Shoe Prints in the Closet

　　 When Ethan saw Benjamin and the others again, he seemed very unhappy.

　　He snorted and said, 'I've already said everything I need to say, what else do you want to know?' 'I want to let you listen to a recording first,' Benjamin had Emma play the restored recording.

　　Upon hearing the voice, Ethan immediately furrowed his brows, clearly recognizing the sound from before.

　　'Can you tell whose voice it is?' 'This voice sounds very familiar, but for a moment, I can't recall where I've heard it before.

　　Can I listen to it again?' Ethan requested.

　　After listening to the recording again, he shook his head.

　　'I'm certain I've heard this voice before, but I can't remember where.' 'Is it Alexander's?' Benjamin deliberately asked.

　　'No,' Ethan shook his head, 'I remember that guy's voice, and it's completely different from his voice.'"

　　"Do you remember the security guard named William in the North Shore community?" Benjamin intentionally reminded.

　　"William?" Ethan furrowed his brows again.

　　Someone like him wouldn't usually pay attention to a mere security guard.

　　"Yes, he's quite young, around twenty years old," Benjamin said.

　　"Oh, I remember now.

　　There is indeed a security guard in the community who is very friendly.

　　He often helps Xiao Yu carry things and always wears a pair of sneakers.

　　Wait a minute..." Ethan suddenly exclaimed, his brows furrowing even tighter.

　　"I remember now! That voice belongs to William, that security guard.

　　My goodness, I can't believe the person who has been blackmailing me all this time is him!"

　　"You mean William always wears sneakers?" Benjamin suddenly asked.

　　"You already knew it was him?" Ethan stared at Benjamin and the other two, feeling like he had been played.

　　Benjamin didn't deny it.

　　"We have already interrogated William.

　　He and Sophia are involved romantically, and they conspired to blackmail you."

　　"What?" Ethan angrily exclaimed.

　　He had always thought that the person threatening him was Sophia's husband, but he never expected it to be a mere security guard, and that it was a conspiracy between Sophia and the security guard.

　　"That damned bitch! I shouldn't have trusted her.

　　I thought she loved me, but it turns out she has other men besides me, and she conspired with this man to deceive me!"

　　"I hope you can calm down a bit," Benjamin said.

　　"Are you sure it was William and Sophia who blackmailed me, and not Alexander?" Ethan wanted to confirm this matter.

　　In his mind, a security guard could never compare to himself as a big boss, and he couldn't believe that Sophia would be interested in someone who was far inferior to him.

　　"Yes," Benjamin nodded.

　　"William admitted to everything."

　　"No wonder.

　　Otherwise, how were those photos obtained?" Ethan forced a bitter smile.

　　If Sophia wasn't involved, then how were those photos taken? He blamed himself for being too foolish.

　　"Didn't you notice the relationship between Sophia and William?" Benjamin asked.

　　"No," Ethan shook his head and said, "I knew that bitch liked money, but I never thought she would get involved with a security guard."

　　"What time did you discover Sophia's death that day?"

　　"Seven-thirty."

　　"Why are you so sure?"

　　"The TV was on at the time.

　　The news had just finished, and then the weather forecast started immediately."

　　"I've been to the crime scene.

　　It was very clean there, and you're usually responsible for cleaning?"

　　"Of course not.

　　It was that bitch.

　　She may have been a bit of a clean freak, always making sure everything was spotless."

　　"Are you sure she wouldn't forget to wipe away any footprints on the floor or in the wardrobe?"

　　"Footprints?" Ethan thought for a moment, shaking his head.

　　"No, she wouldn't.

　　Even if there were footprints, she would immediately clean them up."

　　"Oh, my god! With Ethan, William, and Alexander, these three people are already giving me a headache, and now there's a fourth suspect appearing.

　　My head is about to explode!"

　　Benjamin said, "I don't have any more questions for now." Ethan suddenly exclaimed, "I didn't kill that bitch.

