The Truth

　　Walking out of the hospital door, Benjamin looked around.

　　It was already late, so finding a taxi in front of the hospital was not an easy task.

　　His luck seemed to be good as a taxi across the street spotted him and drove over on its own.

　　"Sir, are you Benjamin?" the driver leaned out and asked.

　　"Yes," Benjamin glanced at the driver.

　　The driver must have just woken up, as his face still showed signs of heavy drowsiness from being abruptly awakened from a dream.

　　"Just now, a gentleman asked me to give this to you." He handed over a piece of paper.

　　Benjamin took the note and read its simple contents.

　　"Apartment 601, Building 5, North Bank District.

　　Come alone." It was obviously left by the killer, and Benjamin was not surprised at all.

　　The killer must have been infuriated by encountering William during the first attack on Aunt Ava and then being stopped by Emma during the second.

　　As long as Emma stayed by Aunt Ava's side, he wouldn't be able to act.

　　So, the killer switched his target to Benjamin, who was obsessed with solving this case.

　　This note was the best proof.

　　"Did you get a good look at his appearance?" Benjamin asked.

　　The driver shook his head and said, "No, he was wearing a mask."

　　"Could you take me to the North Bank District, please?" Benjamin said.

　　"Sure," the driver had already seen the contents of the note before and knew Benjamin's destination.

　　"Can I borrow your phone for a moment?" Benjamin asked after getting into the car.

　　The driver took out his phone and handed it to Benjamin.

　　After sending a text message, Benjamin returned it.

　　When they arrived at the North Bank District, he gave the driver some extra money.

　　"Thank you, sir.

　　Good luck to you," the driver took the money, excited that this trip wasn't in vain.

　　There were only a few households in the neighborhood that still had lights on.

　　It was quiet all around, and the sound of insects could be clearly heard.

　　Benjamin stood in front of Building 5 and looked up.

　　Apartment 601 was completely hidden in darkness, making it impossible to tell if anyone was inside.

　　The dim light illuminated the corridor, as he climbed the stairs.

　　With each step, his excitement grew - the culprit was upstairs, and he would soon catch them.

　　Room 601 maintained its damaged state, with only a police tape to keep people out.

　　It was a feeble attempt to prevent entry.

　　The room was slightly ajar, with one end of the seal still stuck to the door, while the other end swayed in the air, creating an eerie atmosphere.

　　Benjamin stood before the door, taking a deep breath, feeling the thrill within him.

　　He removed the seal, eliminating any obstacles in his path, and pushed open the partly open door.

　　The room was dark, even the light from the corridor failed to reveal its interior.

　　The dim light added to the heavy, unsettling atmosphere, creating an air of tension.

　　Benjamin reassured himself, "There's nothing to fear," and stepped inside.

　　He remembered there was a switch behind the door, so he reached out to find it.

　　Instead, his hand was grabbed forcefully by another hand, causing his body to stumble and fall forward.

　　The culprit was hiding behind the door, as he should have anticipated.

　　However, Benjamin wasn't startled by this sudden ambush; instead, a slight smile adorned his face.

　　The culprit was indeed here.

　　With a muffled thud, something struck Benjamin's head, and he fell onto the sofa.

　　When he regained consciousness, he found himself moved from the sofa to the living room floor, with his hands and feet bound by ropes.

　　A candle stood in front of his face, casting a glow on his surroundings.

　　Standing a meter away was a masked figure, holding a wooden stick - the very object that had rendered Benjamin unconscious.

　　"You're finally awake," the figure spoke.

　　"You're the culprit, the one who killed Sophia?" Benjamin struggled to sit up.

　　"That's right," came the reply.

　　Benjamin glanced at the ropes binding him and the wooden stick in the culprit's hand, then asked, "Are you planning to kill me?"

　　"I can't be blamed for this.

　　If anything, blame yourself for not letting go of this case.

　　Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to kill you."

　　"Do you think that by killing me, no one will know you're the culprit?" Benjamin suddenly called out the figure's name, "Alexander."

　　The figure trembled, then after a brief silence, reached up and removed the mask.

　　In the candlelight, it was clear that the figure was Sophia's husband, Alexander.

　　"You actually know who I am?" he questioned.

　　"Is it really that surprising?" Benjamin smirked.

　　"How did you find out?" Alexander glanced down at his right arm, questioning if it had betrayed him.

　　"No," Benjamin shook his head.

　　"You knew that Aunt Ava would tell us about biting your right arm, so you plastered it yourself and pretended to have a broken arm when we saw you at the hospital.

　　Then, you posed as a doctor and attempted to attack Aunt Ava, but were stopped by Emma.

