In Detective Conan: Intercepting Miwako Sato at the Start

Page 9

The child gave up what he considered most important: trust in Yuuki Takada's promise.

Yuuki Takada only hoped that the evidence in that diary wouldn't disappoint him, otherwise he might have really wasted his time.

Yuuki Takada withdrew his gaze, walked straight to the door, and opened it.

In the corridor, Dean Ishida stood a few steps away, holding the hands of two children, with a perfectly appropriate concerned smile on his face.

"Inspector Takada, Officer Sato, thank you both for your hard work. I will take good care of the children, so please don't worry," Director Ishida said gently and politely.

"Thank you for your trouble, Director Ishida." Yuuki Takada nodded slightly, his face still displaying a formulaic, emotionless smile, and said, "If further assistance is needed, please cooperate with the investigation and stay in touch."

Yuki Takada's gaze swept past Dean Ishida and finally landed on Aya Ahori.

The boy lowered his head, leaning stiffly against Ishida's side, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his clothes.

Yuki Takada's gaze remained unchanged; he simply offered a routine greeting before looking away.

"Let's go, Sato," Yuuki Takada urged again, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Sato Miwako took a deep breath, suppressing the doubts surging in her heart.

She glanced at Ahori one last time, and the boy seemed to sense her gaze, quickly raising his eyes.

The lingering hope in those eyes, like a candle flickering in the wind, was quickly swallowed up by deeper confusion and fear.

She followed silently behind Yuuki Takada, her steps heavy.

In the corridor of the welfare home, the musty smell mixed with the odor of disinfectant hit you, and the afterglow of the setting sun shining through the window at the end cast long and distorted shadows of the two people.

Stepping out of the orphanage, the slightly cool evening air helped Sato Miwako regain some of her senses.

Yuuki Takada strode quickly toward the police car parked by the roadside, his steps firm and rapid, as if he were eager to escape this place.

"Inspector Takada!" Sato Miwako finally spoke again as he opened the car door, her voice trembling slightly, "Is there something you're hiding from me?"

"We can talk about it later when we get back." Yuuki Takada paused, but didn't turn around.

With his back to Miwako Sato, he held onto the car door with one hand and tightly gripped the evidence bag containing the diary with the other.

The golden-red rays of the setting sun fell on his broad shoulders and back, but could not dispel the heavy chill in his air.

“Sato…” Takada Yuuki said in a low voice, as if squeezed from the depths of his chest, “Some things are better for you if the fewer people know them. Now, get in the car, we should go back.”

He opened the car door, got in, and firmly kept the diary in the evidence bag inside the car door.

As Sato Miwako stood outside the car, looking at the blurry yet cold profile of Takada Yuuki through the window, she felt a chill rush from her feet to the top of her head.

Only then did she understand.

Inspector Takada is not only lying to Director Ishida, he is very likely lying to everyone.

Inspector Takada clearly got some information from Arihia...

However, he chose to deceive everyone present, thereby thwarting Dean Ishida's idea.

And the unfathomable look in Inspector Takada's eyes—all of this pointed to a terrifying possibility.

She opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, and fastened her seatbelt.

Then, the engine was started, and the car smoothly drove away from the "Hope Home" welfare home.

The carriage was deathly silent, except for the sound of tires rubbing against the road.

Sato Miwako watched the street scene rushing past the window. The gray building of the orphanage gradually shrank in the twilight and finally disappeared.

The Truth in Chapter 13 of the Diary

It wasn't until he returned to the Metropolitan Police Department and stepped into that office filled with the faint smell of tobacco and old paper that Yuki Takada felt his tense nerves relax slightly.

Sato Miwako followed him into the office, and Takada Yuki slowly unsealed the evidence bag, making a faint "hissing" sound that was particularly clear in the quiet room.

Yuuki Takada took a deep breath and touched the cool pink cover of the diary with his fingertips.

The truth may be hidden between these thin pages.

After unlocking the lock's combination lock.

Yuuki Takada composed himself, and with an almost reverent solemnity, slowly turned to the first page of his diary...

The delicate handwriting came into view; it must belong to the deceased named Mizuno Ai.

The first few pages are filled with trivial records of life and aspirations for the future, carrying the lightness and faint melancholy unique to young girls.

Yuuki Takada quickly flipped through the pages, searching for any clues that might point to the core of the case.

That was more than a year before the incident.

"...Today, accompanied by my manager, Yukina Mukai, I came to the Tomoda Nursing and Obstetrics Clinic for another checkup. The baby's due date is slowly approaching. The doctor said today is the last checkup. If everything goes well, we can proceed with the rest of the pregnancy..."

Yuki Takada's breath hitched slightly as he keenly sensed something was amiss.

