Yes, Frank Bishop. There’s no need for assumptions like William Williams’s—just look at him now, could I ever have imagined this? The intersection of his life and mine began with the rescue from the corpse pool. Looking back now, was it really just a coincidence? Afterwards, he pulled me away from Susan Wright’s whirlpool, letting me drift away from Susan Wright naturally, and on Christmas Eve, he quietly attended the training class reunion. He was once my only lifeline, the light of my world. He knelt on the street and took out a ring, granting me salvation. From then on, we were together day and night, and he always cared for me—never once raising his voice in all these years. He was the tree, I was the vine; I thought we would cling to each other for life, growing old together. But now, the trunk I always embraced has suddenly turned into a wisp of smoke, and as the past turns to emptiness, I still see that smoke morph into a ferocious ghostly face, grinning wickedly at me.

What have I made of my life?

Fiona Bennett couldn’t help but recall that face, now gone. At this moment, the features were so clear, yet like starlight in the night sky—bright, but cold and distant. The starlight is so far away; when it shines on me and I look up, there’s already an unbridgeable distance between us. For a moment, Fiona Bennett’s heart ached so much she couldn’t breathe.

“Sorry,” William Williams said, “I shouldn’t have asked.”

But such a simple apology could hardly pull Fiona Bennett out of the mire.

William Williams stood up, lowered his head, and paced slowly around the living room a few times, letting out a long sigh.

“Sorry, Fiona Bennett, I’m quitting.”

This sentence snapped Fiona Bennett back to reality. She almost thought William Williams was joking with her.

“What happened? Is someone threatening you?”

William Williams shook his head and said, “You know why I joined you in this investigation, right? But that reason… it doesn’t exist anymore.”

“You joined because of Susan Wright. Even though she hurt you back then, you still liked her, you still loved her, didn’t you? Are you saying you don’t love her anymore?” They had never spoken this reason out loud before—after all, for a man to still be hung up on someone who hurt him so badly, that kind of love is unbalanced. Now, Fiona Bennett was anxious and didn’t care about sparing William Williams’s feelings.

“Yes, I can’t do it anymore. I can’t keep loving her. Shirley Wright entrusted her sister to me, she wrote to me for so many years, and then I wrote for so many years—we both thought we understood Susan Wright better than anyone. It’s laughable. No one understands her, except herself.”

William Williams stared at Fiona Bennett, enunciating each word: “Susan Wright killed her own sister. She’s a murderer!”

“That’s impossible!” Fiona Bennett cried out.

“It’s true,” William Williams said. “Adrian Wright knows too. Yesterday, I went to visit him.”

William Williams recounted his conversation with Adrian Wright, and as Fiona Bennett listened, she felt her world collapsing. Even seeing Frank Bishop with a scalpel that night hadn’t shocked her as much as this.

“Feels disillusioning, doesn’t it?” William Williams said. “You have to know, what I feel is ten times worse than you.”

“Could it be… you’re all mistaken?” Fiona Bennett still couldn’t believe it.

“I can tell Adrian Wright knows more than he’s saying. He wouldn’t be mistaken—it’s his daughter, after all.”

Fiona Bennett slowly leaned back against the sofa. Now, she could completely understand William Williams’s feelings, and had no reason to force him to keep investigating. She knew that William Williams’s feelings for Susan Wright actually came from Shirley Wright.

“I understand. But thank you for your help these past days.”

“So, are you still going to keep investigating?”

“Of course.” Fiona Bennett straightened her back again. “Because I’m not doing this for Susan Wright, I’m doing it for Gabriel Adams.”

William Williams sat back down across from her, looking at her. “You’ve already given so much for this case—is it worth it?”

“What have I given? My years of living a false life? Now, I see so many things I used to overlook, especially now that I know there was once someone in this world who would go to any lengths for me. I realized it too late, but at least I finally did. How he treated me, how I treated him—that’s it. I’ve thought it all through.”

At this, a faint smile appeared on Fiona Bennett’s face. William Williams looked at her smile—it wasn’t a bitter or angry smile, but a warm one, tinged with nostalgia, memories, even hope. It was a smile with light in it. He hadn’t seen such a smile in many, many years. Had he ever shown such a smile to Susan Wright? In a lifetime, a person has to smile like this, has to see such a smile, for life to be worthwhile.

