After settling Bert down, Emily went straight to the police station the next morning. “Fire?” the officer asked. Emily nodded. “Yes, my house caught fire for no apparent reason, and I suspect someone set it deliberately.” The young officer was very responsible. Hearing that it might be arson, he took it seriously and carefully asked her many questions related to the incident. Emily answered them all, and after completing the report, four police officers accompanied her back to Bert’s house. The narrow street quickly became tense as people noticed the arrival of police cars. This was a poor neighborhood, but it also harbored some shady characters. The moment the police arrived, people ran out to see what was happening, following them all the way to Bert’s home. “Isn’t that Bert’s house? Why are the police here? Did they come to arrest someone?” “Yeah, Bert’s a good guy, isn’t he? What could he have done wrong?” “Maybe it’s because William died, and Bert couldn’t take it anymore. Did he go after Grace to get revenge?” “Haha, if that’s the case, I support it! Grace ruined William’s life! The man died at just fifty-something. Good people never seem to live long…” The crowd grew larger, and the whispers filled Emily’s ears. It was noisy and far too familiar, but now it felt more ironic. Everyone knew what kind of person Grace was, yet the law couldn’t touch her. No matter how many wrongs she committed, she always managed to get away with it. Could they really rely on the distant hope of “karma”? The current reality was that William was dead, Bert’s only home had been burned to the ground, and Grace was nowhere to be found. Knowing her, she’d probably find another wealthy man to support her soon enough. That’s just how unfair life could be. “Um… excuse me, are you Miranda?” one of the officers asked. Emily nodded. “Yes, that’s me.” “Are you the one who filed the report?”“Yes.” “Is this your house?” Emily shook her head. “No, it belongs to… a friend.” The officer frowned slightly. “A friend?” “Yes, she passed away three years ago. She asked me to take care of her family, so her uncle has been living here. But last night, the house caught fire, and now her uncle has nowhere to stay. He’s quite old and doesn’t know how to handle these things, so I’m helping him report it.” Emily explained everything clearly, and the officer quickly understood. They began their investigation immediately. Soon, they found the point of origin behind the house, under one of the windows. “…The window frame is made of wood, and we found traces of kerosene and white phosphorus on it. Not just the window, but the entire wall. In a confined space, kerosene fumes can build up, and white phosphorus is highly flammable. Just a spark at night would’ve set the whole place ablaze,” one of the officers explained. “Mind if I ask, does the person who lives here work with chemicals?” the officer asked. Emily shook her head. “Never.” “Then I can pretty much conclude that this was arson,” the officer said. “But the surveillance around here might not cover everything. I’ll need to go back to the station and review the footage. It could take some time.” There weren’t any cameras around, except for one at the main intersection, and even that hadn’t been maintained in years. No one knew if it was even operational. Emily had little hope for the surveillance footage. Once the investigation was complete, the officers prepared to leave to gather more evidence from the neighborhood. But Emily suddenly thought of something. “If I can provide a suspect, would that help the investigation?” she asked. “Of course,” the officer replied. “Has the victim made any enemies? Anyone who might want revenge?” Emily didn’t need to think about it—only two names came to mind. She provided the police with the names of Sophia and Grace, along with Sophia’s ID number. That afternoon, the police contacted her with an update.“We found them. We detected traces of kerosene and white phosphorus on their clothes.” Emily hadn’t even eaten lunch yet—she rushed to the station. Behind a door, Grace and Sophia were being held in the interrogation room. Both looked even more disheveled than Emily had imagined. Grace appeared to have been caught while cleaning—she was still wearing rubber gloves, her clothes the gray uniform of a nightclub worker. Her hair was half-gray, making her look twenty years older than her actual age. Sophia, on the other hand, was little more than skin and bones. If the police hadn’t found her, Emily wouldn’t have recognized her at all if they had crossed paths on the street. Sophia trembled in fear, her face pale. Grace, on the other hand, remained calm. Her eyes darted around nervously, revealing her guilt, but she flatly refused to admit to anything. “They don’t have any proof! Why are they accusing us of arson? Officer, I’d like to request legal assistance! I’ll get a lawyer to sue them for defamation!” The officer sternly asked, “Then explain why your clothes have traces of kerosene on them.” Grace didn’t bat an eye. “Officer, as you can see, I’m a cleaner at a nightclub. I’m constantly in and out of storage rooms, and the club recently hosted a fireworks event. The fireworks contain white phosphorus and kerosene residue, so it’s completely normal that some ended up on my clothes.” “What grudge do you have against the victim?” “We don’t have any. I used to live there with my ex-husband and his brother. I married the brother when I was young, but we got divorced due to irreconcilable differences, and I remarried. They’ve held a grudge against me ever since, trying to ruin me at every turn. But we’ve been divorced for years! Am I never allowed to remarry? This is moral coercion!” The officer raised an eyebrow. “So you’re saying this family is framing you?” “Exactly. The older brother died recently, and the younger one is blaming me for everything. I’m already living such a miserable life, but it’s not enough for him. He won’t be happy until I’m completely destroyed. Officer, you have no idea—both brothers had the worst tempers, especially Bert! He’s like a ticking time bomb…” Knock knock knock— The door opened.Emily entered quietly. “Excuse me, I’m the one who filed the report. May I ask them a few questions?”