Chapter 1 The Hotel

Looking at things from another angle, let's return to Zuo Yan's room.

"Whew..." After closing the door, Zuo Yan let out a long breath and muttered, "This day of planes and boats... I can finally rest for a bit..."

As he spoke, he consciously tilted his right shoulder, allowing the gym bag to slide to the floor.

At the same time, Victor crawled out of the gym bag and, in his usual caustic tone, poured cold water on Zuo Yan: "I doubt you'll be resting for long."

"Huh?" Zuo Yan had just touched the bed with his backside when he heard this, and his expression changed slightly. "Why do you say that?"

"Remember that guy we ran into at the elevator door?" Victor didn't answer his question directly but instead threw one back at him.

"You mean... Jue-ge?" Zuo Yan replied.

"Are you an idiot?" Victor jumped onto the bed, narrowed his cat eyes, and retorted, "I said 'elevator door.' That Feng Bujue was someone we met *inside* the elevator, wasn't he?"

"Door?" Zuo Yan looked puzzled. "Did we meet anyone before we got into the elevator?"

His reaction was quite normal...

Although there weren't many people in the hotel lobby at the moment, there were still a dozen or so employees and guests coming and going. If one had to say how many people Zuo Yan "met," then everyone who had appeared in his line of sight or within a ten-meter radius could be counted as "met."

However, for a normal person, it's impossible to remember the faces of every passerby. Even if you wanted to... you probably wouldn't be able to.

From the time Zuo Yan left the front desk until he reached the elevator doors, he hadn't spoken to anyone, or even made eye contact. When he arrived at the elevator, he happened to see a door about to close, so he shouted and rushed inside.

Therefore... he didn't notice that as he ran towards the elevator, a middle-aged man brushed past him.

"Let me help you remember..." Victor licked his paw while continuing the mental conversation with Zuo Yan, "A white man around forty years old, about six feet tall, dark suit, brand new Panama hat..."

"Hmm..." Zuo Yan hummed in response.

Since it was a short-term memory, Zuo Yan seemed to recall some vague impressions with Victor's reminder: "Now that you mention it... there does seem to be someone like that."

"Forget it..." Victor interrupted. "Don't bother recalling, just listen to me..."

Victor didn't let Zuo Yan think any further because he could see that Zuo Yan hadn't paid any attention to that person at all. Considering the memory deviations that the "fuzzy trace theory" could produce, it was better to give Zuo Yan reliable information—namely, the information Victor himself had observed.

"Although that guy kept the brim of his hat low, I could still see his whole face from my perspective, so I recognized him immediately..." Victor continued, "...he's Sam Herbert."

"Herbert?" This was the first time Zuo Yan had heard the name "Sam," but he had certainly heard of the surname.

"That's right." Victor replied, "It's Herbert..." He paused. "Sam Herbert is John Herbert's younger brother."

"Uh..." Zuo Yan thought for a moment. "I know his brother's name. He's the current president of Herbert Corporation. But how do you know this 'Sam'?"

"I don't know him." Victor said, "I just saw his picture in a news report once. It was an article about an inheritance dispute, a rather scandalous story. I think you can basically guess the plot when I mention 'inheritance'..."

Zuo Yan pondered for two seconds and replied, "Is it... after old Herbert died, he left all the inheritance to the eldest son, so the second son refused to accept it and sued his brother, but ultimately lost the case?"

"Hmm..." Victor also pondered, then said, "...no."

"Eh?" Zuo Yan was immediately stunned. He clearly hadn't expected to guess wrong.

"Quite the opposite." Victor continued, "After old Herbert died, a will found in his safe deposit box showed that he left all his property to the second son. The eldest son didn't get a single penny."

"So..." Zuo Yan followed the other party's train of thought and said, "John actually sued Sam?"

"Yes." Victor said, "John hired a very good lawyer who claimed that the will was forged by Sam and demanded that Sam be stripped of his inheritance."

"From the current situation... it seems he succeeded." Zuo Yan added.

"Yes." Victor paused for half a second and continued, "Although the will had old Herbert's signature and the key to the safe deposit box was always carried by old Herbert, in the end... John still won the case."

"That's possible?" Zuo Yan asked doubtfully.

"Ha!" Victor lay down on the bed sheet, comfortably starting to lick his fur, and laughed, "Why not? Only the signature part of the will was handwritten, the rest was typed out with an old typewriter. John's lawyer only needed to focus on the argument that 'Sam imitated the deceased's signature.' As for the key to the safe deposit box... that wasn't a problem at all. The Herbert family mansion is large, and both of his sons could freely return to live there. If they wanted to replicate a key... there were plenty of opportunities."

"Even so... this lawsuit wouldn't be so easy to judge, would it?" Zuo Yan continued.

"Hmm... you're right. In theory, court judgments are quite cautious in cases involving huge inheritances like this." Victor added, "In addition to the existing physical evidence, they would also consider many other factors. For example... five years before old Herbert passed away, John had already started his own investment company and was already a young talent with some fame in the business world; while Sam had always been a notorious playboy. He only spent one or two months of the year at home, and the rest of the time he was spending money and having fun all over the world. Coincidentally... it was during the month that Sam last returned home that old Herbert happened to die, and then the will appeared before everyone."

"That is indeed quite suspicious..." Zuo Yan said, "The time he spent at home was clearly enough for him to forge the will."

"That's what the judge thought too." Victor's story wasn't over yet; in fact, the best part was just about to come. "So... after obtaining the consent of the Herbert brothers, the police used the most advanced technology at the time to identify the will..."