Chapter 399: Attempting Insurance Fraud?

Chapter 399: Chapter 399: Attempting Insurance Fraud?

The door seemed to hear Zoe Sawyer’s words. Centered on Rina’s aunt, the scene began to rewind frantically.

Soon, the image stopped, freezing at the moment Rina’s aunt opened the car door.

"Rina, Auntie needs to use the restroom. It’ll be about ten minutes. Can you wait in the car, okay?" Rina’s aunt poked her head into the car, speaking to the little girl in the back seat.

Quietly playing with a toy, Rina looked up at her aunt’s voice and nodded. "Don’t worry, Auntie," she said, her voice filled with trust. "I’ll be a good girl and wait for you to come back."

"What a good girl!" Rina’s aunt patted her niece’s head. Then, she double-checked the car, and only after confirming the air conditioning and windows were both on did she leave, finally at ease.

After her aunt left, Rina craned her head to watch her go. Only when her aunt’s figure disappeared from view did she reluctantly pull her gaze back and return to her toy.

The next second, the car’s air conditioning suddenly shut off, and the windows slowly rolled up.

"Why did the AC turn off? The seat’s getting hot, too," Rina murmured, looking up in confusion. She placed a hand on the seat next to her and immediately snatched it back from the heat.

The sun beat down fiercely outside. With the air conditioning off, the temperature inside the car climbed rapidly.

Rina was already dressed warmly. As the temperature inside the car rose and the air grew stale, her face began to flush bright red. Her breathing grew rapid, and she tugged at her collar with her small hands, crying out that she felt sick.

"Auntie! Auntie, are you back? Open the door for Rina! It’s so stuffy and hot in here, I can’t take it anymore." Rina didn’t understand why the air conditioning and windows had suddenly shut off when her aunt had only just left.

Remembering how the adults opened the car door, Rina’s hand fumbled for the handle, just as she was about to try opening it herself.

Then she heard a CLICK. The doors were locked tight.

With her only way out gone, combined with the intense heat, Rina quickly lost consciousness and collapsed onto the back seat.

What followed was Rina’s aunt returning from the restroom, realizing something was wrong, and begging a passerby to break the window and pull her niece from the car.

To be thorough, Zoe Sawyer rewound time again. This time, however, she stayed with Rina’s aunt the entire time, her attention fixed on the woman’s phone, trying to see if she performed any other actions.

But she found nothing unusual.

Zoe Sawyer noticed it was a smart car, one that could be controlled remotely by a phone.

’Could the killer have been hiding somewhere nearby with a view of the car? After seeing Rina’s aunt leave, did they use a phone to shut off the AC and windows, lock the doors, and stage it to look like the aunt accidentally caused the child’s death?’

Considering the scene she saw at the hospital and the critical illness insurance policy a deceased relative had bought for Rina, Zoe Sawyer felt her theory was highly probable.

’So, where would they be?’

Zoe Sawyer recalled the initial scene and began to survey all the corners where someone could hide.

Finally, her gaze locked on to the entrance of a store diagonally across the street. The vantage point was good, offering a clear view of the area around the car. Furthermore, something was blocking the front, making it difficult to spot a person hiding there unless you walked right up to it.

Zoe Sawyer manipulated the door, shifting the perspective bit by bit. Finally, the face of Rina’s brother appeared before her.

’It really was him!’

’But why? Why would he harm his own sister? And frame his own aunt?’

’Is there some hidden motive?’

’Or is it just a simple case of insurance fraud?’

Zoe Sawyer closed the door and let out a long breath. If for no other reason than for innocent Rina’s sake, this case had to be properly resolved.

"So? What kind of case is it this time?" Evan Keller walked over, a hint of urgency in his voice.

’The sooner they figured out the situation, the sooner they could resolve it and keep the danger contained.’

Zoe Sawyer recounted what she had seen, heard, and guessed to the others who had gathered around.

"Your thinking is on the right track. This probably isn’t a simple case of insurance fraud. The killer likely has a bigger scheme in mind," Heath Hale said, patting Zoe Sawyer’s shoulder with a hint of satisfaction.

After so many cases, Zoe Sawyer had made significant progress.

Her ability to gather information had also grown stronger, which really saved them a great deal of effort.

The team didn’t waste any time. Since Zoe Sawyer had memorized the license plate number, they looked it up directly. Following that lead, they quickly identified their person of interest.

"Rina Morgan, four years old. The records show she has a congenital heart defect. Her father fell from scaffolding at a construction site last year and died after resuscitation efforts failed. Her grandfather also passed away from an illness at the beginning of the year. She currently lives with her mother, brother, and sister-in-law.

"The family depends entirely on her brother and sister-in-law’s jobs to get by. Combined with the expenses for Rina’s condition, their daily costs are quite high. The couple’s salaries, plus Mrs. Morgan’s pension, are just barely enough to make ends meet," Officer Lee explained, relaying his findings to the group.

Siblings with a large age gap, tight finances, and a frail younger sister.

On the surface, it didn’t seem like a problem, but a closer look revealed a huge one.

Rina Morgan’s aunt, Elara Morgan, seemed much more normal by comparison.

Also a child born to her parents late in life, she was doted on by her parents, brother, and sister-in-law from a young age and maintained a good relationship with her family after growing up.

After she started working, she would frequently buy things to send back home. The one she doted on the most was her little niece with poor health.

She had paid for nearly all of the girl’s formula and clothes since she was born.

’Would someone like Elara Morgan, who adored the child and knew all about her health condition, really harm her?’

Zoe Sawyer found it impossible. There had to be something they hadn’t uncovered yet.

"Liam, focus on investigating this family’s financial situation," Heath Hale said, pointing to the files on Elara Morgan and Rina Morgan’s brother, Julian Morgan.

"Got it."

After receiving the order, Officer Lee’s fingers flew across the keyboard.

Meanwhile, Evan Keller and the others weren’t idle. They quickly contacted Elara Morgan, identified themselves as the police, and got her current address.

After learning she was currently renting a place and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, Evan Keller thought for a moment. He decided to find a pretext to make sure she stayed put, and he would explain the situation clearly once they arrived.

This way, it would be easier for her to accept, and it would also lower the risk of exposure.

"We have a case at the precinct that requires your assistance. It’s a serious matter, so please keep it confidential until the suspect is caught so we don’t tip them off," Evan Keller said in a stern voice, startling Elara Morgan on the other end of the line.

’Could it be? Is there a murderer among the people I know?’

Elara Morgan almost subconsciously went to call her sister-in-law. Her finger had just touched the phone screen when Evan Keller’s warning suddenly jumped into her mind.

"No, no, I can’t say anything."