Chapter 12: Crucial Evidence
I navigated to Tonghai Road—it wasn't far from where I was.
It only took about twenty minutes to get there.
Tonghai Road was outside the city but close to the old district. The area was pretty desolate—there were plenty of buildings, but since the old district had been largely evacuated for relocation, nobody really lived here anymore.
Even the streetlights couldn't be bothered—more than half of them were off. With no foot traffic, the city wasn't going to waste electricity here.
I found number 185, a small bungalow. I tried the door, but it was locked.
I walked over to the window and looked in. The curtains were drawn. Since a dying man's words are honest, I figured Tiger Lin wouldn't lie to me. I smashed the window, unlocked it, and climbed inside.
The house was pitch black. I found the light switch and flipped it on—immediately, I saw a mother and child tied to chairs, exactly as Tiger had described. He'd already blown out the candles.
I walked over to the woman and said carefully, "Don't be nervous. I'm here to rescue you. Let me ask—are you Monkey Drake's wife?"
She nodded vigorously. I pulled the cloth out of her mouth, and she immediately burst into tears. "What took you so long, you useless piece of—Boss Drake keeps such incompetent people around!"
I looked at her calmly and shoved the cloth back into her mouth.
She made muffled protests. I sighed. "I was going to feel sorry for you, but clearly you know exactly what your husband's been up to. What a waste of my sympathy."
She made more muffled sounds, nearly in tears. I ignored her and started looking for the evidence Tiger had mentioned.
It didn't take long—I found several notebooks on the dining table, with some items stacked on top.
Inside were bank cards, passbooks, and transfer records.
The bank cards clearly weren't Monkey Drake's own. Each card had a name and PIN written right on it. I opened the ledgers and found records of dealings with pawnshops, finance companies, gold dealers, and various other businesses.
These were all legitimate companies on the surface. But if you examined the ledger carefully, you'd find discrepancies between transactions and inventory. For example, on a given day, three transactions were recorded, but the warehouse only shipped one order. The other two transactions had bank transfer and cash withdrawal records, but no corresponding goods.
Enough to prove those two transactions were illegitimate.
Reading through the ledger with growing interest, I stumbled upon something that caught my attention.
"August 12th, Greatstride Transport Company, Manager Wendy Xu, transfer of two million."
"August 16th, Greatstride Transport Company, Manager Wendy Xu, transfer of seven hundred thousand."
Greatstride Transport Company... the name sounded familiar.
I suddenly remembered that day hiding in the stairwell when Howard Li was on the phone—he'd mentioned this company.
I looked it up on my phone and quickly found Greatstride Transport Company. The legal representative was Tai Sun.
Strange.
The registered legal representative was Tai Sun, but one of the shareholders caught my eye—Howard Li. This baffled me. Why would Wendy Xu be listed there?
Had she been involved in this gold transaction?
I combed through the ledger more carefully and discovered that Monkey Drake's business empire was vast and varied—and most of his holdings dealt in goods without reliable market values: cars, antiques, jade, tea, calligraphy, and paintings.
These goods were notoriously opaque—a single item could be worth a fortune or practically worthless.
I compared several ledgers and quickly spotted inconsistencies.
I carried the ledgers over to Monkey Drake's wife, yanked the gag from her mouth, and said seriously, "August 12th—Greatstride Transport Company purchased a 2012 Ferrari 458 through your husband's used car dealership. That car was ten years old at the time... Explain to me, how does a ten-year-old Ferrari 458 sell for two million?"
She said, "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Answer my question. Why does a ten-year-old Ferrari 458 sell for two million?"
"Someone wanted to buy, and we wanted to sell. Is that illegal?"
"Funny how on that exact same date, August 12th, a gold shop had an unregistered sale worth one million in gold. And I notice you also have a used car dealership in the neighboring city—on August 26th, it bought back the same Ferrari for one million. Isn't that interesting?"
"What are you trying to pull..." She was getting anxious. "Are you a cop?"
"Whose name is the neighboring city's dealership under?"
"None of your business!"
"I bet it's not yours or your husband's. Is it your in-laws? Maybe if I had the police run a check on all your siblings, parents, and relatives, they'd find something interesting."
She swallowed hard and said nervously, "Brother, let's talk this out."
"I don't negotiate with garbage..." I said flatly. "August 16th—Greatstride Transport's Manager Wendy Xu purchased tea cakes worth seven hundred thousand at your tea shop?"
She said quietly, "It's perfectly normal for a company to entertain clients with premium tea."
"'Manager' can be a very big title—so important you'd spend a lifetime climbing toward it. But it can also be incredibly small—every sales clerk and hairdresser on the street can call themselves a manager. Do you know what Wendy Xu actually does?"
"She's a manager..."
"She's a hostess at a KTV. Seventy thousand yuan's worth of premium pu'er tea cakes for KTV clients? Unless they're chugging XO straight from the bottle, how would that ever pay for itself?"
