Death Justice System

Chapter 7

The internet café was nearly empty when Elias finally found what he was looking for.

He had spent hours jumping from one article to another, tracking down names, dates, and fragments of information scattered across old news reports. The initial reports described Elias Thorne’s death as a sudden and tragic incident. A brilliant forensic pathologist, only days away from reviewing another major case, had collapsed and died inside the St. Jude autopsy suite.

Cause of death: acute cardiac failure.

Elias stared at the glowing monitor. He read the sentence three times before forcing himself to continue reading.

The official reports stated that no signs of foul play were found. The toxicology screening apparently revealed nothing suspicious. The autopsy had been conducted by a team from St. Jude, with Marcus Vance acting as the senior consultant who reviewed the findings.

Elias’s eyes narrowed sharply.

There it was. Marcus was involved in the investigation. Not as a suspect, but as one of the individuals who helped establish the final medical conclusion regarding Elias's death.

He kept scrolling. Several colleagues had spoken to the media after the incident. They described Elias as exceptionally dedicated, brilliant, and irreplaceable. There were photographs of his memorial service, pictures of the institute where he worked, and... photographs of Marcus standing in front of reporters.

Elias clicked on one of the video links.

Marcus appeared on the screen, wearing a dark suit. His face looked pale. His voice sounded heavy and slow. The man spoke of Elias as a brilliant young colleague whose life had been taken far too soon. He even paused several times mid-interview, appearing unable to control his emotions. At one point, Marcus lowered his head.

The reporter called it a profound display of grief. To Elias, it was cheap acting.

His fingers gripped the mouse tightly. "You bastard."

Marcus had played the role of the grieving mentor to absolute perfection. The man had stood before the cameras and mourned the departure of the person he had murdered with his own hands. He had led the investigators to swallow a false cause of death whole. And in the end, he had walked away without drawing a single drop of suspicion.

Elias dug deeper. He found the names of the pathologists who assisted with the examination. He noted the hospital staff who signed the initial documentation, the forensic technicians who processed the scene, down to the administrators who approved the final report.

He recorded every single name. Not on paper. In his memory.

By the time he finally leaned back from the computer screen, the sky outside the window had darkened. Elias pondered the list of names in his head. There were too many unanswered questions. Someone had engineered his death to look natural. Someone had ensured that all the evidence led nowhere. And Marcus had been close enough to control the entire silencing process.

Elias closed the browser and stood up.

Tomorrow, he would go to his old apartment. His real apartment. There might still be something left there. Notes. Case files. Personal records. Anything that Marcus might have overlooked.

However, when he checked the contents of Adrian's wallet, reality immediately slapped him in the face. The money left inside was barely enough for food and transportation around the university. His old apartment was across the city. The travel fare would drain more than what he currently had.

Elias stared at the crumpled bills. "Tomorrow."

He would find a way. He had to.

By the time Elias returned to the dormitory, the night had deepened.

He climbed the stairs toward Room 402, his body growing heavier with every step. And there, someone was waiting outside his door.

Leo.

The moment Leo saw him, the young man's face lit up. "There you are!"

Elias stopped in his tracks.

Leo pushed himself off the wall. "Where have you been all day? I've been waiting for you forever."

Elias looked at him flatly, with no intention of answering.

"Seriously, Adrian. You just vanished this morning. I thought something happened to you."

Elias ignored him and reached for the doorknob. Leo stepped closer, cutting the distance. "Hey, at least tell me where you went."

Elias was just about to open the door, but Leo suddenly thrust out a sheet of paper. "I've got something for you."

Elias glanced at it briefly. "What's that?"

"Class assignment."

When Elias stepped forward to take the paper, Leo quickly pulled it back. "I'll give it to you if you help me finish it."

Elias stared at him in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."

Leo flashed a wide grin. "Come on. You know I'm terrible at this kind of stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Advanced forensic pathology."

Elias's expression shifted slightly. Very slightly.

Leo continued, his tone sounding almost proudly embarrassed. "I don't understand half of this material. When the professor speaks in front of the class, he sounds like he's using an alien language."

Elias glanced back at the paper in the young man's hand. "What does the assignment require?"

"Case reconstruction. Cause and mechanism of death, interpretation of postmortem findings, differential diagnosis..." Leo let out a long sigh. "Basically, everything I hate."

Elias almost scoffed a laugh. A forensic student who couldn't even handle basic forensic pathology. That explained a lot about his surroundings.

"I'll hand over this paper," Leo offered, "and you have to explain it to me."

"No."

Leo blinked. "No?"

"No."

"Come on, Adrian."

Elias reached out to take the paper again, but Leo pulled it away once more. "I'll pay you," Leo coaxed quickly.

Elias's movement stopped. Leo smiled triumphantly. "Like usual."

Elias studied him closely. So, Adrian had done this before. Selling his brain to do other students' assignments. Interesting.

"How much?"

Leo named a figure. In a split second, Elias's analytical brain calculated the distance to his old apartment, the transportation costs needed, and how much food Adrian's remaining cash could buy when combined with that payment.

The amount wasn't much. But it was enough to solve his problem for tonight.

"When?" Elias asked.

"Tonight."

Elias let out a heavy sigh. "Fine."

Leo handed over the assignment paper with a satisfied smile. "Great."

Across the city, Marcus Vance sat leaning against the headboard of a dimly lit luxury apartment bedroom.

The room was quiet, filled only by the soft hum of the air conditioner. A woman lay beside him beneath the silk sheets, resting her head against Marcus's chest. Marcus's fingers moved slowly, gently stroking her hair, while his eyes stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.

His expression was calculating.

The charismatic professor from the conference hall had vanished. So too had the grieving man who appeared before the cameras following Elias Thorne's death. What remained was his true self—far colder, calculating, and dangerous.

Marcus finally lowered his gaze to look at the woman in his embrace.

"About that student whose information I sent you earlier..." His fingers continued to slowly weave through her hair. "Have you checked him out yet?"