Chapter 429


    After a brief pause, Sophia suddenly realized something.


    A scam call!


    Yes, it''s a scam call!


    Justst night, Alexander texted her when he returned to his hotel. There was no way he could have


    ended up in the Mapleton River. That was in the opposite direction!


    Sophia began to calm down as she grabbed her phone and checked their WhatsApp conversation.


    But the truth was, thest message with Alexander was her wishing him goodnight the previous night.


    Alexander hadn''t replied to her message.


    Unlike now, he would always at least send an “Mhm” response. But there was nothing after her


    goodnight message.


    Sophia felt a sudden weakness as she stared at the empty chat screen.


    It took her some time to fully regain herposure.


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    She didn''t know what had happened, and panicking now would be pointless.


    Sophia closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down.


    Once she calmed down, she got out of bed, washed up, and changed her clothes.


    As dawn broke outside, Perrin was exercising in the garden.


    Lukas, who rarely woke up early, had just returned from a morning run.


    Upon seeing Sophia, Perrin asked dotingly, “Why didn''t you sleep in?”


    Sophia shook her head with a smile. “Granddad, I have to go out for a while. I won''t be able to join you


    for fishing today. Something happened to Alexander.”


    Lukas, who was standing nearby, furrowed his brows. “What happened?”


    Sophia nced at him and bit her lip. “I just received a call from the deputy chief of Avenport''s criminal


    investigation team. He said Alexander''s car plunged into Mapleton River at three o''clock this morning.”


    Perrin, who had initially been displeased, stopped his exercise. “What''s going on?”


    “I''m not sure yet, Granddad.”


    Perrin looked at Sophia''s calm face and tenderly patted her head. “Don''t be afraid. Let your brother go


    with you.”


    Lukas nodded. “Give me a moment.”


    Sophia didn''t refuse. Although she appeared calm, her mind was in turmoil. If she had to drive to the


    police station alone, she didn''t know if she could manage.


    “Don''t worry. Even though I don''t like Alexander, he''s a tough guy. He''s going to be fine. Have breakfast


    first, and then we''ll go.”


    “Okay,” Sophia responded.


    Perrin noticed how cold her hand was. With an empathetic expression, he guided her back to the


    mansion.


    When Kylie and Kasper came downstairs, they saw the trio sitting at the dining table. At that instant,


    Kylie knew that Perrin and Sophia were nning to go fishing but had yet to depart because it was still


    early.


    Kylie walked over with a smile, about to make a teasing remark, but she noticed Sophia sitting there,


    lost in thought. She looked at Lukas and asked, “What happened?”


    “Something happened to Alexander.”


    Kylie''s expression changed slightly, but she didn''t ask any more questions.


    Lukas started munching down his food, but after consuming half a bowl of oatmeal, Sophia still didn''t


    eat anything. Realizing that she really had no appetite, Lukas no longer forced her to eat. They picked


    up the car from the garage before heading to the police station.


    As they entered the station, a man spotted Lukas and approached with a smile. “Oh, Lukas, our VIP!”


    Lukas nced at the man and introduced Sophia. “This is my sister, Sophia. We''re here to see


    Lieutenant Heughan from the criminal investigation team.”


    The man looked at Sophia, taken aback for a moment, but before he could express his surprise, Abel


    Heughan appeared behind them and said, “Ms. Yarrow?”


    Sophia nodded. “Lieutenant Heughan, let''s get straight to the point. I want to know what happened.”


    Abel had never encountered someone soposed. He got to the heart of the matter, briefly


    summarizing the events. “We received a reportst night that a sedan had careened off control and


    plunged into Mapleton River. After getting the report, we immediately dispatched a search team that


    scoured three kilometers along the river, but the car owner was nowhere to be found. At around six in


    the morning, the car was recovered, and our officers found a jacket belonging to Mr. Alexander Xenos


    inside. His wallet and phone were in the jacket, and when we removed the SIM card from the phone,


    we discovered that you were the only contact in it. That''s why we called you.”


    Sophia looked at Abel, frowning slightly. “Correct me if I''m wrong, but this seems like an idental car


    incident. Why is a criminal investigation team handling a case involving a vehicle falling into the river?”