"Are you a cop or not?"
"No."
Her face lit up with sudden understanding. "I get it—you're here for money. Name your price, and I'll pay!"
"Where did these bank cards come from?"
She hesitated, then said, "We buy them from college students. Some of those kids have no brains—we offer two hundred yuan per card and they line up to sell them."
"It's not that they have no brains—it's people like you harming society. Actually, that is kind of brainless. I can't even defend that."
She said urgently, "I'll give you a million—right now, I can transfer it! You take the money, pretend you never saw anything, let my child and me go, and I'll make sure Boss Drake doesn't come after you."
I gathered up the ledgers and evidence, saying coolly, "I was going to rescue you, but now I see there's no need. Here's what I'll do—I'll take these documents to the police first. Their great public servants will come save you. They'll thoughtfully provide you with a lovely pair of silver bracelets, a clean cot, a sewing machine, and years of free room and board."
She started screaming again, and I stuffed the gag back in her mouth.
I checked on the child—he'd been asleep the whole time. I was a bit worried about the gag blocking his airway, so I carefully removed it, making sure he was breathing fine.
Once I confirmed the child was okay, I called the police, told them to go to 185 Tonghai Road, reported that there were family members of the fugitive Monkey Drake on site, and said I'd deliver the evidence to Detective Sullivan.
After all that, I turned and left.
So Victor Li really was the big client. He'd been funneling money to Monkey Drake through various channels to arrange the deal.
But man proposes, God disposes—or rather, evil meets its just deserts. Before he could flee the country, he burned to death in his own scheme.
I thought of Wendy Xu and couldn't help but sigh. "You fool. You really thought he loved and cherished you—you were a pawn from start to finish, sold without even knowing it."
I gathered all the evidence, and suddenly my heart felt light.
This had to end.
All of this had to end.
I'd deliver this evidence to Detective Sullivan, and whatever the court decided to do with me, that was up to them.
I couldn't find Nora Zhao—the least I could do was show my own willingness to cooperate and earn a reduced sentence.
I drove all the way back to the rental apartment.
When I pulled up outside, I sat in the car for a long time, hesitating. Finally, I sent Elena a text: "If you're still up, I'll wait for you downstairs for ten minutes. If you don't come, I'm turning myself in."
Then I put my phone away and waited.
The apartment building door opened, and someone came rushing out in pajamas.
It was her.
I rolled down the window and waved. She walked over, surprised, and asked, "Where did you get a Range Rover?"
"Wanna get in?"
"Yeah."
She got in the car, and I started driving.
Elena still smelled good—that familiar scent of budget laundry detergent.
I drove gently and said, "Wanna go for a ride?"
"Okay..." she said softly. "Drive carefully—this car is really expensive. If we scratch it, we can't afford to fix it."
"It's fine. It's going to the police eventually anyway."
The city lights fell away behind us as I drove us onto the river bridge.
The night view was beautiful—the wide span of the bridge, the bright streetlights.
This bridge, this road.
The day we decided to move in together, I'd been riding a shared bike with her on the back seat. I remember it had just rained—a car sped past us and splashed mud all over us.
I cursed a few times, my pride wounded, and declared that one day I'd buy a car—a Mercedes or BMW, no less.
Her hair had been dotted with raindrops. She'd shivered from the cold, but wrapped her arms around me and said that riding a bicycle was actually nice—she could press herself close against me and feel warm.
"Elena..."
"Yeah?"
"These past few days have been exhausting. I've been through things I want to tell you about, but I've decided not to."
"Why not?"
"If my life is down to its last moments, rather than reliving dramatic stories, I'd rather reminisce about the little moments I shared with you."
She turned to look at me, and I slowed the car, pulling over to the side of the road.
I said, "Do you remember the promise I made to you right here? That one day I'd buy an expensive car and have you sit in the passenger seat."
"I remember."
"I made you so many promises, and I kept none of them. Every time I broke one, I couldn't help thinking... I'm so useless, it hurts so much. But what hurts the most is that you never once blamed me for it."
"It's because you didn't do anything wrong..." She cupped my face in her hands and said softly, "You've already suffered so much injustice. How could I bear to add to it?"
In the dim interior, her eyes were still beautiful—a little moist, with the faintest tremble of tears.
I wanted to kiss her, but just like that day when I couldn't bring myself to hold her, I couldn't take that step.
I'd only bring her misfortune. I was cursed.
Then Elena kissed me.
Her soft lips made my heart lurch. Every wall I'd built came crashing down. I cried like a child, pulling her tight against me.
"I've been so wronged... it's been so bitter, but I can't even speak the bitterness... I want to tell you, but I can't even do that..."
"I know, baby. You've suffered."
She patted my back gently. "But nothing is insurmountable. I told you—even if the whole world misunderstands you, I'll stand by your side. I also told you I'm glad you came to me when things were at their worst—it made me feel how important I am to you."
