Inside the taxi, Victoria looked thrilled as she took in the daytime cityscape. Every building, vehicle, and beam of light spilling across the streets caught her attention with boundless curiosity—her behavior resembling that of a small child seeing the outside world for the first time.
Aron, however, paid no attention to it. He was busy checking his email on his phone, his expression serious and focused.
Only the taxi driver seemed puzzled, stealing glances at Victoria through the rearview mirror several times, clearly wondering at the woman's unusual reaction to such an ordinary sight.
"I'm still hungry," Victoria said without taking her eyes off the view outside the window.
"After we're done at the condominium, I'll take you out to eat," Aron replied calmly.
"I feel like having a burger."
"No problem."
Victoria finally turned to look at him.
"What are you looking at?"
Aron let out a slow breath. "This case has become headline news."
"Of course it has. Your client is a businessman," Victoria continued. "But why did he hire you? With the money he has, he could easily get a far more powerful lawyer."
"I asked him that last night," Aron said. "But no lawyer was willing to take his case. You know it yourself—all the evidence points straight at him. Who would dare?"
He paused before continuing more honestly.
"If I didn't have you… do you think I'd dare to take it?"
Victoria nodded slowly. "I understand. Just remember what I told you last night."
Aron nodded as well. "Of course. I remember."
"Don't get nervous. Keep yourself under control when they start asking questions."
Aron nodded again. "I'll need your help too."
"Don't worry," Victoria replied simply, her tone confident.
**
At 9:45 a.m., the taxi they were in stopped right in front of the entrance to Riverton Place Condominium. Outside the lobby, two detectives were already waiting.
Victoria stepped out first, followed by Aron.
"Good morning, Detective Roland, Detective Jordyn," Aron greeted calmly as he approached them.
The greeting was all but ignored.
"Hurry up. We've got a lot of work to deal with," Detective Roland snapped, his sharp eyes fixed on Aron. Detective Jordyn, meanwhile, cast an unfriendly look at Victoria.
"Y-yes… all right," Aron replied briefly, slightly uneasy.
The two detectives walked into the lobby ahead of them.
"What's with them?" Victoria asked Aron quietly.
"They're the ones investigating the previous case," Aron answered shortly.
"The assault case?" Victoria asked to be sure.
Aron nodded faintly.
The elevator doors opened, and the two detectives allowed Aron and Victoria to step in first before entering themselves.
"Do you know why that killer hired you?" Detective Roland asked as soon as the elevator began to ascend.
"My client is not a killer, Detective. And yes, I know why he hired me," Aron replied calmly, his tone steady despite the detective's scrutinizing gaze following his every move.
Detective Roland curled his lips and glanced at his partner, as if mocking Aron's answer.
"You should enjoy your first win while it lasts and stop meddling in this case. You're just an ordinary lawyer," Roland said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Don't think you're going to win this time. Even more qualified lawyers turned this case down—don't go retiring after you lose," Detective Jordyn added.
Aron gave a small smile, glancing at Victoria as if conveying a message without words.
"I'm just trying my luck… like before," Aron replied calmly.
The two detectives did not take that answer lightly. Moments later, they both turned their eyes back to Aron, their faces clearly showing irritation.
"Good luck," Detective Roland said with a look of irritation, just as the elevator doors opened.
Detectives Roland and Jordyn stepped out with sour expressions, in stark contrast to Aron and Victoria, who appeared calm—as if nothing had happened at all.
"What else do you want to investigate? Isn't everything already in the file?" Detective Roland asked as he strode ahead with firm steps.
"My client says he often falls asleep after dinner, and that condition lasted for about a month. That's why I want to investigate whether his wife might have given him something," Aron replied calmly, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Maybe after he woke up, he killed his wife," Roland said again.
"That's also a possibility," Aron nodded. "But what would the motive be? They had no financial problems. From interviews with the neighbors and the condominium staff, everyone said the couple's relationship was good. There's no evidence suggesting a third party was involved. That's what puzzles me."
Roland stopped in front of the door guarded by a police officer, his gaze still skeptical.
"But all the evidence clearly points to your client."