So, he made his decision.

“Go, Fiona Bennett. Go.” William Williams said to Fiona Bennett.

“What, just because we can’t be partners, you’re kicking me out?”

William Williams glanced up at the wall clock.

“You have at most ten minutes left.”

Fiona Bennett looked into William Williams’s eyes, and finally understood what he meant.

“You told Frank Bishop?”

“Yes.”

Fiona Bennett never expected to be betrayed by William Williams. She had thought he was her most reliable partner. If he gave up the investigation out of disappointment in Susan Wright, she could understand that. But to sell her out to Frank Bishop, to hand her over to a mental hospital—that was a despicable act, far beyond her bottom line. How could William Williams be that kind of person?

Maybe it was all the unexpected news today, maybe it was too many betrayals—Fiona Bennett felt numb. She stood up, picked up her bag, and walked to the door.

But she stopped, turned back to look at William Williams.

“No, something else must have happened besides visiting Adrian Wright. You would never betray me to Frank Bishop just because you’re disappointed in Susan Wright. Everything has logic, everything has stakes—there’s a missing link here. Tell me what happened!”

“Nine minutes left. Maybe they’ll arrive in the next minute. Do you really want to satisfy your curiosity at a time like this?”

“I only have one lead left to investigate, and I don’t even know if it’ll turn up anything. I’m not that confident in my detective skills. If I could get more clues, what’s a little risk?”

Fiona Bennett walked back to the sofa and sat down across from William Williams.

“You betrayed me. Maybe I’ll be thrown into a mental hospital any minute now. If you feel even a little guilty, please tell me—why did you do it?”

William Williams glanced at the clock again, noticing that Fiona Bennett hadn’t looked at it once. In just these few minutes, this woman had made him see her in a new light.

“I’m a cripple, and to get this far, many people think it’s a miracle. But no miracle comes out of nowhere. The year I was expelled from school, I jumped off the dorm building and survived. After I was rescued, for a long time, I wished I’d died. My family spent everything to send me to college, and I ended up like that—crippled. Back then, I even slit my wrists. If it hadn’t been for someone encouraging me, supporting me for years, even helping me financially, I could never have pulled myself together. I wouldn’t be who I am today. That person came to see me yesterday.”

“Who is it?” Fiona Bennett pressed him.

“That’s enough. I won’t say any more. Go.”

“A woman?”

William Williams smiled.

A flash of insight struck Fiona Bennett.

“Winnie Hayes, it’s Winnie Hayes, isn’t it? You said she liked you, but never confessed. You were so sure—she must have kept in touch with you. She came to see you yesterday!”

William Williams’s face darkened.

At that moment, Fiona Bennett’s mind was crystal clear. “That text about Fenghai and Wenhua Hospital was sent to my phone, but it was meant for you. Once you knew Susan Wright was a murderer, you’d definitely give up the investigation. At that moment, your confidante, your benefactor, came to you, and you were torn—keep investigating to avenge a murderer, or give up and keep your benefactor Winnie Hayes safe. No, it’s not even a dilemma. The choice is too easy.”

“Winnie Hayes had nothing to do with Gabriel Adams’s death, or with Susan Wright’s death either,” William Williams said, face grim.

“I believe she had nothing to do with Gabriel Adams’s death, but if she had nothing to do with Susan Wright, why did she come to see you yesterday? She was afraid the investigation would implicate her, wasn’t she?”

“I never said she came yesterday.”

“First Frank Bishop, now Winnie Hayes—neither of them could be the one who killed Gabriel Adams. Just how many people will this case drag in? Was everyone in the training class involved?” As soon as Fiona Bennett said this, a chill rose in her heart, her whole back tingling.

This can’t be true, she thought.

Fiona Bennett knew William Williams wouldn’t say another word. Now that she’d guessed Winnie Hayes, he was probably already regretting it. She stood up, quickly put on her shoes at the door, and said to William Williams, “Thank you anyway. At least you gave me these ten minutes.”