As night fell, the city lights began to flicker on. Su Wanqing and Lu Chenzhou sat in the police car, silently observing the view outside the window. Today's case seemed even more perplexing than any they had encountered before.
Two women who looked strikingly similar—one found dead, the other completely disappeared. On the surface, it appeared to be an ordinary missing persons case, but as the investigation deepened, a chilling truth began to emerge, sending shivers down their spines.
"Did they find the body of the deceased?" Su Wanqing glanced at Lu Chenzhou, her eyes betraying a hint of exhaustion.
"Yes," Lu Chenzhou replied in a low voice. "The body was found in an abandoned field on the outskirts. The preliminary cause of death is a violent impact to the neck, but the details are still being investigated. There are obvious signs of struggle on the body. It's clear that the deceased was terrified before her death."
"This case doesn't seem like a typical murder. There must be a deeper reason behind it," Su Wanqing furrowed her brows. "We need to find out the identity of the deceased. Why was she killed, and who could have done this?"
They quickly made their way to the scene, examining the details of the body. The deceased's face had suffered significant trauma, and her neck and chest were surrounded by deep strangulation marks. After a careful inspection, Su Wanqing noticed a subtle dust in the deceased's fingernails. This dust wasn't ordinary dirt, but a specific type of construction material. This discovery raised a question in her mind: had the deceased been involved with some construction site before her death?
Next to the body, Lu Chenzhou retrieved the deceased's personal belongings: a worn wallet and an ID card. The name on the ID card was Li Ting. However, as they continued their investigation, they discovered a shocking fact: the deceased, Li Ting, had an identical twin sister, Li Ying.
"Li Ying is missing?" Su Wanqing paused for a moment before speaking.
"Yes," Lu Chenzhou nodded. "After her sister went missing, she quickly reported to the police, saying her sister had been kidnapped. But looking at the time she reported the crime, there are clear suspicious details."
Su Wanqing's brow furrowed tightly. She confirmed the identity of the deceased through fingerprint matching. After verifying that Li Ting was indeed the victim, she quickly browsed through more records. Though Li Ting and Li Ying were twin sisters, their personalities and lifestyles were vastly different. Li Ting was passionate about fitness and travel, while Li Ying was more immersed in material enjoyment, constantly chasing luxury and indulgence.
"Maybe we can start by looking into Li Ying's background," Su Wanqing murmured. "Her personality and lifestyle might provide some clues to the case."
As they delved deeper into Li Ying's past, Lu Chenzhou and Su Wanqing uncovered some hidden secrets. Li Ying had been through an unhappy marriage early on, and her relationship with her sister, Li Ting, had always been strained. More critically, Li Ying was facing a massive financial crisis. She owed a large sum of money, and behind that debt was a gigantic insurance policy. The beneficiary of that policy was Li Ying, with a payout worth millions.
"Could she have killed her sister for the money?" Lu Chenzhou pondered. "If she could assume Li Ting's identity and claim the insurance money, her debt would be wiped away in an instant."
"I believe so," Su Wanqing took a deep breath. "Li Ying may have planned this from the start. Her disappearance was likely staged after her sister's death, to avoid suspicion."
The two continued to dig deeper into the case. After further investigation, they found a key piece of evidence: a large, unexplained bank transfer into Li Ying's account, which coincidentally occurred a few days before her sister's disappearance. More importantly, Li Ying had frequent contact with an unidentified person—her husband.
"Her husband?" Su Wanqing seemed shocked. "Did he know about her plan?"
"Probably not," Lu Chenzhou responded in a low voice. "Through further investigation, we found that her husband had a complicated background. He had been involved in some illegal business. It's possible that Li Ying's husband knew about her plan but did not directly participate."
"So, did Li Ying plan the murder on her own?" Su Wanqing asked.
"Most likely," Lu Chenzhou looked at Su Wanqing. "If she wanted to impersonate her sister and claim the insurance money, she had to eliminate all obstacles. Li Ting, clearly, became her biggest obstacle."
As they continued searching for evidence, Su Wanqing and Lu Chenzhou discovered a link between Li Ying and a construction company. She had a long-term business relationship with this company, and her husband had worked there for a period of time. Just hours before Li Ting's death, Li Ying had visited the company and had an intense argument with a site manager.
Finally, after analyzing the construction site's surveillance footage, the police were able to pinpoint Li Ying's movements. She had argued with her sister at the site, and shortly thereafter, Li Ting's death and her own disappearance formed a clear chain of events. To escape her debts, Li Ying had meticulously planned her sister's murder and then staged her own disappearance perfectly.
"Li Ting's death wasn't just about the insurance money," Su Wanqing's tone was heavy as the case neared its conclusion. "Li Ying, for her own future, ruthlessly abandoned her twin sister. Her 'misaligned life' ultimately became a tragedy of her own making."
Lu Chenzhou nodded. "Such a person can easily abandon even family. For her selfish interests, she made an irreparable mistake."
The case was finally solved, and Li Ying was arrested on charges of murder and fraud. During her interrogation, she remained unnervingly calm, showing no remorse. To her, her sister's death was merely a step toward solving her own problems. However, she never anticipated that this misguided scheme would cost her dearly.
As the case was wrapped up, Su Wanqing stood by the window of the police station, gazing at the quiet street outside, her emotions complex. In this world, some people take family for granted, while others trample on it without hesitation. She knew that while justice had prevailed, for those victims who had been betrayed, nothing could truly make up for their loss.