The Vault paused for a second and said, “The prey you look down on is now pregnant with your father’s child. Isn’t that a rather pathetic thing?”

“It’s a stretch, teacher.” Xavier Daniels shook his head. “Don’t tell me that’s your answer.”

The Vault raised her hand in a dismissive gesture and firmly refused, “I’m not your teacher. I really dislike how you people just call anyone your teacher so casually.”

Xavier Daniels asked, “Why won’t you answer me directly?”

The Vault fell silent.

Xavier Daniels suddenly brightened up, and in that moment, his expression truly resembled that of a sunny young man. He laughed, “You don’t know!”

The Vault said, “I will know.”

The two fell into a stalemate in the middle of their discussion when The Vault’s phone suddenly rang.

The Vault liked this kind of phone—no ads, no spam, no scams, and every notification brought new plot developments. If the carrier could make that happen, she’d definitely break her bad habit of going out without her phone.

The caller ID showed it was The Vault’s colleague. Across from her, Xavier Daniels’s expression visibly darkened.

The Vault picked up her phone and stood up, heading out of the interrogation room.

“Captain, didn’t you ask me to look into Xavier Daniels’s file before? You also wanted me to check what people around him thought of him.”

The person on the other end was flipping through a notebook, the speakerphone on, and the sound of pages turning came through the speaker.

“There’s nothing unusual. Xavier Daniels’s teachers generally have very positive things to say about him, and the whole family has a good reputation. After Thomas Daniels moved into their current house, he got along well with the neighbors, often giving them small gifts from the factory or leftover employee benefits. As for Xavier Daniels, he’s reportedly always been close to his father. They…”

“They moved?” The Vault interrupted, “When did Thomas Daniels and his family move?”

“Hmm…” the person replied, “The property registration was thirteen years ago. Let me see, the purchase was a year before that, so the move should have been around…”

The Vault recalled the locked children’s room in Thomas Daniels’s house. It didn’t look special in any way, yet Thomas Daniels kept it tightly locked, almost as if it were sealed, and rarely set foot inside.

The bedding and furniture inside were all suitable for children under seven, and the styles looked quite new. Even thirteen or fourteen years ago, Xavier Daniels was already a teenager.

The Vault asked, “If it were you, after moving to a new house, would you bring your son’s old child’s bed and furniture and lock them up?”

The person on the other end was baffled: “Am I crazy?”

The Vault said, “Then help me check if the The Daniels Family had a second child.”

“No way!” the colleague exclaimed in surprise. “There’s no record of that in the files. The family’s never mentioned it either.”

“Died young before the age of seven, probably a boy.” The Vault’s deep eyes gazed down the corridor, the picture in her mind gradually becoming clearer. She added, “Cause of death was an accident, and he was Thomas Daniels’s illegitimate child.”

The colleague said, “Okay, I’ll look into it right away.”

·

The Vault walked back in. Xavier Daniels stared at her, his gaze urgent.

The Vault said, “Don’t worry.”

She was holding two blue cups, which she set on the table, and asked, “Do you like blue?”

Xavier Daniels shook his head.

“Great.” The Vault pushed the other cup toward Julian Grant. “It wasn’t for you anyway.”

Xavier Daniels said, “If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to go have dinner.”

Outside, Henry Harris helpfully said, “Then let’s have them speed up.”

The Vault’s phone rang again. She looked at the screen and smiled, “Thanks for helping me move things along.”

Julian Grant was confused.

Chapter 73: The Past

The Vault once again left the interrogation room with her phone and answered the call.

“Captain, amazing! You were right, Thomas Daniels really did have another son!”

The officer on the other end was so excited he said it all in one breath.

“We had the local police ask Thomas Daniels’s neighbors. One neighbor said that a long time ago, about a year after Thomas Daniels moved into the new house, he suddenly brought home a little boy, said it was his son, and that the boy had been raised in the countryside due to poor health but was now brought back. The child was about five, small, very well-behaved and sensible. But he didn’t live there long before he died. Supposedly it was an accident. After the body was brought back, it was sent for cremation right away. Since then, Thomas Daniels never mentioned the child again, and no one dared bring it up in front of him. Over time, hardly anyone remembered.”