"I want so much to buy a car for you to sit in the passenger seat. I want so much to have a home with you. I want to love you openly and proudly, but fate keeps shoving me toward the abyss. I have nothing..."
"You have me."
She held me tight, letting me cry while her own tears fell silently. "I'll wait for you to come back from prison. Do your time with peace of mind. I'll take care of your parents. Maybe I'm just a foolish girl, but before I left you, I kept thinking—I was the bigger failure, because I abandoned you when you were at your lowest. Everything you did, you did for me. You loved me, and that love is what brought you to this point. I should have stayed by your side."
"I love you... I love you so much."
"I love you too. Let's drive around a bit more—at least finish crossing this bridge. We've never driven across it together."
I wiped my tears and gently pressed the accelerator.
It was late.
Ahead of us on the road, there was a scooter. Bundles of luggage hung off the back—a girl was driving, with a boy behind her, arms wrapped around her waist, his backpack strapped on.
The girl was laughing sweetly, while the boy was shrieking from the speed.
Elena leaned against the window, watching the couple, and said softly, "When I was riding behind you, I used to smile just like that."
"I know... I could feel it."
She rolled down the window and suddenly called out, "Hey!"
The couple turned to look at us.
Elena took a deep breath and shouted, "Stay together forever!"
After she yelled it, she quickly rolled up the window and turned to me, saying, "Go, go, go—that was so embarrassing!"
I hit the brake and rolled her window back down. Elena's face was a portrait of betrayed shock.
As the young couple rode past us, the boy yelled back, "We will! I'm going to marry her!"
Elena covered her face. "I want to die of embarrassment!"
I smiled faintly, driving us across the bridge.
When we got home, I reluctantly turned off the engine.
"When I get out of prison, I still might not be able to afford a luxury car. But I'll work hard, buy a regular car, and take you for another ride."
"I'll send you money every month. You work hard on your sewing machine in there—I hear they pay wages. When we get remarried... you're paying for the marriage certificate."
"I'll work that sewing machine like my life depends on it."
We fell into silence.
Elena, who'd been smiling just moments ago, slowly started sobbing.
She cried, her body shaking as she wiped away tears.
"You have to... you have to walk in there with your spine straight... with your head held high... You're not a bad man—don't be humble about it... You're my man, and you keep your backbone straight..."
"I will."
"I'm getting out."
She wiped her tears, got out of the car, and ran into the apartment building.
The sound of her crying, impossible to suppress, carried all the way to where I sat.
My whole life had been a disaster, yet I'd met the person most worth loving.
I sighed, finally put my own SIM card back in my phone. It was time to end everything.
The moment my SIM card was inserted, a flood of missed calls and messages poured in.
One text caught my eye: "Your email is under appeal. Please click the link..."
When I saw this message, I couldn't help but give a bitter laugh. Everything made sense now.
No wonder the police had been able to find me so quickly when I returned to the city—that Chanel employee had sold me out.
She'd suspected me but wasn't sure, so she'd used the email address I'd given her to file an appeal. Since my ID number was on the wanted notice, the moment her appeal succeeded, she confirmed my identity and whereabouts.
How interesting.
The WeChat group was still buzzing with messages. I opened it and saw—it was the homeowners' group.
But the messages inside made me freeze.
"Oh my god, I was so wrong about Marcus Zhang! I always thought he was the bad guy!"
"It really was Nora Zhao who did it. I guessed it early on but didn't say anything. I thought that guy claiming to read faces was an idiot—but I was even dumber. I paid him two hundred yuan for a fortune reading! I want my money back!"
"What's going to happen to Marcus Zhang! His reputation is ruined!"
These messages left me bewildered. What did they mean?
I scrolled up in shock and found that Nora Zhao had posted a long message in the group chat.
It was a lengthy confession: "Dear neighbors, I'm sorry, but I'm going to turn myself in to the police. The truth is, I'm the one who set the fire—not Marcus Zhang. I didn't just set the fire that killed him—I also murdered that girl. You've probably heard about the female body..."
I never could have imagined that Nora Zhao would turn herself in at a moment like this!
Before I finished reading, hurried footsteps suddenly jolted me.
I looked up to see a man carrying a glass bottle with a cloth wick stuffed into its neck, running toward the apartment entrance. My instincts screamed that something was wrong. I scrambled out of the car and chased after him.
He ran upstairs, straight for my apartment.
Then he stopped at my door.
No!
I watched in horror as he pulled out a lighter and set the cloth wick ablaze!
"You son of a—!"
I roared as I lunged at him with everything I had, landing a hard punch square on his face!
He fell, the glass bottle shattered, and flames erupted instantly, engulfing both of us.
He shrieked and tried to scramble out of the fire, but I pinned him down, shouting, "You bastard! What were you trying to do to the people I love!"