The night hung low, and the lights were bright in a villa in the bustling city center, yet there was a chill that did not belong to comfort. The body of the wealthy socialite, Lin Zhi Yi, was found peacefully lying among the rose bushes in the greenhouse, dressed in a silver-gray evening gown, resembling a sleeping statue. A faint smile remained on her lips, as though she had been moved by something beautiful before her death, and the red rose in her hand was the last thing she touched in life.
At the crime scene, there were no obvious signs of struggle. The forensic team could not determine the exact cause of death, but they did find a tiny, almost invisible puncture wound on her right ring finger. Standing in the center of the greenhouse, Su Wanqing slowly scanned the room full of roses, and suddenly furrowed her brows, bending down to take a sample from the rose in the deceased's hand.
"I feel something's wrong," she whispered to Lu Chen Zhou. "Lin Zhi Yi's death doesn't look like a simple heart attack or ordinary poisoning. This rose might be the key."
Back at the forensic center, Su Wanqing immediately began testing the rose sample. Soon, the results appeared on the screen—traces of "toxic lectin" were found on the thorns of the rose. This is a fast-acting neurotoxin, extremely difficult to detect, and even a small amount can be fatal.
"Someone tampered with the rose," she said coldly, her tone hardening. "And it was a meticulously planned murder."
Lin Zhi Yi was a socialite and the second wife of the city's real estate tycoon, Gao Zhi Quan. They had been married for five years. While their marriage appeared happy, there were hidden tensions. Lin Zhi Yi, young and beautiful, was a well-known philanthropist, while Gao Zhi Quan, aged and in poor health, had rarely been seen in public in the past two years. There had been rumors of tension between them, with some speculating that Gao Zhi Quan had a property division agreement in place—if Lin Zhi Yi died first, all her shares would be fully transferred to him.
"From the motive, anyone could be the killer," Lu Chen Zhou said, flipping through Lin Zhi Yi's social network. "But the poisoning method is so intricate, it must have been someone familiar with her habits, someone who knew exactly which rose she would touch that day."
Su Wanqing suddenly remembered something. "Lin Zhi Yi had a habit of tending to the greenhouse roses every morning. The toxin's brief presence on the thorns suggests that it was applied on the day of the murder."
This clue narrowed the investigation. When they checked the villa's surveillance, they discovered that the cameras in the greenhouse had all "malfunctioned" on the night of the murder. Someone had deliberately avoided the cameras.
Lu Chen Zhou decided to focus on the villa's internal staff. They zeroed in on Lin Zhi Yi's private doctor, Shen Qing, who had been hired as a high-paid medical consultant for the past year and was one of Lin Zhi Yi's most trusted individuals. Shen Qing, young and beautiful, with an impressive medical background, had a solid reputation in her field.
When they reviewed Shen Qing's call records, they unexpectedly found extensive contact between her and Gao Zhi Quan, with some calls lasting well into the night. Further investigation confirmed that their relationship went beyond professional—it had started even before Lin Zhi Yi's marriage.
"Do you think she killed her for Gao Zhi Quan?" Su Wanqing asked softly.
"Not just that," Lu Chen Zhou said steadily. "I suspect she wanted to replace her."
Indeed, when the police traced Shen Qing's financial records, they discovered she had recently purchased a villa and made a suspicious overseas transfer. This coincided with a piece of overseas property that Lin Zhi Yi had been preparing to acquire before her death.
After gathering evidence, the police arrested Shen Qing. During questioning, she initially insisted on her innocence, attempting to cover everything up with her "medical consultant" persona. However, when Su Wanqing presented the evidence of the toxin found on the rose thorns, and pointed out that the method matched her research background, Shen Qing's expression finally faltered.
"You'll never understand how disgusting she was," Shen Qing said coldly, with a hint of madness in her voice. "Everything I did for him, she acted like a queen, high above. I was just a replacement, but she always stepped on me."
Shen Qing confessed that Lin Zhi Yi had grown wary of her recently, intentionally diminishing her influence on Gao Zhi Quan, and even planned to replace her as his personal doctor. Shen Qing knew that if she lost this position, all her plans would fall apart, and Gao Zhi Quan would reconsider their relationship. So, she devised the "rose trap."
She chose the moment when Lin Zhi Yi would be most relaxed and vulnerable. In the morning, when she delivered medication, Shen Qing secretly entered the greenhouse, used a syringe to apply a small amount of toxin on the rose Lin Zhi Yi favored, and bypassed the greenhouse surveillance under the pretense of a routine check. She knew Lin Zhi Yi would pick that particular flower, just like every other morning.
"She chose that flower herself, didn't she?" Shen Qing whispered with a cold laugh, her eyes devoid of remorse.
After the case was solved, Su Wanqing walked alone into the greenhouse. Though it had been sealed off, the lingering scent of the flowers still filled the air. She gazed at the beautiful yet death-laden roses, silent for a long time.
"The poison in this world doesn't always come from a test tube," she murmured. "The human heart is the deadliest rose."
Lu Chen Zhou stood behind her, speaking softly, "We've seen too much death, yet we still have to believe that some flowers bloom for love, not for slaughter."
Although the case was closed, it revealed once again the "Dark Abyss" organization's infiltration of the upper echelons of society. During a follow-up trace of Shen Qing's devices, they discovered that she had communicated with a mysterious encrypted account—this same account had appeared in previous "Dark Abyss" cases.
The pieces of the truth gradually came together, and the outline of the abyss grew clearer. They stood at the threshold, where they might be swallowed by darkness at any moment—but they had never taken a step back.