When it came to the case, the police officer’s way of speaking became noticeably more fluent.

“During the trial, Meredith Stone remained cold and indifferent throughout. Her expression was numb, completely unresponsive. Some of her testimony was contradictory, and she didn’t seem like a sexual assault victim at all. She showed no signs of post-traumatic stress, and when Harold Thornton was mentioned, there was no obvious emotion of disgust. This doesn’t really fit the profile of a sexual assault victim. Later, through our investigation, we discovered that there was a relationship between her and Harold Thornton that resembled admiration and gratitude—at least on the surface. So, we developed another hypothesis. However, as for what role Sean Hall played in all this, we couldn’t figure it out.”

There were indeed many contradictions about Mrs. Tian.

“So, based on the timing of Meredith Stone’s pregnancy, we worked backwards and checked hotel records in the city. We successfully found a hotel that matched the timeframe. On that night, the people who checked in were Harold Thornton and Meredith Stone.”

The person on the screen paused to take a breath, and The Vault felt he was about to reveal something big.

“Because too much time had passed, the surveillance footage at the hotel entrance had already been overwritten. However, the front desk staff on duty at the time still remembered the two of them. That’s because, when they arrived, one of them was almost unconscious and had to be supported inside. The state was different from ordinary drunkenness—the staff even thought he might be dead and was startled.”

He paused for a moment, and a flash of purple lightning crossed The Vault’s mind as she asked, “Harold Thornton?”

The police officer nodded. “Yes. The unconscious person was Harold Thornton.”

All three of them: “!!!”

The officer continued calmly, “According to the front desk’s statement, given Harold Thornton’s physical condition, he was in no state to commit rape, or in fact, to engage in any sexual activity at all. And aside from this incident, there were no other hotel records for the two of them together within a year. This was the only time they appeared together.”

The expressions on everyone’s faces grew increasingly strange.

The officer maintained his original pace, not even the arch of his eyebrows changing: “We also checked their spending records for that day and found that they had a late-night meal at a small restaurant, then took a taxi to the hotel. At the restaurant, Harold Thornton ordered two bottles of beer. Just two bottles—nowhere near enough to cause deep unconsciousness. So we have reason to believe that Meredith Stone deliberately drugged Harold Thornton and stole his sperm.”

The three of them were wide-eyed in disbelief. Compared to them, the officer’s composure made him seem all the more impressive. But The Vault believed that once upon a time, he too would have been just as shocked.

The naïve young man Julian Grant blurted out, “Wait! But why?”

The officer replied, with the tone of someone who’d seen it all: “Because of love.”

The group was caught off guard by this sudden sentiment.

The officer, clearly a man of the world, was unfazed by their reactions and continued at his own pace: “The following is what we deduced from the three people’s statements. Harold Thornton and Sean Hall didn’t have a good marriage. They met through their parents, introduced on a blind date. Sean Hall never visited him at the hospital, and Harold Thornton was always busy with work. Meredith Stone admired Harold Thornton; she believed that two people without a foundation of love should get divorced, but Harold Thornton was very conservative. Even for the sake of his daughter, he wanted to keep his family together. This disappointed Meredith Stone.”

In Julian Grant’s mind, a voice echoed: This is like a damn dream.

“Meredith Stone often found excuses to visit Harold Thornton, but he never responded warmly—he just treated her like a regular younger sister. Harold Thornton was gentle, handsome, and had the charm of a mature man. Meredith Stone didn’t give up because of his rejection; instead, she became even more obsessed because of his character. In the end, in a moment of impulsiveness, she thought: Harold Thornton, don’t you like children? Then I’ll have one for you.”

The three of them looked pained, with an indescribable sense of world-weariness.

The officer became more animated as he spoke, his face even lighting up a bit, his right hand making small gestures in the air: “Meredith Stone’s plan was absurd, but she actually pulled it off. After she got pregnant, she first went to Sean Hall and told her that she and Harold Thornton had had an affair, that they were truly in love, and hoped Sean Hall would divorce Harold Thornton and make room for the child in her belly. Sean Hall told her to wait four months, and after getting the amniocentesis report, she’d make a decision. During this period, Sean Hall and Meredith Stone stayed in contact.”

