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Anna smiled faintly. “Thank you so much for sharing all this with me, Mr. Lay. It’s really been helpful.”

She left the villa and walked back to her hotel, her mind swirling with unease. There were too many unanswered questions — too many suspicious points still unresolved.

Why would Mark kill Thomas, his best friend, just for the money—especially when the amount wasn’t even that much? If greed was the motive, it felt too shallow.

And then there was this Wayne McCowan. Mr. Lay said his room was right next to Thomas’. Wouldn’t he have heard something? A struggle? Footsteps? Raised voices? Yet no one ever mentioned hearing a thing.

And what about Mark’s escape? According to the report, he was found in his room on the eighth floor after the murder. But if that were true, he would’ve had to climb four more floors from Thomas’ room. And yet—Mr. Lay said the janitor stationed on the fifth floor that morning, who stayed there until Thomas was found dead, swore he never saw Mark pass by. And as far as she knew, the stairs were the only way to travel between floors.

And the strangest thing of all — why did Mark practically invite his own arrest? He’d confessed so easily, almost too easily. It was as if he wanted to be caught. But why? What could possibly motivate someone to give themselves up so willingly for a crime like this?

Anna rubbed her temples, feeling a quiet tension growing inside her. This case truly wasn’t as simple as the police had made it out to be, Julian was right.

But for now, something else demanded her attention: figuring out what Julian has hidden in The Silent Shadow.