Miyoshi Asako said, "At the time, I didn't know what he was doing. I only thought he was helping my brother test some props. But not long after that... my brother drowned alive in the water tank because he couldn't get those handcuffs undone."
"In the end, the police ruled the whole thing an 'accident' and hastily closed the case."
As Jiang Xia listened, his gaze shifted slightly. He noticed that the coffee aroma in the air had become richer.
Casually, he edged a little closer to Amuro Tooru and turned to Miyoshi Asako. "So, for revenge, you became Kujukuri Motoyasu's student?"
Miyoshi Asako nodded. "I was still young then. After relatives took me in, I changed my surname. So when I came to become his apprentice, Kujukuri Motoyasu didn't recognize my true identity."
"The day my brother was killed happened to be my seventh birthday. From then on, I spent every birthday alone."
Miyoshi Asako looked at her hands and gave a mocking smile. "After passing the assessment and moving into Kujukuri Motoyasu's home, the more I saw his happy, harmonious family, the more I couldn't stop thinking about the days when my brother was still alive—I couldn't accept that a criminal could continue living so happily as if nothing had happened. So I decided to kill him before his daughter's seventh birthday, so he could experience the pain my brother and I went through back then."
She sighed, the scene in the basement a week ago surfacing in her mind. "After I gave Kujukuri Motoyasu the poison, I told him my real name. But he acted completely unfazed. He wouldn't apologize, and he showed no remorse at all."
"I thought it over and told him I was going to kill his daughter too. Only then did his expression