count the manholes, and draw the entire city and its underground infrastructure on paper with no errors and with very high precision."

’Like it was computer-generated...’

"What about the man they just arrested? Did his child go missing too?" I asked, looking at Zeke Shaw nervously.

Zeke Shaw nodded. "It was a boy. He had congenital autism but was fascinated by all sorts of poisonous insects and plants. He seemed to have a natural interest in these things, a kind of chemistry genius. He once put toxins extracted from a toad into the water cups of classmates who were bullying him, causing them to hallucinate and publicly soil themselves in class..."

I rubbed my temples. "A toad?"

"A bufo toad," Asher explained quietly. "Toads can secrete mucus or release venom. One type is bufotenin, another is 5-MeO-DMT. These substances can cause powerful hallucinations and are also very harmful to the human body..."

"What a prodigy," I muttered under my breath.

"Both of them were prominent and exceptional child prodigies with Asperger’s syndrome. I suspect they’re still alive... at least, they’re alive until their limited value is completely used up. Is it possible that someone is deliberately targeting these gifted children, abducting and trafficking them, or even..." he trailed off, implying a more terrifying conspiracy.

Zeke Shaw nodded; he had clearly suspected the same thing.

"Is there anything else these two children have in common?" I asked Zeke Shaw.

"They both disappeared five years ago, and both participated in a ’genius competition’," Zeke Shaw said, shrugging. "I looked into this competition. It had no official organization, just a shell association. It ran for two years, offered huge prize money, and was a household name at the time. After the two kids disappeared, the organizers vanished too."

"I’m currently investigating this association and the genius competition from back then," Zeke Shaw said quietly.

But since he had little authority now, his investigation was severely restricted. He still had to rely on Lucas Grant for help.

I bit my finger.

’I can’t shake the feeling... the disappearance of these child prodigies, their parents being used as victims to commit murder and destroy the evidence... there has to be a bigger conspiracy behind it all.’

"Cece, you should hurry home and rest. You look terrible," Madeline Quinn said, her voice full of concern.

"There’s one more thing they have in common..." Zeke Shaw was silent for a long time before he finally spoke. "And that’s Cecilia Caldwell."

"Before the incidents, the parents of both victims had hired a tutor for them. That tutor was the winner of the first genius competition, Cecilia Caldwell." Zeke Shaw took a deep breath. "I also thought I’d made a mistake or that it was just someone with the same name, but it wasn’t... It’s definitely Cecilia Caldwell."

I stood frozen on the spot, my whole body rigid as I stared at Zeke Shaw.

’Lucas Grant had mentioned it too... that the disappearance of the two kids was related to ’Cecilia Caldwell’.

I didn’t believe it.

But now Zeke Shaw was saying it too...

I took a weak step back, stumbling into Asher’s arms.

He wrapped one arm around me and whispered, "Cece..."

My voice was hoarse as I looked up at Asher. ’He must know if this is true or not.’ "Tell me, is it true? Was Cecilia Caldwell... really the winner of the first genius competition?"

’How could I... know so little about myself?’

"How is that possible..." Madeline Quinn said in astonishment.

Asher looked down, and after a long silence, he finally spoke. "Yes..."