　　She must have been murdered by either Alexander or that little security guard!"

　　"We will investigate who killed her," James said, then had Ethan taken away.

　　He turned to Benjamin and asked, "So, any progress?"

　　"Do you have any progress?" Benjamin replied.

　　James thought for a moment and said seriously, "Ethan mentioned that Sophia was already dead by 7:30, but Alexander didn't arrive there until around 8 o'clock.

　　Therefore, we can exclude him as the murderer because it couldn't have been him."

　　"Are you suggesting that the killer is either Ethan or William?" Emma asked, clearly expressing her disagreement.

　　"The killer is not William," James shook his head.

　　"William and Sophia were together, they blackmailed Ethan together, and they were planning to break up.

　　He had no motive to kill Sophia."

　　"Now, only Ethan remains.

　　Do you think he is the killer? What about the evidence?" Benjamin asked.

　　James smiled triumphantly, "Ethan admitted to cleaning up the crime scene and disposing of the body.

　　If he didn't kill her, there would be no need for such actions.

　　At least, his reason of being afraid of trouble doesn't hold up.

　　From my point of view, Ethan must have discovered that Sophia was blackmailing him, and he didn't want to be the scapegoat.

　　In a fit of anger, he killed Sophia and disposed of her body."

　　"I remember there were some skin flakes under Sophia's fingernails, potentially belonging to the killer, or at least someone she had contact with before her death.

　　Haven't you compared the DNA to see if it matches Ethan's?" Benjamin asked.

　　The smug expression on James' face instantly disappeared, as if he had finally seen the sun, only to be covered by a dark cloud.

　　He frowned and said, "I not only extracted Ethan's DNA sample but also Alexander and William's DNA samples.

　　I compared them to the skin flakes found under the victim's nails."

　　"And the result?"

　　"None of them match the skin flakes."

　　"So, it means all three of them are not the killer.

　　At least, before her death, she didn't have any disputes with them."

　　"Yes." Benjamin approached it from a different angle, denying James' previous belief that Ethan was the killer.

　　Of course, he couldn't dismiss the suspicion of the three based on their DNA not matching the skin flakes found under the victim's nails.

　　"It seems that besides these three, there was a fourth person who had contact with Sophia before her death and had a disagreement with her.

　　It would be best to find this person; otherwise, the truth will never be revealed."

　　"Oh my god! With Ethan, William, and Alexander already causing me a headache, now there's a fourth suspect appearing.

　　My head is about to explode!"

　　James began to wonder again.

　　 "Maybe William didn't know that Sophia had been killed, or maybe he just happened to witness something suspicious but chose to remain silent for one reason or another.

　　"Benjamin suggested another possibility.

　　 "Which brings us back to the original question, who exactly was the fourth man?" James said bitterly.

　　 Benjamin pondered for a moment before saying, "Maybe we should be focusing our suspicions in the wrong place.

　　 We've been thinking that the fourth man is an important person involved in the case, but it's also possible that he's just a minor player somewhere along the line, and that his presence isn't that important to the overall case.

　　" "Which means he could be an innocent bystander?" Emma interjected.

　　 "Yes. Perhaps we should revisit our clues and lines of reasoning.

　　" Benjamin said seriously.

　　 "Regardless, we still can't give up.

　　We must keep trying to find the fourth person, and only when we find him will we be able to solve this complicated mystery.

　　" James said firmly.

　　 They continued their investigation, determined to uncover the truth behind the case, but the identity of the fourth person remained elusive.

　　In addition, if he had really hidden in the closet, Ethan would definitely have discovered him when cleaning the scene.

　　In fact, Ethan didn't know that he was hiding in the closet." Emma expressed a different opinion, which undoubtedly poured cold water on James.

　　"Right." Benjamin nodded, agreeing with Emma's view.

　　"It might not have been Ethan who killed the person.

　　At least, William had left before Ethan cleaned the scene." "Then why did he hide in the closet, and why did he leave later?" James felt his head becoming confused again.