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"The Secret of the Old Mansion"
Chapter 17: Intrigues and Manipulations

Chapter 17: Intrigues and Manipulations

After studying the new evidence and evidence in detail, Havelock began to realize that there was not only a foggy veil of secrecy in the investigation, but also active manipulation coming from the very heart of the Livingston family. Observing the behavior of family members and analyzing their previous testimony, the detective realized that some of them clearly do not play openly.

The first suspicion was the behavior of Victoria Livingston. Havelock noticed that her reactions and answers to questions were overly dramatic and calculated. Her every move seemed aimed at creating a certain image and manipulating the detective's impression. She showed excessive anxiety and tried to mislead the detective, leaving behind traces of omissions and contradictions.

However, Victoria was far from the only manipulator. Robert Livingston, the youngest son, also became involved in complex intrigues. His selfish desire for independence and desire to get rich made him vulnerable to manipulation by other family members. Several times Havelock noticed that Robert interrupted conversations and made unexpected remarks that clearly hid deeper motives.

Lady Eleanor Livingston, a widow, was next on the list of suspects. Her difficult explanations and emotional outbursts when she talked about the will and her own fears gave the impression that she was trying to hide something important. Havelock noticed that she showed particular concern about certain details, which indicated her desire to divert attention from her real role in the events.

Intrigue and manipulation have complicated the investigation, creating confusion and making it difficult to establish the truth. Havelock realized that he needed to carefully distinguish which family members were really involved in the murder, and who simply used the tragedy for their own purposes.

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To gain a deeper understanding of the manipulation, the detective conducted an additional investigation into the financial and personal relationships between family members. He found that most of the conflicts in the Livingston family were not limited to internal disagreements, but were also related to inheritance and material interests.

Financial reports and documents indicated the presence of hidden debts and outstanding obligations that could motivate family members to take extreme measures. At the same time, Havelock studied the documents relating to the changes in the will, and found several strange and suspicious changes that could indicate manipulation on the part of the heirs.

In addition, Havelock had suspicions that one of the servants could also be involved in manipulation. Information from local residents pointed to frequent meetings of servants with suspicious persons, as well as their possible participation in spreading rumors and creating fake tracks.

To cope with these difficulties, Havelock decided to conduct more careful surveillance of family members and servants. He devised a plan involving covert surveillance and additional interviews with each of them to reveal their true motives and roles in the manipulation.

The detective also created a map of possible connections and intrigues within the family, using the collected evidence and information about financial and personal relationships. This map helped him identify the key points of manipulation and determine which of them could have directly influenced the murder of Lord Livingston.

The increasing amount of intrigue and manipulation has created difficult obstacles to the investigation. Havelock understood that he needed not only to identify the real culprit, but also to understand the intricacies of manipulations that could obscure the true picture of events.

The frequent false leads and contradictory testimony added new complexity, and the detective needed to focus on the most significant evidence and on those aspects that could shed light on the true motives and actions of the suspects.

Havelock knew that it was necessary to remain vigilant and persistent in this complicated investigation. He planned to conduct several more interrogations, analyze new evidence and monitor the behavior of all suspects. Intrigues and manipulations could only be part of a more complex plan, and the detective was prepared for even more complex and unexpectedly complex turns in this case.