The butterfly hairpin.
That image burned into Elara Meng's mind, sharp as broken glass. It wasn't just evidence. It was an undeniable truth, colder than ice. Her mother hadn't died in a car accident. Her mother had been at Vesper Labs the night it burned. Huo Enterprises had lied. Kian Huo had lied.
The initial shock, a tightness in her gut, quickly gave way to a cold, decisive resolve. Grief, a bitter taste on her tongue, now burned with a silent rage, sharp and clean within her. She was no longer a trembling butterfly in a cage. She was a butterfly carrying poison.
The penthouse air still felt stagnant. She walked in, a practiced smile fixing itself to her lips. She met Kian Huo's gaze, discussed the dinner menu, even asked his opinion on a piece of ballet music. Every word, every gesture, felt like a performance. Behind her placid eyes, a single, dangerous thought solidified: *Vesper Labs.*
She had to get to Vesper Labs. The place was now just an abandoned, desolate lot on the city's outskirts. But it was the scene of the crime. Something had to be left. A trace, a clue.
That night, she slipped into Kian Huo's office. The scent of leather and new paper filled the air. Her heart hammered against her ribs; every creak of the floorboards echoed like thunder. This was madness. This was suicide.
Kian Huo was in an online meeting, his low voice a distant hum from the sealed room. Taking advantage of those few short minutes, she searched his desk drawer. Not keys, not documents. She was looking for something else. A silver Zippo lighter he always kept there.
She held it in her hand, feeling the cold weight of the metal.
*Bait.*
***
Detective Julian Zheng stared at his screen. The familiar burn of powerlessness chewed at his gut. The report on Director Li's "accident" had been closed. No witnesses, no evidence. Another dead end.
"Damn it!"
He lightly slammed his fist on the table, feeling the jolt up his arm. Facing Huo Enterprises was like throwing an egg at a stone.
Just then, his hacker source sent an urgent message. The screen flickered.
"Signal from the tracking device I planted on the bodyguard's car that followed EM this morning. She went to the newspaper archives. GPS shows she stopped for a long time in the 1998 section."
Julian's heart tightened. She was acting on her own. It was too dangerous.
Another message appeared.
"Warning. Huo Enterprises' security system just had an unusual query. A search for information on 'Vesper Labs'."
Julian shot to his feet, his chair scraping against the floor. A cold dread seeped into his bones. *Vesper Labs.*
He knew what she was planning. She was going there. Alone.
"Can you find the identity of the researcher who died in the Vesper Labs fire?" Julian typed quickly, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow.
"The file is sealed, but it might still be in an old data archive."
The minutes of waiting stretched into an eternity. The faint click of the hacker's keyboard echoed through the encrypted line. Finally, a name appeared.
Researcher's Name: Dr. Aris Thorne. Field: Neuropsychology.
Aris Thorne? Not Liana Meng. Julian frowned, his brow furrowing. Then why was her hairpin there?
Another line from the hacker, a sudden punch to Julian's gut.
"Wait. There's a strange detail. In the personnel file, Dr. Thorne has a relative listed as an emergency contact. Name: Liana Meng."
A cold realization punched Julian. Elara's mother wasn't the victim. She was the victim's next of kin. Liana Meng had gone there because of Dr. Thorne. What did she know?
And Elara, completely unaware of this, was walking straight into a trap. Kian Huo would surely have the lot under surveillance. She would be caught the moment she arrived.
He had to stop her.
***
Midnight. Elara waited until the entire building was silent, the hum of the city a distant murmur. She changed into a sleek black outfit, the fabric hugging her form, then tucked Kian Huo's lighter into her pocket.
Her escape plan was clear: cause a small short-circuit in the central control system, creating a security gap of a few minutes. Enough for her to slip out.
This was an all-or-nothing gamble. If caught, she would never get a second chance. No doubt.
Just as her hand reached for the control panel, the old phone in her pocket vibrated. An unknown number.
She hesitated, her fingers trembling slightly, then answered.
"Don't go to Vesper Labs." A man's voice, rushed and tense, filled her ear.
"It's a trap. He's waiting for you there."
"Who are you?" Elara whispered, on high alert, her grip tightening on the phone.
"Someone who wants justice, just like you. Your mother's hairpin was there not because she was the victim. She was the next of kin of the real victim: the researcher, Dr. Aris Thorne."
Elara froze solid. Each word was a shock, an electric current running through her veins.
"They know you found out about Vesper Labs," the voice continued.
"You can't act alone now. You need a plan. And you need me."
***
A black, unmarked car had just pulled into a small alley behind the Huo Tower. Detective Julian Zheng sat inside, his heart pounding in his chest, a frantic drum against his ribs. He was betting his entire career on this phone call.
"There's a staff service exit at the back of the building," Julian said quickly, his voice urgent, racing against the clock.
"I have five minutes before his patrol passes by. If you trust me, get out of there now."
"If not..." He paused, holding his breath.
"If not, you'll walk right into his hands. This time, he won't give you a second chance."
The phone screen was still lit, its faint glow illuminating Elara's tense face. She stood in the darkness, her hand clutching the cold lighter. Trust a stranger on the phone, a voice she'd never heard, or walk into the trap that had been set, the one she'd been so sure she could outsmart?
Time was running out.