"No."

Elizabeth still vehemently denied it, but more sweat appeared on her forehead, which made her look even more nervous.

"Elizabeth, since we've arrested you, it means we have enough evidence. If this is your attitude, then I see no need to talk further. We'll meet in court," Luke had reached the first phase of his goal; on several questions, Elizabeth was clearly lying. He stood up to leave the interrogation room.

It was Elizabeth's mother who became anxious. "Detective Chief, please wait a moment. My daughter is just answering the questions normally, and I think her attitude is fine."

Luke stared at her. "Do you truly believe she's innocent?"

"Yes, I believe her."

"Then it means you don't know her."

Sima Linton spoke with sincerity, "What you don't understand is my daughter—I'm her mother, I've watched her grow up, nobody knows her better than I do.

As a mother, I plead with you to clear this up quickly and clear my daughter's name."

"OK.

For your sake, I'll give her another chance.

I will interrogate her again tomorrow morning. Use this time to have a good talk with her," Luke finished speaking and turned to leave.

"My daughter is innocent!" Sima Linton shouted.

...

The next day.

The forensic report came out.

The DNA found in the victim's mouth matched Elizabeth's.

The bite mark on Elizabeth's arm matched the victim's dental imprint.

These two pieces of evidence were Luke's confidence.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Luke brought Elizabeth in for questioning again, with her mother still by her side.

He started with the question from the day before.

"Elizabeth, where were you between 10 p.m. on April 25 and 2 a.m.?"

"I really can't remember."

"Did you go to the set of 'Vanished Lover'?"

"No."

"You're lying.

There was an eyewitness who saw you at the set that night, and they are quite willing to identify you in court," Luke said.

Elizabeth's complexion turned noticeably worse.

Luke took out the photo of the deceased Abu Gela again. "Look again, have you seen him?"

Elizabeth did not answer immediately this time, she hesitated for a moment, "No."

"You're lying.

The forensic department matched the bite mark on your arm to the victim's dental print. How could you possibly not have seen him?

Why lie?"

Elizabeth hung her head in silence.

Sima Linton insisted, "Detective Chief Luke, there are a lot of people in the world who look alike, maybe there are others with similar dental prints.

Besides, the wound on my daughter's arm is almost healed, so the forensic results may not even be accurate."

Luke took out the DNA report. "We found your daughter's blood in the victim's mouth. How do you explain that? It can't be a coincidence."

As Luke sorted the report, he added, "Ms. Sima, we've got a lot of evidence that could convict Elizabeth without even an interrogation.

I see she's young, and I'm willing to give her a chance.

Yet she continues to lie, over and over again. I'm very disappointed.

I don't think there's a need to continue this discussion. We'll settle this in court," Luke stood up, ready to leave, but added as a reminder, "Just so you're aware, the prosecution will charge Elizabeth with first-degree murder.

Under California law, teenagers can be tried as adults for serious offenses.

You surely understand what that implies."

"Wait," Sima stopped Luke. "If, I mean if, we plead guilty, what then?"

Luke replied, "If Elizabeth is willing to confess, the police might consider charging her with second-degree murder instead. Given she is a minor, the sentence could be significantly lighter."

Sima Linton glanced at her daughter, gripping Luke's arm as if afraid he would leave. "Can we have some time to think it over?"

"You have one minute to decide."

"That's too short, please, give us more time," she pleaded.

"Just one minute," Luke said, checking his watch.

Sima Linton approached her daughter and began to whisper words of persuasion.

Elizabeth appeared very agitated and began to cry in a low voice.

"I'm leaving," Luke urged.

"Wait..." Elizabeth stopped Luke, her eyes red and her face pale. "I... I confess."

Luke let out a silent sigh of relief and sat back down at the interrogation table. "Do you admit to killing Abu Gela?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He deceived me."

"Deceived you out of money?"

"No, he tricked me into playing poker."

Lucas was interested in the story, cutting in, "Describe what happened at the crime scene."

Elizabeth began recounting the events of the crime.

She was a fan of Courtney and knew Courtney was filming with a crew, so she sought out Courtney for an autograph with the mindset of a star-struck fan.

By then, it was already late.

The crew was having a party near the filming location, and since there were no residents around, they played music loudly, and the atmosphere was great.

Elizabeth, being at an age where she loved to party, wanted to blend into the crew's gathering, hoping she might bump into a star or even be spotted by a director or producer, which could launch her into stardom.

She was young and full of dreams, and everything seemed so promising.

But she was stopped by crew members as soon as she neared the set, leading to a confrontation.

At that moment, a tall and handsome man helped her out of the situation. It was getting dark, but she recognized him—the male lead of 'Vanished Lover,' Lucas.

She'd seen the news and knew he was filming with Courtney, so they must have been well-acquainted.

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