Chapter 301: Chapter 301: Proof of Collusion

A sharp SMACK echoed through the living room. Maisie Lynch’s body snapped backward, and she collapsed onto the sofa like a doll that had lost its balance.

Maisie Lynch felt a searing pain on her cheek, and her ears began to ring. She stared up, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief, at Ivan Warren.

Before Maisie could say a word, Ivan Warren pointed a finger in her face and cursed, "You bitch! How could you do something like this behind my back for money?! Isn’t the money I give you enough? Why would you do something so goddamn heartless!"

With that, he rolled up his sleeves and raised his fist, ready to bring it down on Maisie!

Seeing this, Officer Tristan Tanner lunged forward. He grabbed Ivan Warren’s arm, quickly twisting it behind his back and pinning it securely.

Then, Officer Tanner shoved him forcefully, slamming Ivan’s body down onto the dining table. He pressed his knee into Ivan’s back, pinning him so he couldn’t move.

"Stay still!" Officer Tanner yelled at Ivan, his voice full of authority.

A sharp pain shot through Ivan’s shoulder. He quickly began to plead, "Officer, Officer, I was wrong! I just lost my temper... For her to do something like this, I was so embarrassed, I just wanted to teach her a lesson!"

Officer Tanner’s brow furrowed. He said loudly to Ivan, "If she has broken the law, it will be handled by the legal system. You have no right to use violence against her!"

Ivan nodded frantically, babbling, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I... I won’t do it again! Please, go easy on me, just let me go! AHH! My arm feels like it’s going to break!"

Seeing that he had calmed down, Officer Tanner slowly released his hold.

Melody Summers stood to the side with her arms crossed, coldly watching Ivan Warren’s meltdown.

Melody would never in a million years believe that Maisie would do something like this behind Ivan’s back.

’He’s clearly trying to shift all the blame onto Maisie to get himself off the hook...’ she thought.

’So heartless.’ 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Maisie Lynch had apparently realized this too. She slowly got up from the sofa, clutching her bleeding cheek, and looked around at everyone in the room, completely at a loss.

Yesterday, when they were planning this, Mr. and Mrs. Sutton and Ivan Warren had all told her it would be foolproof. No one told her what to do if they failed.

Her lost, helpless gaze drifted around the room until, a moment later, her eyes met Melody’s.

For some reason, within Melody’s cold gaze, Maisie detected a faint, almost imperceptible hint of pity.

Maisie just stared blankly at Melody. Melody was wearing that same familiar down jacket, looking exactly the same as she had years ago—so young and carefree.

Maisie then looked up at her own reflection in a mirror. She realized that over the years, she had changed so much she didn’t even recognize herself anymore.

’Have the choices I’ve made all these years,’ Maisie suddenly wondered, ’really been worth it...?’

Officer Tanner released Ivan, opened the door, and stood in the hallway, addressing everyone in the living room. "All right, I have reasonable suspicion that the four of you conspired to frame the resident of 1606. You’re all coming with me to the emergency response office to sort this out!"

Hearing this, the four people in the living room broke out in a cold sweat.

Ivan Warren was the first to react. He frantically waved his hands and said, "Officer, this has nothing to do with me! I had no idea this bitch did all this behind my back!"

Melody frowned slightly at Ivan’s words.

’Something about this whole situation had been bothering me from the start, and now I finally understand what it is.’

’Since Maisie is the one seen in all three surveillance videos that serve as the key evidence, it makes no sense for her to also act as the ’eyewitness’.’

’Having Maisie play both the thief and the witness would easily make the police connect the dots and become suspicious.’

’The best way to set this up would have been for Maisie to hide after playing the thief, and have Ivan act as the ’eyewitness’.’

’But not only did Ivan refuse to be the eyewitness, he also had the Suttons transfer the money directly to Maisie’s account. That can only mean one thing...’

’He knew from the very beginning that this plan could go wrong. He decided back then that if things went south, he would just abandon Maisie...’

Officer Tanner frowned at Ivan’s words and replied, "We’ll find out whether it has anything to do with you or not once we get you down to the station for questioning!"

Ivan’s face stiffened. He gave an awkward laugh, then stood up sheepishly and started walking toward the door, all while frantically shooting glances at Maisie.

He was signaling for Maisie to take all the blame.

Maisie understood his signal. As if accepting her fate, she stood up and followed Ivan out the door.

Mr. and Mrs. Sutton, however, were not nearly as cooperative.

They told Officer Tanner they knew nothing about any conspiracy!

Mr. Sutton said with absolute certainty, "Officer, our eyes were just playing tricks on us! The lighting in our living room is poor, so we mistook Maisie Lynch, who snuck in to steal, for Melody Summers! Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, that’s all that matters. This was all orchestrated by Maisie herself to get out of trouble. We’ve been the victims all along!"

Mrs. Sutton also insisted she knew nothing about the large bank transfer. She pointed at Maisie and said, "This woman was in our living room last night stealing things, and my bank card was right there on the table! She must have taken it then and used it without my permission!"

Listening to their stories, which were riddled with holes, Officer Tanner’s brow tightened.

’Do these people think the police are incompetent?’

’Do they really think they can fool us with this?’

Just as he was about to reprimand Mr. and Mrs. Sutton, the door to 1601 opened.

Joyce Lawson peeked her head out from 1601. She first glanced at the group in the hallway, then said to Officer Tanner, "Officer, I have a piece of evidence that should prove these people knew each other beforehand..."

Amid the confused and surprised stares of the others, Joyce Lawson took out her phone and played a video for Officer Tanner.

The video began with Mr. and Mrs. Sutton standing at the door of 1602, knocking softly.

After a moment, the door opened, and Maisie Lynch’s voice could be heard from off-screen: "Who are you looking for?"

Mr. Sutton was heard saying to Maisie, "Hello, we’re from 1506, upstairs from you. There’s something we’d like to discuss. Could we come in and talk?"

Maisie seemed hesitant to let them in. "What is it about?" she asked tentatively. "We can just talk here."

Mr. Sutton replied, "I saw you in the stairwell earlier, arguing with that Summers woman from 1606. I have a way to get revenge on her for you, to get her kicked out of this complex."

Maisie was taken aback for a moment. Then, she silently stepped aside and said to Mr. and Mrs. Sutton, "...Come in and talk."

Mr. and Mrs. Sutton then walked straight inside.

The video ended the moment the door to 1602 closed.