Chapter 410: What If It’s Always Been Marcus Thompson?

Chapter 410: Chapter 410: What If It’s Always Been Marcus Thompson?

By the time Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale arrived at the interrogation room where Kai Thorne was being held, he was no longer exhibiting the behavior the young officer had described.

His head was bowed as he sat on the chair, his gaze vacant. He unconsciously picked at a piece of dead skin on the edge of his fingernail, only stopping when it began to bleed. Beneath the table, his leg jiggled rapidly, as if trying to shake the tension out of the air.

"How long has he been like this?" Heath Hale asked, looking at the officer standing by the door.

The officer guarding the door had been keeping an eye on Kai Thorne, so when Heath asked, he thought for a moment before giving an approximate time. "About five minutes. He’s been muttering, ’This shouldn’t be happening. Why is this happening?’"

Heath Hale frowned at the answer. ’There’s definitely a secret here.’

"Alright, I get it. Thanks for your hard work." Heath Hale patted the shoulder of the officer by the door, then led Zoe Sawyer inside.

"I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill anyone. It was self-defense."

"Am I Marcus Thompson? No, am I Kai Thorne?"

"Who am I?"

"It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Things weren’t supposed to turn out this way."

Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale heard Kai Thorne muttering these phrases the moment they walked in.

He looked bewildered, as if he were genuinely confused about his own identity.

Heath Hale wasn’t buying it, though. He’d seen far better actors than Kai Thorne. One, in particular, had given such a flawless performance that he’d fooled the entire police department.

Just as they were about to release him, a detective on an outside investigation found something that wasn’t right and rushed the clue back to the station.

Only then were they able to unravel the case from that tiny, incongruous clue and ultimately expose the killer’s true identity.

Kai Thorne’s performance was crude by comparison.

He stole a glance as they entered. Though he quickly looked away, Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale still caught it.

Plus, after they came in, his jiggling leg went still, and the volume of his muttering increased just a little too deliberately.

These little details all indicated that this Kai Thorne wasn’t as helpless as he was letting on.

Now with a better sense of the situation, Zoe and Heath exchanged a look. They then sat down in front of Kai Thorne in unspoken agreement, remaining silent as they started to look through the case files.

From time to time, they would scribble notes on the documents. Occasionally, one would point to a section, gesturing for the other to look over.

And after reading, the other person’s first reaction was almost always the same: they would glance up at Kai Thorne with a complex expression, but remain silent.

Their behavior made the already rattled Kai Thorne even more unnerved.

He knew they were applying psychological pressure, waiting to see when he would break.

’No, I can’t let them scare me this easily!’

Kai Thorne inwardly clenched his jaw, forcing himself to calm down and resume his earlier behavior.

Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale hadn’t expected to break down Kai Thorne’s psychological defenses in one go.

The pair continued to review the files in their hands, pondering why the two brothers had suddenly become mortal enemies.

’If Marcus Thompson was jealous of Kai Thorne’s life, was it only because of his wealth? Could there be something else they’d missed?’

Zoe Sawyer stared at the files, and something Eliza Lynch had said suddenly flashed through her mind.

Kai Thorne had picked up bad habits from Marcus Thompson, learning to smoke and drink, and even started dressing like him.

’Could it be possible that the "husband gone bad" Eliza Lynch saw was actually Marcus Thompson himself the entire time?’

The more Zoe thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

"I’ve discovered something. Let’s talk outside," Zoe Sawyer whispered, tugging on Heath Hale’s sleeve.

Heath Hale glanced at Kai Thorne, who remained silent with his head bowed, and let Zoe lead him out of the interrogation room.

Although Zoe had deliberately lowered her voice, the interrogation room was so quiet that Kai Thorne still heard every word.

’A new discovery? What new discovery?’

’Don’t tell me they actually found something?’

’That shouldn’t be possible!’

"What did you find?" Heath Hale asked in a low voice the moment they were outside the door.

Zoe Sawyer explained her idea. "Remember what Eliza Lynch said earlier? That Kai Thorne had gone bad, learned to smoke and drink, and even started dressing like Marcus Thompson.

What if the person Eliza Lynch was seeing the whole time was actually Marcus Thompson?"

The others nearby looked stunned when they heard Zoe’s words.

Right! How could they have overlooked that possibility!

"That’s definitely a possibility, but proving it now will be difficult," Heath Hale said, nodding in agreement with Zoe’s idea.

Crime-solving is all about making bold assumptions and then carefully seeking proof.

"That won’t be too hard. I’ll just ask Eliza Lynch and Catherine Miller a few questions later to test my theory," Zoe Sawyer said with a dismissive wave, her tone casual.

For her, reconstructing the scenario was actually the easiest part.

"There’s no time to lose. Let’s go now." Seeing the eager expression on Zoe’s face, Heath didn’t hesitate. He followed right behind her and headed for the visitor’s room.

Eliza Lynch and Catherine Miller, who had just been calmed down by Hayden Shaw, shot to their feet upon seeing Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale return. They rushed over excitedly. "Officer, have you figured out who died?"

Zoe Sawyer held up a hand, gesturing for the two of them to calm down. "The ID verification results aren’t back yet," she said. "We came to ask you a question.

Ms. Miller, did your ex-husband Marcus Thompson smoke?"

"He smoked! A pack a day, like clockwork! Before the divorce, the whole house stank of his disgusting cigarette smoke. No matter how many times I yelled at him, he wouldn’t quit!" Catherine Miller replied without a moment’s hesitation.

As she spoke, a look of clear aversion appeared on Catherine Miller’s face.

She despised the smell of smoke, yet she’d ended up marrying a chain-smoker. ’How ironic,’ she thought now.

Zoe Sawyer nodded knowingly. She then turned to Eliza Lynch, who had been standing silently to the side. "Mrs. Lynch, and Kai Thorne?"

"I’ve said it before, Kai doesn’t smoke. But a while ago, he inexplicably started smoking, picking up the habit from Marcus Thompson. He smelled absolutely awful.

Sometimes, he’d open his mouth and this foul smell would just waft out. He even wanted to smoke in the house, if you can believe it! I had to throw a fit to stop him." An uncontrollable look of disgust crossed Eliza Lynch’s face as she spoke. ℯℯ𝑙.

Kai Thorne may have had a terrible biological brother.

But honestly, before the two of them reconnected, she had always felt her life was perfect.

She had a happy family, no in-law drama, and plenty of money.

Who could have imagined that after they reconnected, her life would become such a complete mess!

"Kai Thorne said he’d killed someone, then he came home and hid in his room for two days. When you opened the door, did you smell anything in particular?" Zoe continued her questioning.

"After I opened the door to the room?"