The most powerful families in South Korea gather together in Chantelle Manor for the first time. A formal assembly took a wrong turn when a guest's daughter was found dead in her room. Ten suspects and a young, reputable detective meet and find them...
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"Are we the suspects?" Geo raises his voice, hearing what the manager told them. "How am I a suspect? I was in my room the whole time!" He looked at the others and noticed that someone was missing. "Oh? That employee's not here. Look for him. I was with him last night. He can vouch for me!"
"The same goes with me. I was only working in my room the whole time," the girl with short black hair said.
"I'm very sorry to inform you this, but the detective insists. I thought the management wanted to bury this, but why does that man want to interview the guests?" The manager quietly said the last sentence to himself. "Please follow me. He said it won't be long."
"Does he have a warrant?" The guy at the back asked, making the rest of them turn to him. "He can't just label us as suspects without evidence."
Lloyd suddenly arrives with his hands shoved into his pockets. "You were the only ones with the victim last night. I checked the CCTV footage, and indeed, all nine of you weren't at the party after the blackout. I was hoping some of you might help with this case. I only want to know what you saw last night."
"You're not gonna arrest us, right?" The blonde girl asked at the back. "I just want to make sure that I'm not sleeping in a cell."
"Rest assured, miss. I can't take any of you without hard evidence." Lloyd stood on his toes and counted the number of guests the manager brought. His brow raised, realizing that they're short on one person. "I thought you said there were nine?"
"Ah. Colin had to run an errand. He said his parents asked him to pick up something for them," the short-haired girl said. "He'll be here soon. I just called him."
Lloyd nodded and gestured for them to head into the indoor garden at the far north of the building. The nine sat at one side of the long, marble table and, Lloyd sat across from them. He could sense their tenseness by looking at their faces. "Don't be scared. You have nothing to worry about if you're not guilty."
"Let's get this over with. I have work to do," says the woman in white trousers. "The people I work for are incredibly impatient. I hope you understand." She had a blank expression since the manager asked for them to gather until this moment.
"Should we start?" Lloyd took out the list the manager had prepared. "I'll take it from here. Thank you for the help," he said to the manager, who immediately bowed and left in a hurry.
"This is surprising," France suddenly commented. "This is usually unnecessary. Don't they want to forget about what happened and bury the incident quietly?"
"The victim's parents are furious. No one would take the case because the majority of the families are against the investigation. It's a good thing they came to me. I don't get swayed with your power." Lloyd leaned against the table and looked straight into their eyes. "I'm no ordinary detective, so keep your filthy money to yourselves."
Mirae lets out a scoff. "Filthy? Our parents worked hard to get here, but filthy?!"
"Watch what you're saying, Mr. Detective. You can insult us, but leave our parents alone." Kit had never spoken a word. But he had lost it the second his parents got mentioned. His stare at Lloyd got replaced with anger in a second.