    Abel was taken aback but quickly admired Sophia''s intelligence. “Ms. Yarrow, you''re a perceptive


    person. That''s precisely what I wanted to discuss. We suspect that this is a premeditated murder case


    because, upon inspecting the vehicle, we found that the brake system had been tampered with.”


    After hearing the word “murder,” Sophia''s hand tightened at her side. “Where is Alexander?”


    “We have yet to find Mr. Xenos'' body,” Abel replied.


    Sophia didn''t like the word “body” but knew it was reasonable for Abel to assume the worst. With


    Alexander''s car brakes failing and his vehicle careening off the bridge into the river, the odds were


    against his survival.


    Despite this, she couldn''t ept it. “Lieutenant Heughan, Alexander wouldn''t have gotten into an


    ident so easily. He learned diving and was a city swimming champion in the freestyle category in


    junior high.”


    Abel remained silent for a few seconds, avoiding the sensitive topic. “Ms. Yarrow, we need your


    cooperation in our investigation.”


    “Of course.” Sophia agreed, pausing momentarily. “But first, I need to make a phone call.”


    “Suit yourself.”


    Abel gestured for her to proceed, then instructed a colleague to prepare Sophia''s written statement


    when ready.


    Sophia took out her phone and called Felix first.


    Given the current situation, she needed Felix to help manage Odyssey so that thepany would


    remain intact when Alexander returned.


    Next, Sophia called Yvonne, asking thetter to bring people over quickly.


    Finally, she made a call to Samuel.


    The truth couldn''t be concealed forever. Sooner orter, the news of Alexander''s ident would


    spread, and there would be rumors within their social circle. She could hide it from many people, but


    hiding it from Samuel and the others was unnecessary.


    After making those three calls, Sophia looked at Lukas. “Lukas, I might need your help. My people


    should be arriving this afternoon.”


    Lukas looked at her and gently hugged her. “I''ve already sent someone to investigate. Don''t worry.


    Both Granddad and I are here for you.”


    Sophia''s eyes welled up with tears, and she softly replied, “Okay.”


    Soon after, Sophia followed Abel''s colleague into the interrogation room.


    As she entered, a policewoman poured her a ss of water. Sophia nced at her and smiled faintly.


    “Thank you.”


    The policewoman nodded, picked up the written statement, and began questioning her, “When was


    yourst contact with Mr. Alexander Xenos?”


    “Last night, at ten-thirty. He sent me home and then went back to his hotel. He texted me, saying he


    had returned to his hotel. I was taking a shower at the time. When I saw the message, I waited for him


    to reply, but he didn''t. I assumed he was showering, so I sent him a goodnight message, then put my


    phone away and drifted off to sleep.” Sophia paused momentarily. “We had arranged to go fishing with


    my Granddad in the countryside today.”


    Abel, who was nearby, asked, “Did Alexander have any enemies?”


    “Dillon Xenos, his uncle.”


    “What was their feud about?”


    Sophia took a sip of water, looked up at Abel, and said, “It was about their family inheritance.”


    The questioning continued for over half an hour. As soon as Sophia left the interrogation room, she saw


    several missed calls from Samuel on her phone.


    Sophia looked at Lukas. “It''s a call from Alexander''s friend. I''ll need to call him back now.”


    Lukas nodded and stood under the old locust tree, watching Sophia.


    As soon as Sophia left the interrogation room, the policewoman immediately said, “Lieutenant


    Heughan, are Sophia and Alexander really in a rtionship? She seems so calm, answering our


    questions clearly and logically. It''s like she knows what we''ll ask, and she gave clear and detailed


    exnations. It was as if she had prepared her answers in advance, no?”


    Abel gave the policewoman a sidelong nce. “Do you think every woman in this situation should be


    crying non-stop?”


    The policewoman was unconvinced and pouted. “But she''s too calm!”


    Abel scoffed. “You didn''t notice her hands shaking as she held the cup.”


    Sophia was afraid too, but she knew that in the current situation, only by fully cooperating would


    Alexander''s chances of survival be higher.


    There are different types of people in this world, and it''s impossible to generalize.