Wait a minute... why was it this agent who accompanied her to the hospital?

Normally, Mizuno Ai's boyfriend shouldn't have gone with her in this situation, so is there some unexpected hidden reason?

Moreover, it seems that they never heard of their father from Ahoria.

Yuki Takada quickened his pace as he turned the pages.

The date was drawing closer to the time of the incident.

……

The diary reads:

Today, B-Komachi's idol group concert was a complete success.

After changing into my usual clothes, I planned to go to the convenience store to pick out a bento box to take home. Thinking of my two children at home, the usual unpleasant things immediately became pleasant.

Late at night, just as I was about to step into the company, President Jiro Ono called me to his office and then took me to his office.

They said they wanted to invite me to a casual meal as compensation for not being able to attend the last two-year anniversary gathering.

I didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Thinking of my two young children at home, I hesitated for a moment.

"Oh?" President Jiro Ono's face immediately fell, and he said with a sour expression, "Ai, what's wrong? You have a boyfriend?"

"Didn't I tell you before? As our company's top idol, you absolutely must not cause any trouble for me at this critical juncture."

"I...I..." I hesitated for a moment, but finally went against my conscience and said, "President, I don't have a boyfriend."

Upon hearing what I said next, President Jiro Ono's attitude immediately softened, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"By the way, thank you very much for taking care of me, President. However, something came up today, so maybe we should call it a day." I said with a wry smile.

"It's not easy for you to be alone out there. If you go back, you'll just be eating unhealthy food anyway. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" President Jiro Ono's face darkened, and he said coldly.

"Hmm!" I nodded, still smiling, and said, "President, I really don't have time to accept your invitation today."

President Jiro Ono's eyes lit up as he said, "Since that's the case, I won't force you if you don't want to go. If you need anything in the future, just let me know."

"Ah..." I smiled and said, "Is it alright? Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

President Jiro Ono slowly walked towards Ai Mizuno, saying, "You've been with me for over two years, we're so familiar with each other, do you think I would lie to you?"

Seeing this, I slowly moved backward until I reached the corner of the wall, while the president, Jiro Ono, moved closer and closer to me, all the while saying:

"So, I didn't lie to you, Xiao Ai. Do you think you're lying to me?"

I was extremely conflicted. After much deliberation, I still made the resolute decision to keep the fact that I had a child a secret.

Just as the company president, Jiro Ono, was about to make a move and touch me inappropriately.

Instinctively, I reached out to stop them, saying instinctively, "President, this is a company. This...this isn't appropriate."

"Don't worry, Xiao Ai, my office is the most private place in the whole company. Besides, it's already this late, everyone in the company has left work, no one will notice."

With a disgusting expression, President Jiro Ono said, "So, no one else but you and me will know what happened today."

Just then, the cell phone rang.

"Excuse me, President, I need to go outside to take this call." I pushed President Jiro Ono away with all my might, hurriedly walked outside to answer the call, and immediately fled the company.

"Damn it, this call couldn't have come at the worst possible time," President Jiro Ono said coldly.

"Heh." I answered my manager's call and said, "Sister Xue Nai, you're so kind. Your call saved my life."

"No... Xiao Ai, what's wrong with you?"

The manager, Yukina Mukai, angrily scolded, "I arranged today's schedule for you clearly. It's already so late, why aren't you back to take care of your two children?"

"I...I...I..." I had intended to tell Xue Nai about this, but hearing the voice coming from the phone, I still didn't say anything.

"You have no idea how wild these two kids are. We finally managed to get one to sleep, and then the other one woke up..."

"...Come back quickly, you're driving me crazy!"

“I’m your agent, and now I have to arrange all your schedules every day, and take care of your two kids at home while you’re at work. I don’t even know what to say to you.”

"I just watched your performance, it was great. I specially prepared your favorite dishes, come back soon."

"Okay." I said softly, "Thank you for your hard work, Xue Nai. I'll be back soon."

After hanging up the phone, I walked back to B-Komachi's house.

When I arrived at the apartment door, I patted my face, trying to forget all the unpleasant things, and then took out my key and went inside.

"Ahoriya, Ruby, I'm back."

"Ai-chan, what's wrong with you today?" her manager, Yukina Mukai, asked. "Why are you so late coming back?"

"Something came up and I was delayed." I didn't dare tell Yukina the truth, in case she and the president had a falling out.

"I've already prepared dinner for you tonight." Before leaving, Mukai Yukina specifically told me, "Also, I've put tomorrow's schedule on the table for you."

"Thank you, Yukina-nee." After Yukina Mukai left, for some reason, a few tears involuntarily rolled down my cheeks.

Chapter 14 Finding Clues

No matter how wronged she felt at that moment, that feeling vanished instantly when she looked at the two children.

Woo!