Ring, ring, ring…
The Neal residence’s landline rang, breaking the silence of the night. The sharp ringing jolted the housemaid who was on night duty.
Why would someone call at this hour?
The housemaid opened her eyes and ran downstairs to answer the phone. “Hello?”
“Bad news. There has been a homicide case at the university, and the victim is a student. It is said that she ate something Ms. Neal had bought for her before she died. The cops are heading to the Neal residence right now.”
“Wait, what?” The housemaid was thunderstruck.
The cops arrived a dozen minutes later. Zaylynn’s father, Feynman Neal, got downstairs in haste before he could even button up his shirt neatly. When he arrived at the door, he saw a police patrol car parked right in front of his house.
“Sorry to disturb you at this hour, Mr. Neal. There has been a homicide at the University of Pollerton. According to reports, the deceased consumed something your daughter brought for her. We came to take your daughter to the police station to assist in the investigation.”
One of the cops presented his ID and told Feynman they would have to take Zaylynn away.
Homicide?
Feynman’s expression darkened as he had never encountered an incident like that before. “Sorry, sir, what do you mean? What do you mean someone consumed my daughter’s food and died? Are you trying to say my daughter poisoned the person?”
“Calm down, Mr. Neal. We’ll know what happened once the investigation is complete,” the cop consoled him.
Meanwhile, Zaylynn also came downstairs after hearing a commotion. She staggered and nearly fell after seeing all the unsmiling cops in the living room.
“Mom—”
The cops eventually took Zaylynn away.
Meanwhile, the coroner performed an autopsy on the deceased and found out she died from exsanguination after a stomach rupture.
Stomach rupture? How did it happen?
The Neal family could not believe their ears when they received the update.
“We found a chemical component called diethyl phthalate, known as DEP, in the deceased’s stomach. The deep-fried food she ate reacted with the chemical component, causing her stomach to rupture.”
The coroner then took out a piece of burnt item, which he had retrieved from the deceased’s body, and placed it before the cops and Feynman.
Diethyl phthalate? DEP?
Feynman had no clue what that chemical component was. Zaylynn looked even more confused.
The coroner then glanced at her manicured nails. Upon noticing the glitter on her nails, he broke a tiny piece of it with a tweezer.
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