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Mr Lay straightened in his chair, his earlier thoughts momentarily forgotten as he focused on David. “What’s this about?” he asked, leaning forward.

David glanced at Mr. Lay, then lowered his voice. “It’s about Julian... There's something new that came up.”

Mr. Lay’s heart skipped a beat. His mind raced, the mysteries surrounding Julian's death suddenly pressing even harder.

“So I have a friend who's a news reporter,” David continued, his voice low. “I just got off a call with him. He’s been looking into Julian's case for the past couple of hours, and he’s not convinced by what the police are saying.”

Mr. Lay leaned forward, his interest sharp. “What did he find?” he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

David glanced around the room, as if ensuring no one else was listening, before continuing. “It’s about Julian’s manuscript, The Silent Shadow. It looks like there is someone might be able to help us find out what's hidden in there.”

David’s words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of their implication. Mr Lay’s heart raced as he leaned closer, urging David to continue.

“You’re saying someone knows what Julian is trying to say?” Mr Lay asked, his voice low, his mind spinning with the possibilities.

David nodded, his gaze shifting toward the door as if expecting someone to walk in. “Yes. According to my friend, Julian had a personal literary editor who worked with him closely from the beginning of his career. But that editor left two years ago. And after that, Julian didn’t hire anyone for that position." David's expression tightened, and he continued. "If Julian had been working on the manuscript for years and had relied heavily on that editor for revisions and suggestions, it’s not out of the question that the editor knows the detail about the story behind it."

“But two years ago?” he asked, furrowing his brow. “But I don’t think Julian even finished writing this book two years ago. The manuscript... it seems to have just finished one or two weeks ago.”