“You’re right, there’s no possibility of overturning that inheritance case… Seven years have passed, and most of the available evidence has been lost. Whatever we say here is just speculation.” Zuo Yan continued, “That’s why you can maintain this fearless attitude.”

“I’m fearless because my conscience is clear.” John’s tone carried a hint of triumph. “Unlike some people…” As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Sam, “…who will soon be going to prison for hiring a murderer.”

“Not necessarily.” Feng Bujue interjected, getting up to pour himself another glass of red wine. “Often… something that seems unquestionable at first glance is fundamentally different from its appearance.”

When he said this, John, Sam, and Dost didn’t understand what he meant, only thinking it was mysterious.

But Zuo Yan… smelled something unusual in these words; and Vidoc, hiding in the shadows, was startled the moment he heard it… the feeling of being seen through made him want to explode.

“Zuo Yan, please continue.” Two seconds later, Feng Bujue picked up his refilled wine glass and, as he walked back to his seat, added a line to Zuo Yan.

“Um… okay.” Zuo Yan hesitated, then continued, “Up to this point in time, the situation is relatively clear… What Miller knew was fatal to John. As long as Miller revealed that John had no blood relationship with old Herbert, then legally speaking, he was an outsider living in the Herbert family without even adoption procedures, and without the knowledge of the person concerned.

“In this way… even if the so-called ‘will’ from back then was forged by Sam, it wouldn’t affect the order of inheritance; because old Herbert never left a real will… Therefore, after determining that the existing will is fake, the Herbert family’s property should be distributed according to the general rules of inheritance law, and the only legal heir to the property is still Sam.

“Of course, even so, John isn’t exactly in Miller’s hands, after all, John has plenty of resources at his disposal; if Miller exposes the matter, John will hire some expensive lawyers to help him fight this lawsuit… Whether he starts with a ‘legally recognized de facto adoption relationship’ or makes a fuss about the ‘statute of limitations for inheritance lawsuits’… it can’t be said that he has no chance of winning at all.

“Undoubtedly, when Miller started blackmailing John, John had already calculated this, but he was still guilty… God knows if there were any flaws left in that inheritance case, so… John still gave the money.

“However, he didn’t give much; as a businessman, John naturally knew the art of bargaining, he calculated Miller’s account clearly and put it on the table to discuss with him.

“They are both involved, both are guilty, and there is no benefit to Miller to expose the matter… it is nothing more than harming others without benefiting oneself, plus there is a new crime of ‘blackmail’… if the two really tear each other apart, Miller will be worse off.

“So, after some ‘negotiation,’ this blackmail turned into a kind of charity.

“For the past three years, John has been depositing a sum of money into an overseas account every month in his personal name. The owner of the account is of course Miller. The amount of money is not much or little, about the salary of a middle-class person for a month.

“For John, it doesn’t matter at all, the cost of keeping a dog is higher than this; and for Miller… at least at first, this condition was good, because that was when he was at his lowest point, and people who are about to be homeless usually don’t pick and choose when it comes to money.

“However… not long after, Miller, who was living a life of warmth and security without working, began to be plagued by his greedy heart…

“After calming down, he must have realized… that he clearly possessed such a significant secret, but only exchanged it for scraps of leftover food; so, feeling unbalanced, he gradually became dissatisfied with life, and then vented on social media, and then thought about returning to his old business… but he was unwilling to risk giving up his existing stable ‘income.’

“In the end, all Miller could think of was to go back to John and renegotiate, but he was firmly rejected.

“Not long after that incident… he approached Sam.”

At this point, Zuo Yan was silent for a moment, as if waiting for everyone present to digest this information.

“I understand Miller’s motive for approaching John, it’s nothing more than money…” After a while, Feng Bujue was the first to speak, “But what did he want to do by approaching Sam?”

…………

“This guy… has been asking the obvious all along…” At the same moment, Vidoc, hiding in the ventilation duct, muttered in his heart.

“What?” Others couldn’t hear this, but Zuo Yan could, and he immediately doubted in a mental dialogue, “Are you talking about Jue-ge?”

“For some unknown purpose, he seems to have been guiding our narration, letting us explain the case as clearly as possible…” Vidoc replied, “But in fact… I can feel that he sees as far as I do.”

“This…” Zuo Yan thought for a while, “Then he intends to help us?”

“I don’t know.” Vidoc replied, “Anyway… you continue to recount, and I’ll observe some more…”

…………

This inner dialogue between one person and one cat could not be heard by others. In their eyes, Zuo Yan just thought in silence for a while.

Then, he opened his mouth and said, “It’s very simple, it’s also for money, but the amount and method of obtaining it have become very different.”

“I understand!” Suddenly, Dost shouted, looking enlightened, like a child who had finally solved a super-difficult riddle, “As long as you kill John and announce the secret that he is not old Herbert’s biological son, then… there will be no such thing as a lawsuit, at least the part of his property that originally belonged to the Herbert family should all be inherited by Sam!”

“Actually, he doesn’t have to announce it.” Zuo Yan continued, “To put it another way… if Miller doesn’t say that secret, then in the eyes of outsiders, after John’s death, the property should still be inherited by his only ‘brother’ in the world.”

“The truth about John’s background… is Miller’s trump card.” At this moment, Sam, with a solemn expression, continued, “In case I am hindered in the process of inheriting the inheritance, he can use that to turn the tables; in addition, when he first came to me, he had already expected… that as long as I saw that trump card, I would help him.”