"That… I'll let my assistant and I look into it ourselves," Aron replied confidently, even though his heart was pounding hard at that moment.
"Suit yourself. But don't touch anything inside without gloves," Roland warned, his tone emphasizing the importance of procedure.
Detective Roland lifted the yellow tape and allowed Aron and Victoria to enter.
"Thank you," Aron said, receiving no reply from the detective. He stepped forward, but his pace faltered. From behind, Victoria quietly nudged his waist.
"Just stay calm," Victoria whispered.
"Okay," Aron replied, then pretended to examine the living room before moving toward the kitchen. The two detectives followed behind.
"Oh my gosh! There's so much blood," Aron exclaimed, feigning shock.
The two detectives laughed, clearly amused.
"First time seeing blood?" Detective Roland teased, his eyes gleaming with sarcasm.
"Yeah… something like that," Aron replied, slightly taken aback, while Victoria stepped into the kitchen.
"Our client mentioned that every time after dinner, he would get sleepy and fall asleep immediately. He usually woke up between five and six o'clock at the latest. The autopsy results aren't out yet," Victoria said seriously.
Detectives Roland and Jordyn furrowed their brows, curiosity evident.
"Who's the woman?" Roland asked, his eyes scanning Victoria with interest.
"Oh, she's my assistant, a crime analysis specialist," Aron replied calmly.
"Wow… you must have a lot of money. Hiring a crime analysis specialist as an assistant," Roland mocked with a cynical smile.
"How much did that doctor pay you?" Jordyn interjected, her tone slightly challenging.
"She's my assistant, but more like a partner," Aron said, firm yet casual.
"Can we just continue the investigation without getting distracted by irrelevant matters?" Victoria interjected sharply, her eyes fixed on the two detectives.
"Alright… go ahead," Roland said, glancing at Jordyn and giving a mocking wink.
"If this lasted for a whole month, something's definitely off," Aron added, continuing Victoria's point.
"There must be a reason why he's always so sleepy," Victoria said, extending her hand. Aron looked puzzled.
"Do you have a handkerchief?" Victoria asked.
"For what?" Aron asked, confused.
Detectives Roland and Jordyn, watching them, chuckled quietly.
"I'm going to open this cabinet. We don't have gloves," Victoria whispered, slightly annoyed.
"But you don't have—" Aron started, but Victoria quickly cut him off.
"Hey!"
Aron closed his mouth just in time and hurriedly pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. Victoria took it and began opening the first cabinet.
Contents of the first cabinet: luxury plates and glasses. The second cabinet held bottles and food stored in tins. The third cabinet contained a mix of small containers.
Without wasting any time, Victoria took each item out and placed it carefully on the granite countertop in the middle of the kitchen. Aron and the two detectives simply watched, impressed by Victoria's meticulousness.
"You two, lend me your gloves," Victoria requested firmly.
Detective Roland quickly pulled out a pair of plastic gloves from the pocket inside his coat and handed them to Victoria. Jordyn looked at his action with slight confusion, wondering why her partner was being so compliant.
"Put on the gloves. Open all the lids on these containers," Victoria instructed, handing the rubber gloves to Aron.
Aron didn't ask any questions. He followed Victoria's instructions immediately. Once he had the gloves on both hands, he began opening each lid one by one.
Unnoticed, the two detectives moved closer to observe carefully.
Aron's eyes discreetly flicked toward them. He already knew which container held the sleeping pills but pretended to examine the others first, controlling his reactions and movements to avoid raising suspicion.
After opening a few lids, Aron finally decided to open the blue container.
"What kind of pills are these?" Aron said, feigning surprise as he looked inside.
"What is it?" Roland asked, his eyes widening in genuine-looking shock.
"Take a look," Aron said, pointing the container toward Roland and Jordyn, deliberately maintaining his confused expression.
"What kind of pills…" Roland murmured to his partner, his voice barely audible.
"Those… are sleeping pills," Victoria answered confidently, her eyes observing every reaction they made.
"But… how did you know this container was here?" Jordyn began to voice her suspicion, her brows furrowed.