Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"And then?" Inspector Megure pressed.

"Then……"

A complex expression crossed Otsuka's face, a mixture of anger, confusion, and twisted satisfaction.
"And then there's that bastard Arai, who doesn't care at all whether his wife lives or dies."

“When he heard that I had kidnapped his wife, he wasn’t worried at all; instead, he laughed on the phone.”

He said, "Tie her up if you want, I don't want her anyway."

"You can kill the hostage or release him, it's up to you. As for money? Not a single penny."

The interrogation room was silent for a few seconds.

In the observation room, Liuli clenched her fists.

She remembered Mrs. Arai's gentle smile, the way she brought her snacks, and the happy expression on her face when she talked about her husband.

That woman always thought she was happy.

“Then…” Otsuka continued, “then I hung up the phone. I looked at the woman, and she looked at me.”

"She sat on the deck of the yacht, the wind blowing through her hair, her eyes were red, but she wasn't crying."

She asked me, 'Did he really say that?' I nodded.

She asked again, "Did he say he didn't want me anymore?" I nodded again.

"Then the woman remained silent for a long time. I looked at her face, her expression shifting from shock to despair, from despair to calm, and then from calm to... to an expression I can't quite describe."

"That expression... it was as if he had figured something out, or as if he had made a decision."

Otsuka raised his head, looked at Inspector Megure, and said, word by word, "Then, she made a suggestion."

"What suggestion?" Inspector Megure pressed.

Otsuka took a deep breath and uttered the words that shocked everyone:
She said, "Since Arai slept with your wife, wouldn't it be revenge if I slept with his wife too?"

The interrogation room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Otsuka continued, "I was stunned. I thought I misheard. But she repeated, 'Don't you hate him? Didn't he sleep with your wife? Then you sleep with his wife. That way, you'll be even.'"

I asked her: "Do you know what you're saying?"

“She laughed, and I still remember that laugh. She said: Of course I know. I was married to that man for ten years, had his children, took care of the family, and gave up my career.”

"What did I get in return? He said he didn't want me anymore. So what's the point of cherishing me then?"

Then she stood up, walked up to me, and said: "Didn't you want revenge on him? This is the best revenge. Let him taste what it's like to be cheated on. And..."

She paused, then her smile became even more eerie.
'You got your revenge on him, and I got my revenge on him. We were both betrayed, and we should stand together.'

After Otsuka finished speaking, a long silence fell over the interrogation room.

Inspector Megure opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

He had handled many cases, met many criminals, and heard countless bizarre confessions, but this was the first time he had heard such a reason.

In order to get revenge on her cheating husband, she deliberately had sex with the kidnapper who abducted her.

This……

The observation room was equally silent.

Yukiko covered her mouth, her eyes reddening slightly.

She didn't know whether to sympathize with Mrs. Arai or condemn her.

How much pain must that woman be in to make such a choice?

Eri Kisaki pushed up her glasses, her fingers trembling slightly.

Tears streamed down Ruri's face. She remembered Mrs. Arai's slightly reddened eyes, her words "that bastard," and her efforts to hide her tears. So, back then, she had already…

Midori Orikasa stood quietly to the side, saying nothing, only letting out a soft sigh.

Kogoro Mouri was unusually silent. He put his arm around Ruri's shoulder, unsure of what words of comfort to say.

Only Lin Xiuyi remained quietly watching Otsuka in the interrogation room.

Otsuka continued, "You all know what happened next. We spent two days on the yacht, and when we came back, she said she would help me get that money."

"But in the afternoon, she called me and said that she had been beaten up by that bastard Arai."

"She told me that she originally wanted to divorce Arai and then use the money she got to compensate me."

"But that bastard Arai rejected the suggestion and even beat up Mrs. Arai."

“I drove to the Arai residence and, sure enough, I saw that Mrs. Arai’s face and body were covered in bloodstains and bruises.”

"After leaving the Arai family, I got angrier and angrier!"

"Why should good people like me and Mrs. Arai suffer, while a bastard like Arai can live a carefree life?"

"I sat in the car like that for who knows how long."

Otsuka continued, his voice low and hoarse, as if all his strength had been drained away.

"When I came to my senses, I saw Arai driving up."

"My mind went blank at that moment. I only had one thought: it was him. He ruined everything for me."

Otsuka's hands trembled slightly, and the handcuffs made a soft sound as they tapped against the table.

"In a moment of impulse, I drove into him. I really acted impulsively, without thinking much, I just wanted him to experience pain."

"But I didn't expect..."

Otsuka's voice grew softer and softer, until it almost became a murmur.

“I really didn’t mean to run over that bastard. I didn’t expect him to die so easily. Just once, just like that, and he stopped moving…”

He looked up, his face a mixture of regret and fear.
"I thought he'd just get a minor injury, spend a few days in the hospital, and experience some pain. But I never expected... I really never expected..."

Inspector Megure didn't say anything, but quickly wrote down all of Otsuka's confession with his pen.

In the observation room, Officer Matsumoto suddenly frowned, a strange expression appearing on his face.

"strangeness……"

He murmured to himself, his gaze fixed on Otsuka in the interrogation room, but his eyes clearly wandered elsewhere, as if he were thinking about something else.

"What's wrong?" Lin Xiuyi asked curiously.

Officer Matsumoto spoke slowly, his voice tinged with doubt: "When we took Mrs. Arai away last night, her face was clean, without any injuries."

Lin Xiuyi's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You mean..."

“Yes.” Officer Matsumoto nodded. “If she had really been a victim of domestic violence, her injuries shouldn’t have healed so quickly. Bruise from domestic violence takes at least a week to completely fade. But there’s not a single mark on her face.”

The observation room fell silent for a moment.

This doubt, like a thorn, pierced everyone's heart.

If Mrs. Arai wasn't being abused, then why did she lie to Otsuka?
Why fabricate such a lie?

Was it to gain Otsuka's sympathy and get him to help her get rid of her husband?

Or was this all a meticulously planned scheme from the very beginning? (End of Chapter)