Chapter 831: DEDUCTION (I)

ALL the NPCs who heard what Luo Yan said were in shock. They all looked at Mrs. Gilmore no, he should call her Sorcha now in disbelief.

"Hold up, how can she be the real Sorcha?" young Harry said, clearly not understanding anything. "Then who was the one we met last night?"

At that question everyone turned to look at the man who looked similar to the 'Sorcha' they met. The other didn't let them wait in suspense and just directly admitted;

"It was me. I was paid to impersonate Sorcha Harcourt."

"But you're a man?" the maid couldn't help but say in a daze.

The head maid tried to stop the girl from talking, saying that the other shouldn't meddle with the issues of this family. The maid promptly stopped speaking.

But since the question was already asked, every NPC there was actually waiting for an answer.

"I'm a confidence trickster. Even if I'm a man, I can still dress up as a woman," the fake Sorcha said with no emotion on his face. "Anything can be done as long as the pay is right."

Sorcha's face suddenly turned green hearing this. "So, you sold us off, is that?"

The fake one only shrugged. "The detective promised me more money so I could only say yes."

This time, Sorcha's face turned red in anger. "You"

Before the other could lunge at fake Sorcha, Richard held her arm and shook his head. As if telling the other not to be angry. Sorcha stopped. But everyone could see the reluctance on her face.

Charles watched all these, looking at his brother and then at the woman they all thought was only a cook. Then, his glanced stayed at his brother who he thought was dead for the past two decades. Hurt and grievance flashed in his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell everyone you're alive? Why do all this charade?" he asked, staring straight at Richard.

Before the other could answer, another one voiced his confusion.

"Mum, what's happening? I- I don't understand," Cian said. He was looking at Sorcha, obviously pleading at the other to tell him what's happening.

Guilt quickly flashed on Sorcha's face. But Luo Yan didn't let the other explain her side. Because before the other could speak, he clapped to get everyone's attention.

"I think it's time for me to explain everything," he said. "Please, all of you, sit down first. Because this is going to be quite long."

Everyone started finding seats to sit on. Some looked very reluctant, others were still in a daze, and some just didn't care.

"Before I start, I hope no one tries to interrupt me. I promise you, once I'm done, all your questions will be answered," Luo Yan said once everyone was seated. "So, let me do my job of telling everyone the truth."

Some looked like they didn't want to cooperate. But at the end, no one still objected. Luo Yan was very satisfied with this.

"Some of you might think that the root of everything started 20 years ago, during that fire. But no, it all started much earlier than that. It started when the wife of William Harcourt died. According to the information most of you gave me, the madame died because of heart failure. But I didn't think so. Her death was related to Catherine.

"It seemed impossible, right? After all, she was barely a teenager when the madame died. But what if she had an accomplice? Not a very willing accomplice but an accomplice none the same. And what if this accomplice was someone with medical knowledge? Killing the madame and making it appear like a heart attack would be as easy as pie."

"Are you insane or just simply delusional?" Charles finally couldn't help but shout. "Do you know how old Catherine was back then? She's only 11! If you're saying that she killed our mother, then wouldn't that make her a"

"A monster?" Richard cut off the other's words. He turned to his younger brother, staring straight into the other's eyes. "Yes, she was a monster."

This shut Charles up. Even Edward s.h.i.+vered at the thought.

"As I've said, please don't interrupt me," Luo Yan reminded. "Then let me continue. My guess is that Catherine poisoned her mother and someone covered it up as an accident. At that time, I'm pretty sure there's only one person who could do that. The family doctor who pa.s.sed away just a few months back Doctor Blake."

There was a gasped in the room. Luo Yan turned to its source and saw that it was the head maid. He remembered his interview with the other. She seemed to really respect this doctor. No wonder she would be surprised.

"You might be wondering why Doctor Blake would do that. Then, you might as well ask why he would leave all his money and properties to her. Just think, why would someone go to such lengths for the daughter of his employer? Unless it's not the other's daughter but his own."

Now, there was an even louder gasp. Luo Yan ignored this and just continued.

"I think at that time, there's a high possibility that Catherine discovered that she didn't share the same father as her other siblings. Her poisoning could be out anger because of that fact. Or she thought that this secret might get exposed, so she decided to kill the madame. Either way, she would be still guilty of that crime.

"Based on my observation of her, Catherine was very good in manipulating other people's emotion by letting herself be the object of pity. She most likely acted as the victim in front of Doctor Blake for the other to help her. He obviously cared for his daughter. Of course, he would do everything to protect her. And that was not the last time he helped Catherine using his ident.i.ty as a doctor."

Luo Yan turned to Edward and gave the other a meaningful glance before continuing;

"He did the same when Catherine killed your wife."