Chapter 530: Conflict Between Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law

Chapter 530: Chapter 530: Conflict Between Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law

Hearing that the paramedics were there to pick up a patient, the surrounding neighbors realized the victim wasn’t dead!

Thank goodness! Now they wouldn’t have to worry about the building’s property values dropping or any creepy paranormal occurrences.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Following Heath Hale’s instructions, they cleared a path for the paramedics who had just rushed upstairs.

Less than three minutes later, the paramedics hurried back down the stairs carrying a stretcher. Despite their rapid pace, their hands were incredibly steady, ensuring the victim on the stretcher wasn’t jostled around.

Three police officers flanked them, ready to take over the moment any of the paramedics showed signs of fatigue.

Neighbor A stared in the direction the paramedics had gone, his tone full of confusion. "If I’m not mistaken, the person lying on that stretcher was Cameron, right?

"Were those doctors here for her? Then what about her mother-in-law? She should be fine, right?"

While clearing the path, Heath, Sean Hughes, and another team member shielded the neighbors behind them to prevent anyone from getting bumped.

Because of the crowd, most people’s views were obstructed, so they hadn’t gotten a clear look at the person on the stretcher. Neighbor A had only caught a glimpse because he was relatively tall and standing near the front.

Hearing his words, the surrounding crowd began chiming in, gossiping and complaining one after another.

"Cameron’s mother-in-law is a real piece of work. She’s always trying to take advantage of every little thing. She’d get water from the public pipe, making the whole corridor stink to high heaven.

"If I were Cameron, I would have kicked her out the very first day she arrived!" a young female neighbor who hadn’t spoken until now chimed in, her tone laced with obvious disgust.

A few people standing nearby seemed to have suffered greatly from this, nodding repeatedly and occasionally throwing in their own remarks.

Zoe Sawyer and Sean exchanged a glance. This was their chance! Now was the perfect time to ask questions. Taking advantage of the crowd’s heightened emotions, they might uncover some unexpected leads. If they had just started interrogating everyone outright, some people might have held back, not wanting to offend their neighbors.

"Cameron’s mother-in-law actually did all that? You guys don’t seem to like her very much. Why didn’t anyone talk to her and ask her to change her behavior?" Sean asked, feigning casual curiosity.

Things went exactly as they expected. The moment he asked, a flurry of complaints erupted from the crowd.

"That woman is fiercely unreasonable! If you say anything to her, she’ll just curse you out!

"She’s always pulling stunts like this to save a few bucks. The water from that pipe smells like death, and when she spills it in the hallway, she never cleans it up. It makes the entire floor reek!

"For a while, I didn’t even dare to open my door for ventilation. When I went out for work, the smell would seep into my clothes! My girlfriend said I had terrible hygiene and almost broke up with me!" a young male neighbor gritted out through clenched teeth.

He was one of the victims of the foul water.

If his girlfriend hadn’t reached her breaking point and insisted on coming over to see for herself, she really would have dumped him over "hygiene issues." From that day on, before stepping out of his apartment, he’d put on a clear raincoat just to minimize the stench clinging to him.

"You got off easy!

"Cameron’s mother-in-law just couldn’t stand seeing her daughter-in-law take a break. Back when Cameron was doing her postpartum confinement, she forced her to get out of bed and do chores." An older female neighbor scoffed disdainfully, revealing her own observations. "Also, have any of you ever noticed that folding cot set up in their living room? I walked past once when their front door was wide open, and I caught a glimpse.

"The pillow and blankets on that cot were the ones Cameron always uses."

Hearing this, the surrounding neighbors collectively gasped. This was some explosive gossip!

As the neighbors chattered over one another, Zoe and the other three officers did indeed pick up a lot of useful information. However, the crowd was getting so fired up that the conversation was starting to drift off-topic. Seeing this, Sean seized an opportunity to steer it back.

"From what you’re saying, did Cameron’s husband not do anything about this? As a husband and a son, wouldn’t things have been different if he had just spoken up?"

According to these neighbors, there were clearly many instances where Cameron’s husband could have prevented a conflict simply by saying something. But from the beginning of their stories until now, this husband seemed completely invisible. He hadn’t been mentioned once. He would only emerge to say a few words after the battles between his wife and mother had already ended.

"That man is a total mama’s boy! There’s a massive gap between his and Cameron’s family backgrounds. He has a huge inferiority complex paired with an overblown ego, and he gets physical with Cameron over the slightest things.

"I’ve run into them a few times, and Cameron always had bruises on the corner of her mouth or her body."

"Cameron’s mother-in-law is no saint either. That whole family is like a bunch of bloodsucking leeches attached to Cameron.

"She even brought over her ex-husband’s son and had him live in Cameron’s garage. And despite all that, they still constantly hurl verbal abuse at her," another neighbor added, their face filled with indignation.

"Oh, right! Speaking of which, I remember accidentally overhearing Cameron on the phone a few days ago. She said she couldn’t take it anymore, that she was at her breaking point and was going to ask her husband for a divorce." The young female neighbor slapped her thigh, a hint of excitement in her voice.

Because she had just overheard it in passing, she wouldn’t have even remembered it if not for their current conversation.

"By the way, with such a huge incident happening, why haven’t we seen Cameron’s husband?" Neighbor C looked puzzled and stood on tiptoe to scan the area, confirming the man was nowhere in sight.

"I saw him head out this morning, and he even said hi to me. He probably had something to do, right? Do any of you have his number? Give him a call and tell him to come back," Neighbor A suggested.

In just over ten short minutes, Zoe, Sean, and the others had gathered all the information they needed. Sean shot a meaningful look at Heath standing nearby.

Understanding the silent cue, Heath walked over and, with just a few well-chosen words, coaxed the neighbors into returning to their homes. Next, they needed to escort the killer back to the police station, so it was no longer appropriate for these onlookers to stick around.

"We’ve figured out what we needed to ask. The victim has been taken to the hospital for surgery and isn’t out of the woods yet.

"Now, we can take the killer back." Heath then led Zoe and the other two back into Cameron’s apartment, where they lowered their voices and relayed all the gossip they had just gathered from the neighbors.

After listening to all the information, Evan Keller cast a thoughtful glance at the killer, who had already been pulled to their feet. Then, he turned his gaze to Officer Lee. "Have someone look into the real estate properties under the victim’s name, or her husband’s.

"If there are any, focus on investigating their sources of income. Then, get in touch with the victim’s parents. Contact her husband immediately as well and have them go straight to the police station."

Upon hearing this, Sean nodded. Accepting the assignment, he took out his phone and stepped outside to make the calls.

"Understood! I’m on it!"