The Vault asked, “Did the family get along well at the time?”

The officer said, “They seemed to. Thomas Daniels always doted on his kids and was generous with money. His business was booming then, and he bought his son lots of gifts. Plus, Xavier Daniels always acted very mature and often helped look after his little brother. The neighbors had no idea the boy was Thomas Daniels’s illegitimate child!”

Maybe because she was tired, The Vault’s eyelid kept twitching. She pressed her left eye and continued, “Can you confirm the child’s identity?”

The officer typed quickly: “The neighbor said her own child was about the same age, so sometimes they played together downstairs, and she took a photo of the two of them. I’ll send the picture to your phone in a bit.”

“We checked the death records from that year using the photo and confirmed an identity. Shane Donovan, five years old, had a paternity test with Thomas Daniels confirming they were father and son. Thomas Daniels also claimed Shane Donovan’s body. He originally wanted to transfer Shane Donovan’s household registration to his own, but before the paperwork was done, the child died, so there’s no record in the files.”

The Vault turned to face the wall and asked, “Who was Shane Donovan’s original guardian?”

The officer said, “The records say his mother.”

The Vault asked, “Why did she give up guardianship?”

“Still checking, that’ll take digging through old records. But…” the person paused, then continued, “According to the neighbor’s statement, she remembers a young-looking woman coming to Thomas Daniels’s house to look for someone, almost taking the child away. But it was so long ago, she’s not sure if she dreamed it or if it really happened.”

The Vault bit the dead skin on her lip, thought for a moment, and said, “Okay. Organize the useful information and bring it over to Brother Grant. Then take Sylvia Shaw to an empty interrogation room; Julian Grant will be there soon. Also, check Shane Donovan’s mother’s file, confirm the custody transfer back then, and her psychological state after Shane Donovan’s death.”

The person replied, “Understood, I’ll get on it.”

“Thank you.”

·

The Vault ended the call and returned to the interrogation room. Inside, Julian Grant and Xavier Daniels were locked in a silent staring contest.

Xavier Daniels, with the pride of someone highly intelligent, didn’t want to talk to him. Julian Grant, with the dignity of an ordinary person, didn’t want to talk to him either.

So when The Vault reappeared, both of them looked at her, their eyes full of hope and reliance, making The Vault momentarily question her own identity.

The Vault walked over and patted Julian Grant on the shoulder, not bothering to lower her voice, and said, “Go see Sylvia Shaw.”

Julian Grant looked up, “Why should I see Sylvia Shaw?”

The Vault said, “You’ll understand after you look at the files. You’re well-suited to deal with her.”

“Are you serious?”

“Mm.”

Julian Grant even suspected she was just trying to get rid of him, but he still gathered his things and left.

Xavier Daniels glanced at his back and said provocatively, “Finally, it’s just the two of us.”

The Vault was blunt: “Aren’t the people watching the livestream outside human?”

Xavier Daniels: “At least they’re not as much of an eyesore.”

The Vault moved Julian Grant’s chair aside and sat directly across from Xavier Daniels. She propped her elbows on the table, her crossed hands covering half her face, and stared at him intently.

“Soon you’ll realize that the most annoying person here is actually me.”

·

Julian Grant didn’t have to wait long in the hallway before a colleague jogged over with the files.

He opened them half-doubtful, and was immediately stunned by the sheer amount of information inside, feeling like he’d slept through a key plot point like Detective Morgan, except he’d been awake the whole time.

He skimmed the witness statements, picking out many key clues, and organized them in his mind before slowly closing the folder.

Holding the documents, Julian Grant felt a bit unsettled.

Isn’t Trident’s cheat a bit too overpowered? How did these files get put together in just a few minutes?

The parameters are way too unrealistic—doesn’t this mess up the game balance?

Julian Grant looked up and sternly warned the empty air, “Susan Scott, watch yourself. Don’t go overboard.”

The technician outside, having been called out, felt wronged. What did this have to do with him? Causing psychological harm should come with extra pay.

Are bosses always this unqualified these days?