Husband With Benefits
Chapter 86: A Bad News

Chapter 86: A Bad News

Detective Smith sat in Demetri Frost’s office, attempting to quell the nervous flutter in his stomach. He’d collaborated with CEO Frost on numerous cases in the past, investigating embezzling employees, corporate threats, and even assassination attempts. Yet, this marked the first instance of Demetri taking a personal interest in a case, which heightened Smith’s anxiety. The fact that they were struggling to unearth any substantial leads in the mysterious stalker’s case only intensified the pressure.

Demetri, with his penchant for maintaining silence, fixed his intense gaze on Smith as the man cleared his throat nervously, breaking the uneasy silence that had settled in the room," CEO Frost, the man is dead. His name was Max. His death has been ruled a suicide. He was found near the sea. According to the forensics, he died from drowning."

Demetri continued to stare at the man, saying nothing. The man stared back at him and sighed before continuing," There are indeed some aspects of the case that do not sit well with me."

If it had been any other man, the matter would have been considered resolve at this point. But Demetri Frost was not satisfied. It was both good and bad...

"First and foremost, I’ve seen the suicide note and the confession letter that Max sent to his brother’s post box. The contents of those letters are disturbing, to say the least."

Demetri frowned as he heard this. Smith sighed and continued to explain," In the confession letter, the deceased admits to stalking your wife and expresses remorse for his actions in hurting her. He claims he couldn’t control his obsessions and was seeking forgiveness. The confession letter is filled with his regret for hurting her and blaming her for leading him on."

Demetri rubbed his temples and questioned the Detective," Why are we having this conversation, Smith? Just tell me why you think that it wasn’t a suicide."

"The first reason is officer Alex himself. He is in shock about his brother’s suicide. Even though his brother’s confession has helped him reduce the charges against him, he is insistent that his brother could not have committed suicide.

"Alex insists that his sibling had a psychological disorder that made him obsessed with people without understanding the right or wrong of it. He believes his brother couldn’t have felt genuine guilt because he didn’t know what he did was wrong."

Demetri’s brow furrowed as he processed this information. "So, you’re saying there’s a possibility that he didn’t know the gravity of his actions?"

Smith nodded. "Exactly. If this is true, then his confession might not be as straightforward as it seems. We have to consider the mental state of the deceased. And this could also mean..."

"That our initial doubts held merit." Demetri finished off for the detective. "Is there any other evidence to suggest foul play? Other than Officer Alex’s testimony and the psychiatrist’s statement?"

Smith hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "There is another person involved, someone who claims the deceased was manipulated and instigated into his actions. She believes that someone tampered with his medications and led him down this dark path. She has been trying to get the authorities’ attention about this. She even tried to talk to the investigating officer but the man is not taking it into consideration as she has no evidence."

"And who is this person? Why have you not mentioned her before?"

Smith sighed as he spoke," Because I too doubt her credibility. She is your wife’s half-sister- Sara Anderson."

Demetri raised his eyebrows at that and waited for the detective to continue with this new turn of events.

"Sara Anderson was the one who also warned Madam of the stalker when she first returned from the holiday. However, taking into account their history, Madam was unsure of her motives. But, Miss Sara may prove to be an important witness. Because she was living in the same dormitory as the stalker- Max.

According to her, the senior had not been like this when the university classes started two months ago. She claims that he was a different person when they first met, caring and compassionate. He did not judge her about the rumours that were going on about her and her fiancé and was supportive of everyone. However, he began to change a few weeks ago. His behaviour became erratic, and he started missing their weekly dorm meetings and even study sessions."

She also claims that there was a time when she caught him pacing the corridor as he behaved oddly, he’d been experiencing extreme self-loathing according to her. At first, she assumed that he had maybe come into contact with drugs. She tried to talk to him but the boy dismissed her concerns but started to avoid her from thereon. But when Max went missing and rumors about his involvement started spreading, she grew worried and started to investigate. She also has proof that he tried to contact her when things started to go south. She’s shown a few missed calls from him in her call log. It is around the time Alex ordered his brother to follow him to the airport which means that she just happens to be the last person he contacted before he went missing."

Demetri leaned back in his chair as he heard this. Since when did Nora’s sister become such a good-hearted person? A girl who had not hesitated to viciously manipulate her sister to suppress her grades at a young age or snatch her sister’s fiancé, suddenly seemed to have undergone a remarkable transformation. He never believed in coincidences and wasn’t about to start now. But with her coming forward and involving herself in this matter, he hoped to use her to unravel the mystery of the stalker’s death.

Thus, he silently resolved to give her a chance to redeem herself, but beneath that surface decision lay an unspoken ultimatum—if Sara failed to deliver or betrayed Nora again, she would undoubtedly face the consequences of her actions.

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