Daniel Smith had been kept busy since taking charge of the serial murder case, experiencing frustration for the first time in his eight years of experience. He stood grim-faced before a corpse, identified as attorney Francis Douglas from Hutson Law Firm.

Daniel had been informed of the murder while collecting information on the spade card, which he had instructed his assistant to investigate. Initially, he had intended to delegate the task to a subordinate, but when he learned that the spade card had been found at the crime scene, he passed the responsibility of collecting the details to his assistant and rushed to the scene himself.

Arriving at the law firm, Daniel was further shocked to find the corpse lying in the middle of the lobby. The man's neck bore a deep cut, his eyes wide open, with blood pooling around his upper body.

Still stuck to his neck was a rectangular object, its bright silver edge gleaming under the light. Upon seeing the large and vivid spade symbol with the number four at its center, Daniel clenched his fist in frustration.

"A murder in the lobby with this many people. How outrageous!" he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, as Daniel inspected the crime scene, a man approached him and introduced himself.

"Craig Hutson, CEO of this law firm," he said.

"Daniel Smith, Chief Officer of the Crime Division," Daniel replied, shaking hands with Craig.

"We need access to your law firm's footage for investigation," Daniel requested.

"Of course, Mr. Daniel. We will cooperate. After all, Francis was a good man. It's sad this happened to him," Craig responded solemnly.

Craig couldn't believe such a thing had happened in his law firm. He was saddened by the fact that their attorneys were suffering one by one; first, it was Mr. Carlos, and now Mr. Douglas. He wondered whether someone was targeting them deliberately. After all, his law firm had gained quite a good reputation and was winning a significant number of cases these days.

"By the way, Mr. Daniel, there was another casualty during the incident," Craig informed him, not wanting to overlook even the simplest clue that might help them find the murderer as soon as possible.

Daniel frowned. "Where is the person?"

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Craig led him away from the lobby to a nearby resting room. Inside, Daniel saw a man seated on the couch, with a young woman tending to his injury.

"This is Mr. Carlos Oswald," Craig introduced him without delay, explaining that Carlos had been accidentally injured by the murderer during the incident.

After introducing Carlos to the cops and vaguely explaining the casualties, Craig took his leave to deal with pressing matters at hand, including handling the reporters.

Daniel noticed a thin line on Carlos's cheek. Though the cut was minor, blood still leaked from the wounded area. Sensing the approach of the police officer, the woman attending to Carlos left the room with the medical kit.

Carlos stood up from his seat, understanding the need for the investigation as an attorney himself. He provided the details needed for the investigation.

He was about to exit the firm for the case investigation. Suddenly, something caught Carlos's attention, and before he could react, he heard a loud thud beside him. He was shocked to see a man who had been fine just a moment ago now lying dead on the floor. Carlos realized he had been injured during the scene when he felt a slight sting on his cheek.

Turning to see where the flash of light had come from, Carlos noticed a man exiting through the entrance with urgent steps. The man wore a brown suit and a hat covering his head. Carlos vaguely recalled something flashing on the man's ring fingers but couldn't remember the exact details.

After gathering details from Carlos, Daniel ordered the cops to clear the site and send the corpse to the lab for further investigation. Despite seeing the spade card stuck to the body, his intuition told him that the previous murderer was not related to the current one.

Carlos stood to the side, watching as the corpse was carried on a stretcher into the ambulance. While others believed Mr. Douglas to be an upright and righteous man who abided by the law, Carlos knew the true face of the man. When he had joined as a junior, he had been assigned to work as Douglas's assistant temporarily.

Initially, Carlos admired Douglas for his intelligence and skill in solving complicated cases. However, as he spent more time with him, he realized that Douglas was less principled and more cynical.

Three years prior, there had been a case involving a seventeen-year-old boy accused of a hit-and-run. The victim was a pregnant woman who had been severely injured, resulting in the loss of her child.

The woman's husband sought justice for his wife and unborn child, but the accused was the heir of an influential family. They had approached Hutson Law Firm for representation, but Craig Hutson, a man known for abiding by the law, had initially refused to take the case.

It was Douglas who had convinced Craig, arguing that the young boy was framed and that the woman had never been pregnant. Money had played a significant role behind the scenes, destroying evidence and resulting in the boy receiving minimal charges due to his status as a minor.

Poor Craig remained unaware that he was surrounded by wolves and foxes.

But did Carlos pity him? No, he envied the power and money of those above him. Money had the ability to transform even the meekest into the fiercest of beasts.

What Carlos couldn't comprehend was who had the audacity to kill Douglas in his own domain. If he wasn't mistaken, Douglas had recently won the case for renowned social activist Gaston Regis, who had been accused of assaulting a twelve-year-old orphan girl.