CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 98; SHE NEEDED TO CLEAR HER NAME FIRST

The detective was suspicious. That much was clear. The timing of the deaths, the convenient technical malfunction, the fact that Chen Ting’s last stop before his accident had been here, it all looked suspicious as hell.

But suspicious wasn’t the same as provable.

Detective Zhou could investigate all he wanted. He’d find exactly what the medical examiner found, five people dead of natural causes. Heart attacks. Strokes. Drowning due to sudden unconsciousness.

All explainable. All tragic.

All completely unprovable as anything other than what they appeared to be.

Unless.....

Lu Yuze pulled out his phone and called Ah-Ling.

"Yes, Master?"

"The security footage. All of it. I want every second reviewed by our people before the police get it. If there’s anything, anything at all, that shows Shuyin was present during Chen Ting’s visit, I want it removed."

"Already done, Master. I took the liberty of reviewing everything last night. The external footage shows only you, the security team, and Chen Ting. No sign of the Mistress anywhere. The internal footage is... well, corrupted, as we’ve reported."

"Good. And the staff? Anyone who might have seen her?"

"The new staff we hired last night are all people personally vouched for by our security team. They understand the importance of discretion. And they were given very specific instructions about what they did and didn’t see."

"Which was?"

"That the Mistress was asleep in the master bedroom during the entire incident. That you handled the Chen Ting situation alone with security. That she didn’t emerge until this morning."

"Perfect." Lu Yuze rubbed his temples. "What about Chen Wan?"

"Still secured in the west wing. No one knows she’s here except us. As far as any investigation will show, she’s simply missing from the hospital. Her whereabouts are unknown."

"Keep it that way. If the police come asking about her...."

"We know nothing," Ah-Ling finished. "Haven’t seen her, haven’t heard from her, have no idea where she might be."

"Good." Lu Yuze stood and walked to the window, looking out at the peaceful gardens. "What’s the media saying?"

"That it’s the tragedy of the century. The Chen family, essentially wiped out overnight. Some outlets are calling it a curse. Others are speculating about carbon monoxide poisoning at the compound, though that doesn’t explain Chen Ting’s car accident." Ah-Ling paused. "A few are noting the timing of Chen Ting’s visit here, but so far, no one’s making direct accusations. Just raising questions."

"Questions are manageable," Lu Yuze said. "It’s accusations we need to avoid."

"Agreed. Master, if I may offer advice?"

"Please."

"Lie low. Don’t talk to media. Don’t release any statements. Let your lawyers handle any inquiries. The more normal you appear, the less suspicious you become. People expect you to be concerned about your daughter’s recovery. Let that be your focus. Everything else is just unfortunate background noise."

"Sound advice," Lu Yuze agreed. "Implement it. No media contact, all inquiries go through legal, and anyone asking questions gets the same story, Chen Ting trespassed, was removed, left unharmed. We’re shocked and saddened by these tragic deaths but have no information beyond that."

"Understood, Master."

After Ah-Ling hung up, Lu Yuze remained at the window, his thoughts churning.

He’d just lied to a police detective. Multiple times. About his wife’s involvement, about the security footage, about Chen Wan’s presence in his home.

He was now officially an accessory after the fact to... what? Murder? Could it even be called murder when no one could prove the deaths were anything other than natural causes?

And did it matter?

Shuyin had eliminated threats to their family. Had done so efficiently, effectively, and in a way that left zero evidence. She’d protected him from people who would have destroyed him, destroyed Yuyan, destroyed everything he’d built.

Was he supposed to feel guilty about that?

Was he supposed to turn her in? Expose her as some kind of supernatural killer?

The answer, he realized with something like surprise, was no.

He didn’t feel guilty.

He felt relieved.

The Chen family couldn’t hurt them now. Couldn’t sue, couldn’t use their connections to bury him, couldn’t threaten Yuyan.

They were gone...

And all it had cost him was his moral certainty and a few lies to a detective.

That seemed like a fair trade.

He exhaled loudly and walked back into the dining room, pocketing his phone as he settled into his chair.

The others had already finished breakfast. The table had been cleared, every dish removed, only his place setting remained untouched.

"What’s the situation?" Shuyin asked, her voice curious as she dabbed her lips with elegant precision.

"Nothing to worry about." No one would dare come after him now.

"All right. I’m finished with breakfast... I need to get going. I’ll be back later today." She rose from her seat, her movements decisive.

"Where are you going?" Lu Yuze asked, concern flickering across his face as he took in her cold expression.

"To see someone. I’ll take one of your cars."

"Of course. Ting Fei will drive you." He summoned Ting Fei with a gesture and instructed him to take her wherever she needed to go.

They left the mansion together and descended to the underground parking lot. The rumble of an engine soon filled the space as the car pulled out onto the street.

In the back seat, Shuyin stared out the window, her mind working through the problem. She needed to avenge the departed soul, she’d made that promise. But killing anyone now would raise too many questions, and the trail would lead straight back to Lu Yuze.

She’d caused him enough trouble already. She couldn’t afford to create more.

And there was another complication: the original Shuyin had been a public figure. Her reputation was now thoroughly tarnished, stained by accusations and crimes that had been splashed across every media outlet. Shuyin needed to address that first. Like it or not, she inhabited this woman’s identity now.

At the end of the day, it was her identity too. She needed to clear her name first.