“The two rivals in love stayed in contact?” The Vault exclaimed in disbelief. “Sean Hall didn’t tear Meredith Stone apart? Harold Thornton didn’t know?”

The officer, with a hint of admiration, said, “She really kept her cool—she didn’t! She didn’t even tell Harold Thornton, keeping everything under wraps. Meredith Stone was too embarrassed to make a scene in front of Harold Thornton; he only found out about Meredith Stone’s pregnancy after we brought him to the police station.”

The three of them looked as if they were listening to a story from another world, their faces full of confusion about society.

The officer glanced at them and smiled, then frowned and continued: “Before calling the police, Sean Hall probably already had the whole scheme planned out. Meredith Stone is a bit naïve. Sean Hall brainwashed her with all sorts of subtle ideas, making her believe that as long as she didn’t provide decisive evidence, Harold Thornton wouldn’t be convicted. She hoped to use this opportunity to push for a divorce, so she kept quiet and just asked us to release him first. We did end up releasing him, but who would have thought Harold Thornton would get into a car accident? Meredith Stone was hit hard by this and soon left City A, so we never got a chance to follow up.”

Everyone felt a bit emotional, unsure how to comment.

The two women had staged a grand drama, and the innocent Harold Thornton became the victim.

Quinn Foster blinked hard, snapping out of his shock, and sighed, “Sean Hall is really ruthless. She can keep her cool like that? That’s not like her, is it?”

“Why not?” The officer on the other side leaned in, probing, “Actually, Sean Hall struck me as the strangest of the three. It’s like she knows everything, but says nothing. She’s always silent, calm, and distant, like a…”

The person on the screen couldn’t find the right word, so The Vault finished for him: “Like a bystander, watching from the outside.”

“Exactly! Like a spectator at a farce!” The officer raised his hand, rubbing the back of his neck, and hesitated, “Even now, I can’t really figure out her attitude. If you think about it in a dark way, the logic doesn’t add up. But if you ignore her, something still feels off. Have you interacted with her?”

The three of them sat in different postures, eyes lowered in thought, not answering right away.

According to the speculation of The Vault and the others, they still tended to believe that Sean Hall was being guided by someone at the time. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have shown such a drastic change in personality, nor would her ability to handle the situation have regressed so much.

If she didn’t hate Harold Thornton, there was no need for such severe revenge.

But if she really wanted to hold on, if there was still some lingering affection, she shouldn’t have been so detached.

Was she really a player in this drama? Did she truly love Harold Thornton? Was the situation she created for Harold Thornton out of revenge, or for some other reason?

One contradiction after another stood tall. The strongest explanation that flashed through The Vault’s mind was: Sean Hall originally thought she was both the director and the scriptwriter of the whole play, watching this ridiculous tragedy with pride from above, but in reality, she was just another pawn set up to move the plot forward.

When she lost her script, all she could do was revert to her own impatience and foolishness. But when the heat stirred up by her rationality faded away, she became afraid of others discovering her secret, and started acting like a clown, running around chaotically.

How familiar was this scene? A discarded experiment.

And then there was Meredith Stone. This “low-key” participant was finally becoming crucial.

Meredith Stone was one of the witnesses in Harry Forrest’s case, and also the second witness killed by Andrew Forrest, which suggests she might have some connection to the mastermind.

It’s hard to imagine that an ordinary woman, who was usually a bit shy, would suddenly do things like steal sperm and force a confrontation as the “other woman” without anyone egging her on, even completely abandoning her sense of shame.

She took love as her faith, justifying her despicable actions as righteous. In reality, her love was twisted and selfish, growing from the most unspeakable desires, like a plant sprouting from black mud.

Could Meredith Stone be the second tool used to train prey?

The Vault’s lips pressed into a thin line as she licked her tightly closed teeth with her tongue. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her fingertips dug red marks into her arms, just like the complex emotions boiling in her chest.

That mastermind was clearly more interested in geniuses from all walks of life. Only by gaining a sense of control over such people could he achieve spiritual satisfaction.

Meredith Stone and Sean Hall were just ordinary women with weak wills. But Harold Thornton, who at a young age could already be promoted to associate chief physician at a major hospital like Dalton University Affiliated, with surgical skills second to none and medical talent far beyond the average person, could definitely be called a genius among his peers.