Chapter 199

The "usual place" Flora mentioned was a coffee shop they'd often visited during college.

When Elizabeth arrived, Flora and Eugene were already waiting in a booth. Eugene had a laptop in front of him, his expression far more serious than usual.

"You're here." Flora waved her over.

Elizabeth sat across from her. A server came to take orders—she only asked for lemon water.

After the server left, Eugene closed his laptop and lowered his voice. "Ms. Whitaker, you asked me to help investigate Daisy's car accident five years ago. I found some things that don't add up."

"Go ahead." Elizabeth's heart tightened slightly.

"The surveillance at that accident site really did have a system malfunction during that half hour, but I checked the maintenance records. That intersection's surveillance system had just been replaced with new equipment a month before the accident—theoretically, this kind of problem shouldn't have occurred. After the malfunction was fixed, all log records were deleted."

Elizabeth frowned. "Deleted logs?"

Eugene nodded. "Usually after a system malfunction, maintenance personnel keep logs to analyze the cause, but this time, nothing was left."

"Among the traffic officers who investigated the scene and handled the accident back then, there was one called Officer Liam. This person..." Eugene paused. "Three years ago, he died in a traffic accident. I looked at the report for that accident—very suspicious. It happened on a suburban highway with very little traffic. Liam's car had brake failure, hit a guardrail, and tumbled down a slope."

Flora interjected, "Beth, do you remember? Three years ago we heard about that accident. The media briefly reported it as fatigue driving."

Elizabeth thought carefully. She vaguely remembered.

Flora squeezed Elizabeth's hand. "Beth, Eugene and I discussed this. If you still want to investigate further, there are two directions. One is to find the other traffic officer who handled the accident back then—he's retired now. The other is..."

She paused, carefully watching Elizabeth's expression before continuing. "Go find Daisy's fiancé."

If you asked who in this world understood Daisy best, who most wanted to find the truth about her death—

There was only one person.

Ethan.

Elizabeth recalled that phone call at the hospital. Clearly, Ethan also suspected something was wrong back then and had been investigating.

"I've decided to meet Ethan." Elizabeth finally made her decision. Compared to Daisy, those conflicts between her and Ethan didn't matter.

"But not now."

"Why not?" Flora didn't understand.

"I need more preparation." Elizabeth stood up. "Flora, do me a favor—find out where that other traffic officer who handled the accident lives now."

Flora looked at her with concern. "Beth, be careful. If there really is something wrong with Daisy's death, whoever's behind it definitely doesn't want anyone investigating."

"I'll be cautious." Elizabeth knew full well there would be danger, but when it came to Daisy, even if she had to risk her life, she would find the truth.

Daisy's death had always been a heavy burden she carried.

Three days later.

Elizabeth drove alone to a coffee shop near a nursing home in the north district.

After sitting for about twenty minutes, a man in a gray trench coat pushed through the door—Ethan.

He sat across from Elizabeth, looking more haggard than their last meeting, with obvious dark circles under his eyes.

"Well? What did you want to see me about?" Ethan got straight to the point, his tone cold.

Elizabeth didn't beat around the bush. "About Daisy's death."

Ethan's gaze instantly sharpened. "You dare bring it up? I can barely stand to hear it. What makes you think that after mentioning this in front of me, I'd let you go? You should know very well—I despise you."

"Of course I know. But have you considered that your so-called hatred might be directed at the wrong person?" Elizabeth's words were shocking.

Ethan stared at her for a long time—so long Elizabeth thought he wouldn't answer. Finally, he said hoarsely, "What are you trying to say?"

Elizabeth took a sip of coffee. No sugar—very bitter, bitter enough to numb her tongue. "I've always thought what happened back then was a nightmare. I never dared recall it. I've forgotten many details from that time, but now I often have a dream about that terrible scene... I suddenly remembered something. The person who took me to that dinner party back then was Angelina's friend."

Ethan's gaze sharpened. "Are you sure?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I'm sure. But it was so chaotic at the time, I never thought in that direction."

Not until she'd overheard Ethan and Angelina's conversation at the hospital.

Only then did she suddenly think of another possibility—one no one had considered, no one dared imagine, a terrifying direction.

Under the table, Ethan's hand clenched into a fist, knuckles white.

For a long time, the coffee shop held only background music and the low murmur of neighboring customers.

"I've been investigating." Ethan finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "But these past five years, every lead always cuts off at the most crucial moment. Like someone's been preventing me from digging deeper."

"Maybe someone doesn't want the truth exposed." Elizabeth said.

Ethan sneered and shot her a look. "You think I don't know that?"

Elizabeth finally stated her proposal—the purpose of today. "Maybe we can cooperate. In a sense, we have the same goal. I want to know who's behind everything, and you want to know the truth about Daisy's death."

Ethan looked at her with extremely complicated eyes. "These past five years, every time I see you, I remember what Daisy looked like before she died. I can't forgive you, and I can't forgive myself..."

He didn't want to cooperate with Elizabeth. Didn't even want to see her.

He was going mad.

Just thinking about how Daisy was half-dead while Elizabeth was still alive, still breathing, still able to run and jump, still able to work...

Enormous resentment swept over him.

But...

Ethan closed his eyes. The scales in his heart tipped constantly. All the anger and hatred couldn't compare to that figure deep in his heart. "Just this once. Whatever you need me to do, I'll cooperate."

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. Though she'd known Ethan wouldn't refuse—even for Daisy's sake he wouldn't—watching him hesitate still made her anxious. "Good."

Ethan stood up, placing a business card on the table. "My new number. But don't think I've forgiven you. If the final result turns out different from what we imagine, you'll still have to pay for what you did."

Elizabeth wasn't surprised. She simply smiled readily. "I understand."

What she owed Ethan and Daisy—she didn't deny it.

To show her sincerity in cooperating, Elizabeth also provided Ethan with a lead—the person who'd taken Elizabeth to that banquet five years ago, Angelina's friend, supposedly a middle school classmate.

Because of that connection, Elizabeth had gone without any guard.

Afterward, this person had supposedly attempted suicide once out of guilt. Elizabeth had probably been too overwhelmed to pay her any mind.

Looking back now, it all seemed far too suspicious.

Ethan took the person's photo, his eyes dark. "I understand. I'll investigate this."

He didn't ask why Elizabeth hadn't said anything at the time.

Elizabeth had been deeply traumatized then, unconscious for days. When she woke, she'd suffered severe mental illness—this was a well-known fact.

"I'm leaving." Ethan hurried off.

Elizabeth knew he couldn't wait to investigate.

With his help, this matter would proceed smoothly. And Angelina... if she really was connected to Daisy's death, with Ethan's help, Cornelius couldn't protect her.