　　Because we all knew about your right arm injury, no one would suspect you.

　　I have to say, your plan was pretty well executed."

　　"Then, how did you know I was the culprit?" Alexander furrowed his brows.

　　Alexander said, "Hopefully you have evidence to prove I'm a murderer.

　　"

　　Benjamin smiled and said, "You think I don't have proof? I have enough evidence for you to convict you."

　　"I have in my hand a wooden splinter," Alexander said, examining it.

　　"This thing can only prove that I have been here, but it cannot prove that I killed the person.

　　Besides, I won't keep it." Benjamin saw Alexander burn the decaying wooden splinter in the candle flame.

　　He had anticipated that Alexander would do something like this, but now he didn't need the splinter to determine this guy's guilt.

　　"Aunt Ava once saw you asking Sophia for money, which indicates that you were financially tight.

　　On the day of the incident, you came here again to ask Sophia for money, but what you saw was her lying unconscious on the ground.

　　At that moment, you didn't think about how to save her, but rather about taking her jewelry.

　　I believe Sophia woke up when you were trying to remove her jewelry.

　　Those jewelry pieces were her favorites, so she instinctively protected them without knowing that it provoked you.

　　Then you forcefully covered her mouth and caused her to suffocate and die.

　　No, I'm wrong.

　　I should say you had already wanted to kill her before."

　　"You're right.

　　That damned woman dared to cheat on me!" Alexander suddenly became extremely furious and said maliciously, "Hmph, she didn't even think about why I ended up like this.

　　The reason I gambled was all for satisfying her vanity, to win more money for her.

　　But she left me at this time.

　　If she had given me some money, I would have forgiven her for her infidelity, but she not only didn't give me any money, she even cursed at me.

　　I was extremely angry at that moment, so I forcefully covered her mouth, preventing her from cursing at all, forever.

　　That bitch, I had wanted to kill her for a long time, and now she's finally dead!" As he spoke, he waved his hand in front of him, as if Sophia was standing there, and he killed her again.

　　His face became ferocious, his eyes turned red, and he stared at Benjamin.

　　"Unfortunately, you have no evidence to prove that I killed her.

　　No one has any evidence, because there was a fool who helped me."

　　"Are you referring to Ethan?" Benjamin asked.

　　"That's right.

　　After I killed that bitch, I was wondering how to dispose of the body when Ethan suddenly appeared.

　　So I hid inside the closet.

　　I don't know what happened to him, but he did me a big favor.

　　Instead of yelling and reporting the incident, he started cleaning up the scene."

　　"If Ethan had chosen to report the incident instead of cleaning up the scene, you would have definitely killed him too."

　　"I did consider killing him at that time, but in the end, I didn't.

　　Instead, as you said, I jumped from the window to the balcony across the street and escaped," Alexander said, grinning ferociously.

　　Benjamin said, "After you hastily left Room 602, you accidentally knocked down Aunt Ava.

　　She scolded you at that moment, and you were worried that she would go to the police station to identify you, so you took a risky move and attacked her, or rather, you intended to kill her to silence her."

　　"Your deduction is completely correct, and I have told you the process, but unfortunately, you have no evidence to convict me."

　　"I do."

　　"You still have evidence?"

　　"I heard that your luck has been bad recently, and you owe a lot of gambling debts.

　　That's why you came here to kill and rob for jewelry.

　　You were very nervous after the murders, and perhaps you didn't even know why you went back to the casino and joined the gambling again.

　　Gambling made you forget the fear of killing, and your luck seemed to have turned around.

　　Not only did you pay off your gambling debts, but you also won a lot of money."

　　"You know a lot of things."

　　"Too bad."

　　"What's the pity?"

　　"You left a gold necklace at the casino."

　　Alexander's body shook, and his eyebrows furrowed together.

　　Yes, this was my mistake.

　　I intended to retrieve that necklace, but I haven't had the time yet.

　　"It's okay, I will get it back," Benjamin smiled.

　　"Why are you laughing?" Alexander asked.

　　"You're a gambler, but you don't know anything about Noah.

　　He's a professional cheater, and your skills are too shallow.

　　You can't possibly win against him at the gambling table."

　　"I already won against him last time."

　　"That's because he was in a good mood and deliberately lost to you." Alexander's eyebrows tightened, and he said fiercely, "Even if I can't win against him at the gambling table, I will find a way to get the necklace back!" With that, he suddenly turned around and took out two oil pots from behind the door.

　　"Do you know what's in here?"

　　"Gasoline," Benjamin sniffed the faint smell of gasoline in the air, "You want to kill me now."