“Then, according to you…” John continued, “Sam didn't actually learn my family secret from Miller, so he came to the island yesterday, ready to make amends with me?”

“Yes.” Feng Bujue replied without hesitation.

“Absurd!” John exclaimed. “How do you explain Miller's recording? And why would Sam give Miller money?”

“Simple,” Feng Bujue replied. “Miller was extorting Sam.”

“Huh?” John was completely stunned, so much so that he didn't know what to ask next.

“If it's really as you say…” Zuo Yan, still clear-headed, immediately interjected, “Then I'm curious… what grounds did Miller have to extort Sam? Did Sam have any leverage over him?”

“Yes,” Feng Bujue replied, as if he had already thought of the answer.

This time, even Sam was stunned. He was asking himself in his heart, "Did I?"

“Let me reconstruct the events of a year ago, and correct the errors in your reasoning.” Feng Bujue confidently continued, “About a year ago, Miller didn't ‘find Sam,’ but rather ran into him on the street.”

“After Miller recognized Sam, his seasoned criminal mind immediately made him think… that there was profit to be made from this person.”

“So, he followed Sam, found out where he lived and worked, and then appeared before Sam, threatening… ‘I'm going to tell your colleagues and friends who you really are.’”

“Wait…” Zuo Yan had already picked up on something from these few sentences and interjected, “You said ‘who you really are’… what does that mean?”

“Heh…” Feng Bujue replied with a smile, “This… none of you here know, but… Sam and I talked a lot last night and today, so I know…” He paused. “The Sam we see today lives in New York; and in America, he's not using the name ‘Sam Herbert,’ but ‘Sam Parker.’”

“What?” Doste, who was standing nearby, widened his eyes and exclaimed.

“There's nothing strange about that.” Feng Bujue said, “Let's all think about it for a moment… Imagine you're a playboy and rich second generation who spends all his time in social circles until you're thirty, and your old man just happens to be a wealthy man whose face and name are printed on cans and who is well-known throughout Europe; one day, you suddenly lose all your assets in a lawsuit and are branded a swindler. What do you do then? How can you start your life over like a normal person?”

“Go to the other side of the ocean, hide your name, change your appearance…” Zuo Yan muttered, stating the answer.

*Snap*

Jue Ge snapped his fingers: “Correct.”

At the same time, he looked at Zuo Yan with approval, but the latter was not happy about it at all.

A few seconds later, Feng Bujue continued, “Without a doubt… Miller's reason for extorting Sam was this…”

“After seven years, Sam had finally gained a foothold in the United States, had a well-paid, stable job where he felt he could use his talents and realize the value of his life; he also had a girlfriend he could marry and some real friends, not just fair-weather ones.”

“In this situation, if Miller came out and told everyone around him that this person was a swindler, that even his identity was fake, what kind of impact and consequences would that have? I think you can all imagine.”

“In conclusion… Miller had plenty of capital to extort Sam.”

As he said this, Sam had a "wtf?" expression on his face, muttering to himself, “If I didn't know I was hiring a murderer, I'd almost believe him.”

“In the following year…” On the other side, Feng Bujue's narration continued, “Sam gave Miller a lot of money, little by little, just like you said…” He looked at Zuo Yan. “In order not to leave any evidence, Miller always used secret codes left on public message boards to arrange to meet Sam in person, and the places he chose were all public places… Why did he do this? Of course, it was because he was extorting him. He didn't want to leave any evidence of phone calls, and he also wanted to prevent Sam from harming him in private. When Miller received the money, he asked Sam to give him cash directly, just like yesterday, so that there would be no record of bank transfers.”

“Wait!” At this moment, John interrupted loudly again, “You just said that Miller and Sam coming to the island on the same day was a ‘coincidence,’ but now you're saying…”

“Just now was just now.” Feng Bujue didn't even let the other party finish his question. “Just now, in order to respond to your ‘bullshit,’ I gave you a logically plausible inference. That explanation was to show you… that in the absence of evidence, ‘coincidence’ can easily refute your doubts. But now… I'm talking about the real case…”

“Are you trying to say…” The next second, Zuo Yan narrowed his eyes and took over Jue Ge's train of thought, “The reason why Miller and Sam came to the island on the same day was because Miller arranged for Sam to come to the island to pay him?”

“Idiot! You've been drawn into his logic!” Vidocq reminded Zuo Yan from the shadows, but it was too late. Zuo Yan had already spoken.

“Well, as expected of a famous detective, you're very quick to react.” Feng Bujue continued, “Then… Sam, who had returned to his hometown, suddenly felt a little melancholy and emotional, recalling the grievances of the past… He felt that family ties were the most important thing, and since his life was going well anyway, he suddenly decided to visit John and make amends.”

“You should stop while you're ahead!” John couldn't take it anymore.

At this moment, John, including the other two people present, were like women being held down and assaulted, but this violence came from the level of thought…

“According to you… no one paid Miller to do anything, right? Then why did he come to kill me?” John shouted.

“To let Sam inherit your inheritance.” Feng Bujue said.

“Huh?” John didn't know how many times he had reacted like this. He was about to cry.

“Isn't it obvious…” Feng Bujue said, “Miller was extorting both of you at the same time. You're very rich, but you only gave him a small amount of money each month, while Sam, who earns a salary, was able to give him a large sum of money each time. Comparing the two, Miller would naturally feel that extorting Sam was more worthwhile, but he also understood… that Sam didn't have that much money for him to squeeze. So… from Miller's point of view, what do you think is a way to adjust this situation?”