The Perfect Crime Chapter 4

"Bang—!"

My room door was kicked open.

Cold handcuffs locked around my wrists.

Camera flashes exploded in my face, freezing my disheveled state for eternity.

Captain Wright looked at me, his eyes filled only with disappointment and pain.

"Marcus, come with us."

I was escorted by two SWAT officers, passing by Elena.

She didn't look at me, only smiled at the camera with sad determination.

"I'll interrogate him personally and give everyone answers."

In the police car, I said nothing.

The despair from my previous life flooded over me like a tide.

The same beginning, the same... powerless result.

Suddenly, that familiar high-frequency ringing returned to my ear.

Years ago on a mission, protecting Elena, my right ear was damaged by an explosion's shockwave, leaving lasting damage.

Instinctively, I covered my right ear with my cuffed hands.

Memory fragments suddenly pierced my mind.

I remembered—after the injury, Elena had cried, asking friends to search the entire world.

She'd found a Swiss medical team who implanted the most advanced custom hearing aid available at the time.

She'd said: "Marcus, I can't let you be imperfect."

That hearing aid...

All the blood in my body seemed to freeze instantly.

I began frantically retracing events.

Every time Elena precisely found me, it wasn't after I'd acted, but almost synchronized with my "thoughts"!

The watch, the trench coat, the surveillance footage...

All smoke and mirrors!

Her true "god's eye view," her seemingly miraculous "deductions"—

they came from that damned device implanted in my ear canal!

She wasn't watching my actions.

She was listening to my thoughts!

"Ahhh—!"

I let out a beast-like roar.

The two officers beside me jumped, pinning me down hard.

Interrogation room.

White light, suffocating.

Elena walked up to me, gently straightening my collar.

"Marcus, I told you I'd never give up on you."

I looked at her, at this foster sister I'd raised with my own hands, who'd pushed me into endless hell.

I smiled.

The next second, I violently threw my head against the wall.

The brutal impact made my brain ring, sharp pain shooting through my right ear.

I could feel that foreign object loosening.

The interrogation room door was slammed open, several guards rushing in.

I didn't stop.

"Ahhh—!!"

With all my strength, I smashed my head against the wall once more.

"He's listening! He's in my brain!"

I stared with bloodshot eyes, screaming at the panicked guards.

"There's a voice... always talking!"

"Elena! It's Elena's voice!"

"She put a bug in my ear! The bug is eating my brain!"

My performance was hysterical, flawless.

Because that pain, that feeling of having my thoughts violated, was real.

The guards pinned me to the floor.

I saw Captain Wright rush in, his eyes full of shock and scrutiny.