The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 353

Nathan had clearly gathered a lot of clues she wasn't privy to, secretly piecing them together into a complete narrative in the background.

Compared to him, Nora felt like she had been spinning her wheels obsessing over useless details.

"You really are overthinking!"

Nathan smiled helplessly and stroked her soft hair—something he had wanted to do all day.

"We went out into the field, did the interviews, and pulled all-nighters reviewing the security footage. Of course we uncovered more puzzle pieces than you did."

"But Nora, if you hadn't spotted the discrepancy between the two Evelyns, we wouldn't have been able to build a solid chain of evidence so smoothly."

However, Nora didn't look entirely comforted.

"Then how did you know it was Joel who made the phone call for Evelyn that day?"

He hadn't mentioned a single word about that to her.

Nathan chuckled. "Nora, your fiancé has excellent eyesight, and modern technology is incredibly advanced."

"The security cameras caught everything. Liam thought he knew that building inside and out, memorizing every blind spot, but he didn't realize building management had installed hidden cameras for liability reasons."

"We slowly pieced together the full footage from that night. We quickly noticed that aside from the people directly connected to Evelyn, there was someone in a wheelchair who also visited her floor."

"A quick background check confirmed it was Joel."

"When we brought him into the precinct, he fully confessed to providing the false alibi."

"Why?"

Nora thought about the phone call.

The voice on the recording hadn't sounded like a paralyzed man; it sounded like an ordinary guy with a zest for life.

"It comes down to the immense pressure he was under."

"At first, he was actually jealous of his younger brother. His parents never set strict rules for Liam, nor did they place heavy expectations on his shoulders."

"Joel hated being told that as the older brother, he had to take care of Liam and carry the weight of the family. So, when Liam pushed him down those stairs, becoming paralyzed felt like a twisted form of liberation."

Even though he knew nothing about webnovels, a paralyzed man didn't have much else to do but study analytics online.

So, he slowly figured it out, eventually creating a highly successful marketing campaign for his brother's book.

"Helping Liam with the alibi that night was an impulsive decision."

"The moment he did it, he regretted it. The moral agony eventually outweighed his loyalty to his brother."

"Even if we hadn't tracked him down, he was on the verge of turning himself in."

Nora let out a long sigh.

Wrapping her arms around Nathan's waist, she finally voiced the thought haunting her. "Back then, in the parking garage—"

"We couldn't save her."

Nathan knew Nora was beating herself up over this. All her questions had just been a way to avoid talking about the real issue.