In the warmth of April, the Starlight Hotel in the city center glowed brightly. A red carpet stretched out, guests gathered in clusters. This lavish wedding wasn't just a high-society spectacle — it symbolized the union of two rising forces in the business world. The groom, Lin Xucheng, was the only son of the Lin Group's head, while the bride, Shen Wanning, was the rising star behind the fashion brand "Ningyan." Their pairing was hailed as a match made in heaven. Media outlets streamed the event live, with viewership skyrocketing — almost sanctifying the ceremony.
Standing by the forensic van outside the hotel, Su Wanqing was flipping through a case report from that morning, paying no attention to the social buzz. But a sudden urgent call from the station broke her concentration.
"There's been a death at the Starlight Hotel. Suspected poisoning," came Lu Chenzhou's calm, clipped voice. "I'm already en route. Meet me there."
By the time Su Wanqing arrived at the banquet hall, the air no longer smelled of champagne and roses but was thick with tension. During the cake-cutting ceremony, the groom suddenly convulsed and collapsed. His lips turned blue, his breath labored — he was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital. Screams filled the venue. In mere moments, the dream wedding had turned into a nightmare.
"Initial suspicion is poisoning," a forensic on duty reported. "But we've tested both the cake and champagne — no toxins detected so far."
Su crouched beside the body, donned her gloves, and examined closely. A trace of foam lingered at Lin Xucheng's lips, his fingertips were purple, pupils dilated — all signs pointed to cyanide poisoning.
"He didn't ingest the poison through the cake," she said grimly. "It wasn't oral."
That single sentence stunned everyone. She ordered the body moved to the forensic van and performed a rapid autopsy. On his neck, she found a tiny red dot on the skin, barely visible. Under the microscope, she extracted a metallic residue matching potassium cyanide.
"The poison was delivered via a needle — a very fine one. It dissolved beneath the skin and released the toxin."
Lu Chenzhou's expression darkened. He ordered the site locked down and began reviewing the groom's interactions. In hotel surveillance footage, just before the cake-cutting, Lin Xucheng shared a brief but intimate embrace with the bride. During that moment, he instinctively touched his neck, seemingly uncomfortable.
"That was the only direct contact," Lu noted, turning toward the bride, Shen Wanning, who still sat dazed in the dressing room.
She wore a pristine wedding gown, her makeup flawless, yet her eyes were hollow. Su noticed something — the necklace Shen Wanning wore didn't match the inventory of heirlooms provided by the Lin family matriarch.
"May I take a look at your necklace?" Su asked gently.
Shen Wanning hesitated, but eventually removed it.
Su used tweezers to hold it up to the light. It was a hollow pendant, exquisitely crafted. Pressing a tiny mechanism on the back, there was a soft click — and a hair-thin metal needle popped out, only a few millimeters long, nearly imperceptible.
"It's a micro-poison needle device," Su confirmed. "When close to skin contact, even a slight collision can release the needle and inject the toxin."
"How do you know it triggered at that exact moment?" Lu asked.
"The release isn't timed," Su replied. "It's triggered by pressure and temperature. The warmth of a human body — just enough to expand the metal and activate the spring."
Following the lead, investigators dug into Shen Wanning's identity — and found serious inconsistencies. Her real name was not Shen Wanning, nor was she the founder of "Ningyan." She was actually Shen Yaqi — the long-missing daughter of Lin Wenshan's illegitimate son. Her mother had committed suicide when Shen Yaqi was just five, after being abandoned by Lin. Shen was raised in an orphanage, and as an adult, underwent plastic surgery, changed her name, and fabricated a new life — step by step, she had infiltrated the Lin family.
"She planned this revenge for five whole years," one officer commented.
"She never intended to run," Lu said. "Hiding the poison needle in the wedding heirloom was her way of ensuring the revenge would be carried out — in front of everyone."
"She chose the cake-cutting moment because it symbolizes sweetness and commitment," Su added softly. "She wasn't just taking Lin Xucheng's life — she was destroying the Lin family's legacy."
During interrogation, Shen Yaqi didn't resist. She didn't cry. She simply said:
"I just wanted him to feel the helplessness my mother felt before she died."
The case was closed, but the shockwaves lingered long after. That night, Su Wanqing stood outside the bureau, watching the sky darken.
Lu Chenzhou approached, his shoulder still wrapped in gauze from the incident during the rain.
After a pause, he said, "You did well today."
She turned to look at him, something flickering in her eyes — but in the end, she only nodded.
"We're all just doing what we're meant to do."
In the darkest corners of this city, they tore through fog after fog, just to protect that one sliver of light.