The Ultimate Reborn Heiress (Scarlett) novel Chapter 24

24 Cody

Every witness statement said the same thing: a petite young woman had dislocated the attacker’s arms and then snapped his leg with a kick.

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But the guy was about six–foot–one, built like a tank, easily 180 pounds, look like she weighed a hundred.

e didn’t even

How was that even possible?

The three crew members said their cameras had caught everything.

The officers checked the footage–and it matched the statements word for word.

They had nothing left to say, though suspicion still gnawed at them. It was all just too unbelievable.

The girl was an actress, on a reality show no less. Was this all some kind of script?

Either way, once they finished taking statements, they couldn’t justify holding anyone.

They let Scarlett and the crew go.

Before she left, Scarlett glanced at the officers and couldn’t help adding, “That man has blood on his hands. I hope you’ll dig into it properly.”

Back when she’d delivered the food, the man hadn’t shown his face. She hadn’t seen him clearly.

Later, when she did, she’d seen thick, tangled resentment clinging to his features.

Physiognomy was one branch of the Five Arts of the Occult.

Right now, she could only read the most superficial hints from a person’s face.

Once her cultivation deepened, she’d be able to see someone’s past and future at a glance.

At this stage, she still couldn’t see the man’s history from, his features alone.

The reason she knew he had killed before was the resentment coiled around him.

Ordinary people all carry a bit of resentment with them.

But it’s faint—barely there–and it dissipates in a few days.

It’s just the residue of daily squabbles and petty grudges other people hold against you.

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The resentment on this man, though, was suffocatingly dense.

Only death can generate something that heavy.

So, she was sure there was at least one life on his hands.

The officers froze when they heard that.

They were already leaning toward “staged.”

Still, staged or not, they had to investigate, and it wouldn’t be difficult–other officers were already at the hospital taking statements from the victim and the suspect.

Even if it wasn’t scripted, odds were it was just a straightforward home–invasion assault.

The victim’s injuries were severe enough that the major crimes unit would need to get involved anyway.

None of them had considered that the man might be tied to other cases.

One officer couldn’t help frowning. “Miss, you don’t have any evidence. How do you ‘know‘ he’s killed someone? We’ll investigate the case. You should all head home.”

Scarlett let it drop.

She’d given them the warning she could give. The man would do everything possible to frame this as a simple break–in or assault.

Murder carried a very different sentence than unlawful entry and assault.

After Scarlett and the staff left, the officer finally gave in and called the still at the hospital.

olleagues who were

They had just finished their interviews. The victim was a comic artist named Willow Flagg. Her injuries weren’t technically life–threatening, but she hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink for two days and was severely weakened.

The man who’d broken into her home insisted he was just a fan obsessed with her work, that he’d followed her and lost control because of his “love,” which was why he’d cut her and drunk her blood.

When the officer on the phone heard that, he realized this wasn’t a scripted stunt at all.

That meant everything the actress Scarlett had said in her statement was true.

She really had sensed something was wrong just from the smell of blood?

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And she’d specifically warned them that the man might be involved in other killings?

After a moment’s hesitation, the officer went to the major crimes squad and reported the case to their captain, Cody Grant.

Cody was 38, with a hard, serious face and a long record of solved cases.

Skimming the statements, he said, “Some people are born with sharper senses. It’s not impossible she smelled the blood. And she clearly has training–real combat training.”

Watching the footage, he had to admit he was impressed.

The girl was both brave and sharp–and definitely a trained fighter.

Even he wasn’t sure he could have cleanly absorbed that kick.

After going over her statement in detail, he started spotting inconsistencies in the suspect’s story.

The man claimed he adored the comic artist Willow, had researched her every move, and finally lost control and followed her home. His “love” for her was supposedly the reason he cut her and drank her blood.

But he didn’t claim to love Scarlett–and yet the moment Scarlett asked him for help, he’d tried to drag her inside, too.

What else would he have done with her behind that closed door? It didn’t take a genius to guess.

Clearly, he was lying.

This wasn’t some uncontrollable crush. It was calculated, long–term pre

And if it was premeditated, they had to dig deeper.

Cody personally went to the hospital and questioned the man again.

Back at the station, they’d already pulled the suspect’s background.

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His name was Dillon Hill, 28 years old, a graduate of a top university, with a solid job paying about 600,000 dollars a year and a girlfriend of several years.

Cody quickly secured a search warrant and led a team to Dillon’s apartment.

In truth, even for a “simple” home–invasion case, they would still have searched and collected

evidence.

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Chapter 24 Cody

But with Scarlett’s warning in the back of his mind-

Cody ordered his team to turn the place over inch by inch.

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