Chapter 74: Chloe Monroe

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Chloe Monroe

It was the same principle they always came back to: if they relied on Zoe Sawyer for everything, their own professional skills would eventually slacken, which wouldn’t do them any good in the long run.

So now, unless they truly had no other choice and needed to ask Zoe for help, Evan Keller and the others preferred to spend their time finding clues and solving things on their own.

Of course, when it came to arresting criminals, that was another matter entirely.

"Alright then." Zoe Sawyer shrugged helplessly. Since they didn’t need her help, there was nothing else she could do.

The group walked toward the office. Evan Keller and Heath Hale planned to examine the evidence Aunt Monroe had submitted, to see if it contained any other clues.

Zoe Sawyer was walking in the lead. The moment she pushed open the ajar office door, the scene before her froze her in place.

Following behind, Evan Keller and Heath Hale saw Zoe Sawyer standing motionless in the doorway. They peeked past her but saw nothing.

But Zoe Sawyer’s expression was grave, and they guessed the reason why.

"No sooner had we said we’d rely on ourselves than we’re back to riding her coattails," Evan Keller said with a helpless shrug.

"I wonder if this is a new case or related to the current one. It’s always either feast or famine—work either piles up all at once, or nothing happens for a long time," Heath Hale said, rubbing his temples.

’If I had to choose, I’d hope it’s about this one. After all, so much time has passed, and we’re basically out of evidence.’

Meanwhile, Zoe Sawyer was forced to witness the tragedy of a young girl unfold.

Judging by the surroundings, the time was over a decade ago. She had just seen that same surrounding wall and the half-toppled tree at Lily Golding’s school earlier today.

The slogan painted on the wall and the date written below it allowed Zoe Sawyer to quickly pinpoint the time of the vision.

The vision was taking place eighteen years ago!

The sky was overcast, and a windy rain was falling. There was no one else in sight.

’Could it be that the door was open for too long, causing the vision to be inaccurately targeted?’

Just as Zoe Sawyer was lost in her doubts, she heard the sound of a girl struggling nearby.

"Let go of me! Let me go!"

Her voice grew louder and louder, as if she was trying to make sure everyone could hear her.

Soon, a hand clamped over her mouth.

Immediately after, she saw a man with one hand clamped over the girl’s mouth from behind, the other arm wrapped around her waist, dragging her in Zoe’s direction.

As he moved, the man paid attention only to his own footing, showing no concern for the girl’s comfort.

Soon, the man had pinned the girl against the wall.

It was then that Zoe Sawyer finally got a clear look at the man’s face. Although he was a bit younger, he was still easy to recognize. It was Director Lane from eighteen years ago.

Zoe Sawyer’s heart skipped a beat. ’Does that mean this girl is one of the victims from the bottom of the small pond?’

With this in mind, Zoe focused her attention on the girl. She saw her pushing against Director Lane’s head, her face a mask of resistance.

Her sleeve slipped down, revealing a bracelet on her wrist.

’It really is one of the skeletons from the bottom of the pond!’

The events that followed seemed to play out on fast-forward.

But it returned to normal speed at the critical moments.

Zoe watched as the assaulted girl grabbed a sharp rock from the ground and smashed it violently against Director Lane’s head. Her other hand found something else and slashed it hard across his back.

Blood spurted from Director Lane’s head and back.

The intense pain enraged Director Lane, and he stopped his assault.

Then, he lunged forward and choked the girl. "Chloe Monroe, you’re asking to die!"

’Chloe Monroe!’

Zoe was stunned. She never expected the victim to be Chloe Monroe!

Director Lane’s face was savage, and he was consumed by rage. Just as he was about to strangle the girl to death, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching in the distance.

The hands that had been squeezing tight loosened slightly, giving Chloe Monroe a chance to gasp for air.

Before Chloe Monroe could cry for help, she heard Director Lane lean in, his voice full of menace. "If you dare say a word, I’ll have someone kill your parents. Even if I’m arrested, I have plenty of ways to get to them. You want to try me?

I hear you have a little sister back home, too?"

Chloe Monroe’s eyes widened in terror, and she stopped struggling.

Seizing the opportunity, Director Lane pulled up his pants and left from the other direction.

He had to hurry and treat his wounds before they became more serious.

Less than a minute after Director Lane left, another figure ran into Zoe Sawyer’s line of sight.

"Chloe, are you okay? I’m so sorry, this is my fault. I saw Teacher Lane drag you over here, but I was too scared to come and help. I let you go through this." The newcomer helped Chloe Monroe up from the ground with a pained expression, gathering her scattered clothes and helping her put them on.

When her hand touched a fountain pen lying nearby, the newcomer’s expression grew puzzled. "Chloe, is this yours? It looks like that custom-made pen Teacher Lane was showing off the other day."

Chloe Monroe’s pupils constricted. ’That really is Teacher Lane’s pen!’

"Enough, Big Girl Monroe. He’s gone now, what good are you? If you’d come earlier, I wouldn’t have been..." Chloe Monroe snatched the fountain pen from Big Girl Monroe’s hand, shot her a hateful glare, and then rushed away.

After Chloe had gone, Big Girl Monroe, whose face had been full of guilt just moments before, let out a sneer. She walked a circle around the disturbed ground, her tone unprecedentedly vicious. "What’s the use of being so smart and pretty? You still got raped. In the end, you’re just a slu~ut.

Just you wait. I’ll make sure you can’t survive at this school!"

Then, she too hurried away.

After that, the scene in Zoe Sawyer’s eyes began to fast-forward again.

It paused once in the middle, showing Chloe Monroe sneaking over with a small wooden box. She dug a hole at the base of the toppled tree’s roots and buried it.

When she and Director Lane appeared in Zoe’s vision again, Chloe Monroe was already a corpse.

Her eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the sky, her hands hanging limply on the ground.

With great effort, Director Lane stripped off all her clothes and set them carefully aside. Then, he picked up a nearby rock and smashed Chloe Monroe’s face until it was unrecognizable.

Finally, he stuffed her body into a burlap sack, tied a rock to it, and tossed it into the small pond.

Not long after he had completed this sequence of actions, a torrential downpour began to fall from the sky.

It washed away all the surrounding traces completely.

"Even the heavens are on my side!" Director Lane looked around, nodded in satisfaction, and then quickly left the area, taking Chloe Monroe’s clothes with him.

Not long after he was gone, the girl called Big Girl Monroe appeared at the scene once more.

She stared at the small pond in front of her for a long time without a word. Finally, a savage, gleeful smile spread across her face.

"Wonderful. Chloe, you’re finally dead!"