Chapter 98: The Investigation Reopens

Freya expected reopening her parents' accident investigation to feel triumphant. Instead, it felt exhausting.

The attorney Louis arranged reviewed the evidence before approaching authorities: the original cassette, Victor's sworn statement, the private investigator's report, maintenance records, and Charles Stone's notes.

None alone proved homicide. Together, they justified a fresh examination.

Freya gave a formal statement about how the materials had been discovered. She deliberately omitted the part where she had arrived from another world. Even Louis agreed that detail would not improve the legal process.

"Finally, something we agree should remain secret," Freya said.

"I wasn't planning to explain transmigration to a detective."

The detective assigned to the reopened review was cautious. The accident was old, physical evidence was limited, and several witnesses had disappeared or died.

But the truck driver was still alive.

Authorities located him in another province under a slightly altered name.

That fact alone raised questions.

The driver had completed a short sentence for negligent driving, then vanished from his former community. Financial records showed that six months after his release, a relative purchased a house in cash.

The source of the money was unclear.

Derek separately traced an old company that had employed the relative. Its payroll administrator had later worked for a Meridian-linked contractor.

Again, the same network.

Freya sat in Louis's office while the attorney explained the findings.

"Will they arrest Adrian?" she asked.

"Not based on this," the attorney said. "The evidence supports investigation, not a murder charge."

Freya nodded. She preferred an honest answer.

Louis asked whether Adrian could be prevented from leaving jurisdictions where he might be questioned. The attorney explained that would depend on what investigators uncovered.

Meanwhile, Adrian's public representatives claimed he was in Europe and unavailable for comment.

Derek doubted it.

A private aircraft associated with one of Adrian's business partners had landed in the country three days earlier.

The timing was too convenient to ignore.

Freya's phone buzzed during the meeting. Her editor had sent enthusiastic news: her novel's audio adaptation had received a release date.

For several seconds, she simply stared at the message.

Louis noticed. "Good news?"

She showed him.

"Congratulations."

The contrast nearly made her laugh. Her parents' deaths were being reinvestigated while her writing career reached another milestone.

After the meeting, Louis took her to lunch rather than returning immediately to Northstar.

"You don't have to manage me," Freya said.

"I'm hungry."

"Liar."

He didn't deny it.

Freya eventually smiled.

Her life had become stranger than any novel she had written. But it also contained something the original plot had denied both her and Louis: people who stayed when things became difficult.

That evening, Freya scheduled several chapters in advance so she could attend any meetings required by investigators without missing updates. Louis watched her work and remarked that she was frighteningly organized. Freya reminded him that unlike certain billionaires with secret backup companies, ordinary people survived through calendars. He wisely declined to argue.