Chapter 25

"Mrs. Smith, do you think I can handle this?" Zoey asked, a bit unsure.

"Of course you can! You've already written the previous articles. The chief editor just tweaked them a bit and published them under their name," I tried to encourage her.

It was pretty rare for a senior college student to get a byline during a newspaper internship. Usually, the internship was too short, and they didn't have enough experience. But getting a byline in a city legal publication? That was a big deal for graduation awards or job hunting.

Zoey might be young, but she was solid and experienced in her work. She never seemed nervous, always applying her professional knowledge actively. She was super smart, had great writing skills, and a sharp insight that even beat some folks who'd been working for two or three years.

Seeing Zoey's hesitation, I smiled and said, "Don't just stand there, bring me the materials on the Sand Village demolition brawl case."

Zoey nodded and quickly came back with the materials from the case room.

"Mrs. Smith, is the case we're covering at True Love Entertainment Club tomorrow related to Alan?" Zoey asked cautiously after a moment of hesitation, as I flipped through the materials.

"Sort of. I'm heading to the Entertainment Club to check out a witness from the trial. I think their testimony is fishy, but I need a good reason to go there. A friend from the detective squad is also going to the club to have a suspect identify the scene. I'll tag along as a reporter and, in return, write a special report on their operation. You'll write it," I explained.

As I flipped through the materials, I suddenly thought of something and asked, "You were at the trial that day. What did you think about the witnesses' testimonies?"

Zoey thought seriously and said, "At first, I didn't notice anything, but after listening to the defense attorney, it seemed like the three witnesses were too focused on the victim. That's all."

I nodded in agreement.

Most of the media there seemed to be just for the drama, focusing on the sensational stuff. It was Zoey's first time at a trial, so it was natural for her to take some time to get familiar. But being able to pick up on these issues in the testimony was already impressive, especially for an intern.

"The three witnesses are Tammy, a cleaner at the Entertainment Club; Lally, a server at the club; and Tom, a member of the club. After the trial, I went to Tammy's home in Sand Village to investigate as the chief reporter of the Silverlight City Legal Journal."

I put down the materials and handed Zoey a voice recorder, saying, "Listen to my interview with Tammy and see if you notice anything."

Zoey put down the materials, put on the headphones, and listened. After just one time, she immediately said, "Mrs. Smith, Tammy's testimony is exactly the same. She must have memorized it!"

"Exactly." I nodded and continued, "Tammy's second son is named Tony, and his wife is named Anna. After the interview, I gave Anna my business card and found out that on the night of the incident, Tony gave Tammy a ride on his motorcycle and stayed at the Entertainment Club for a long time. I suspect he's involved in this case."

I added, "When I first went to Tammy's house, she thought I was there to interview about the Sand Village demolition brawl. Then I found out that Tony, as a victim in that incident, didn't get the compensation he deserved."

I detailed to Zoey about Tony's disability, his work situation, his relationship with his wife, his connection with Lally, and other findings from my investigation over the past few days.

"So that's why you're digging into the Sand Village demolition case materials?" Lally suddenly realized. She pieced together the clues I gave her and thought for a moment, "I'll focus on finding stuff related to Tony. Mrs. Smith, do you think he could have a split personality like in the movies?"

I shook my head and said, "Unlikely. Let's not worry about that now. We'll work separately and focus on finding materials related to Tony."

Split personality was a type of schizophrenia, often accompanied by unexpected behaviors. But Tony seemed more like someone who bided his time and waited for the right moment. It suggested he had a bigger goal with such patience.

At that time, I hadn't officially joined the company yet, and all the materials related to the Sand Village demolition brawl case were in paper form-a thick stack of documents.

It was tedious to go through them page by page, word by word. We worked from morning until past 1 PM and still hadn't found any information on Tony.

Just as we were about to take a break for lunch, a photocopy on top of one of the stacks caught my attention. The text and format were completely different from the other materials. I picked it up and saw it was an accident insurance policy from an overseas insurance company. The beneficiary was Tammy Martinez, and the insurance amount was a staggering $2 million!

What shocked me even more was that the insured person was Tony Thompson, and the policyholders were listed as Zack Garcia and Tony Thompson, with amounts of $1.5 million and $500,000 respectively, dated August 2020.

"Zoey, when did the Sand Village demolition brawl happen? Has there been any other incident in recent years?" I immediately asked.

"December 2019, and nothing since then," Zoey replied.

Something was off. According to Anna, Zack and Tony hadn't been in contact since the Sand Village demolition incident, and Zack hadn't returned home, suggesting a falling out between the brothers.

But the demolition incident happened in 2019, and in 2020 they jointly took out an insurance policy for Tammy, indicating they had been in contact all along.

I quickly searched through the stack of materials and soon found the list of claimants. The first name on the list was Tony Thompson, with the injury described as testicular rupture leading to atrophy and necrosis, resulting in loss of fertility, and a compensation amount of $500,000. The document was signed by the real estate developer's representative, Zack Garcia.

It made sense. After the incident, the two brothers had maintained contact, but Anna was unaware.

At the same time, Tony's compensation was quite substantial, indicating that Zack had made significant efforts in securing the compensation. And Zack had fulfilled his brotherly duty.

It was likely that Tony used his compensation money to take out a policy for their mother Tammy to have the insurance policy a year later, with Zack's contribution. Tony didn't keep any of the money for himself.

So, why did Tony list himself as the insured? What kind of accident did he foresee that would lead him to take out such a large insurance policy for his mother?

Ordinary families might buy a few thousand dollars' worth of accident insurance, but Tony bought insurance worth several hundred thousand dollars.

Even though he was a victim, the compensation he received was enough for him to live comfortably in Silverlight City.

There was only one possibility: he knew an accident was inevitable.

I had a hunch that Tony's involvement in this case was far more complex than just being a witness.