Chapter 5 The Mystery of the Will (Part 1)

Let’s talk about two things separately. Let’s look at Zuo Yan’s room.

“Huh——” After closing the door, Zuo Yan let out a long breath and said, “I’ve been on the plane and the boat all day… I can finally take a break…”

While speaking, his right shoulder tilted consciously, letting the sports bag on his shoulder slide to the ground.

At the same time, Victor just crawled out of the sports bag and poured cold water on Zuo Yan with his usual venomous tone: “But I don’t think you can rest for too long.”

“Huh?” Zuo Yan’s butt just touched the bed and heard this. Naturally, his expression changed slightly, “Why?”

“Remember the guy we met at the elevator door?” Victor didn’t answer his question directly, but threw a question back.

“You mean…Brother Jue?” Zuo Yan continued.

"Are you stupid?" Victor jumped onto the bed, piercing his cat's eye, and replied unhappily, "I already said it was the 'elevator door'. We met Feng Bujue when we walked into the 'elevator', didn't we?"

"The door?" Zuo Yan looked suspicious, "Did we meet anyone before we entered the elevator?"

His reaction was also normal...

Although there were not many people in the hotel lobby at this moment, there were still more than a dozen employees and guests coming and going; if we had to say how many people Zuo Yan "met", then everyone who had appeared in his sight and within a ten-meter range around him could be counted as "encountered".

However, as a normal person, we can't remember the appearance of every passerby who has appeared around us. Even if we want to remember... I'm afraid we don't have the ability.

Just now, from the time Zuo Yan left the front desk until he came to the area in front of the elevator door, he had not spoken to anyone, not even eye contact; when he arrived at the elevator, he happened to see an elevator door that was about to close, so he shouted loudly and rushed in.

Therefore... he didn't notice at all that when he ran to the elevator, a middle-aged man passed by him.

"Let me help you recall..." Victor licked his paws and continued to talk to Zuo Yan in the form of mental dialogue, "A white man in his forties, about six feet tall, wearing a dark suit and a brand new Panama hat..."

"Hmm..." Zuo Yan heard this and pondered.

After all, it was a short-term memory. With Vidocq's reminder, Zuo Yan seemed to recall some vague impressions: "After what you said... it seems that there is such a person."

"Forget it..." Vidocq continued, "You'd better not recall it, just listen to me..."

Vidocq didn't let Zuo Yan think further, because he had seen that Zuo Yan should not have paid any attention to that person at all. Considering the memory bias caused by the "Fuzzy Trace Theory", it is better to give him reliable information directly instead of letting Zuo Yan recall in this state - that is, the information obtained by Vidocq's own observation.

"Although the guy pulled the brim of his hat very low, from my perspective, I can still see his whole face, so I recognized it at a glance..." Vidocq continued, "...He is Sam Herbert."

"Herbert?" It was the first time that Zuo Yan heard the name "Sam", but he had naturally heard of that surname.

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

"Uh..." Zuo Yan thought for a while, "I know his brother's name, he is the current president of Herbert Company, but this 'Sam'... how do you know him?"

"I don't know him." Victor said, "I just saw his photo in a news report. It was an article about a dispute over inheritance. The content was quite bloody. I think when you heard me say the word 'inheritance', you can basically guess the plot..."

Zuo Yan thought for two seconds and continued, "Is it... After old Herbert died, he left all the inheritance to his eldest son, so the second son was dissatisfied and sued his brother in court, and finally lost the case."

"Well..." Victor also pondered for a moment, and then said, "... No."

"Huh?" Zuo Yan was stunned immediately. He obviously didn't expect that he guessed wrong.

"On the contrary." Victor continued, "After old Herbert died, a will found in his safe showed that he left all his property to his second son, and the eldest son didn't get a penny."

"So..." Zuo Yan followed the other party's train of thought and read, "Actually, John sued Sam in court?"

"Yes." Victor said, "John hired a very good lawyer, claiming that the will was forged by Sam, and asked to deprive Sam of his inheritance rights."

"From the current situation... he seems to have succeeded." Zuo Yan continued.

"Yes." Victor paused for half a second and continued, "Although the will was signed by old Herbert, and the key to the safe was always carried by old Herbert, in the end... John still won the lawsuit."

"Is this okay?" Zuo Yan asked doubtfully.

"Ha!" Victor lay down on the bed sheet and began to lick his fur comfortably, laughing, "What's wrong with that? Only the signature part of the will was handwritten, and the rest was typed on an old typewriter. John's lawyer only needs to use the argument that 'Sam imitated the signature of the deceased'. As for the key to the safe... that's not a problem at all; Herbert's mansion is very large, and his two sons can go back and live there at will. If they want to copy a key... there are plenty of opportunities."

"Even so... this lawsuit is not that easy to judge, right?" Zuo Yan continued.

"Well... you're right. In theory, the court's verdict on a case involving a huge inheritance is quite cautious." Victor continued, "In addition to the existing physical evidence, they will also consider many other factors, for example... five years before old Herbert passed away, John had already opened his own investment company and was already a well-known young talent in the business world; and Sam has always been a notorious playboy. He only stays at home for one or two months a year, and the rest of the time he basically spends money and has fun all over the world. Coincidentally... in the month when Sam returned home for the last time, old Herbert just died of illness, and then the inheritance appeared in front of everyone."

"That's indeed quite suspicious..." Zuo Yan said, "The time he spent at home was obviously enough for him to forge a will."

"The judge thought so too." Victor's story is not over yet. In fact, the exciting part is just about to come, "So... after obtaining the consent of the two Herbert brothers, the police used the most advanced technology at the time to authenticate the will..."