After Isko and the other survivors had been transported to the hospital and Mrs. Isari had been placed in a white body bag in the forensics van, Zhan stood next to the van and watched Yibo explain once again to his colleagues from the agency what had happened. And once again he had to explain why he had entered the crime scene with a civilian without waiting for backup. Zhan was standing a little to the side, but he could understand every word. Yibo explained: "We had no other choice. Mrs. Isari was dying. We tried to help her. And we hoped she could tell us something that would help us with the investigation."

"And what did she say?" Agent Lee asked impatiently.

"Again. She was badly injured and was just talking confused, disconnected stuff. The only thing we understood was that she confessed her love for her assistant and apologized to him." Yibo replied calmly, but with a hint of anger in his voice.

"So she didn't tell you anything?" Agent Lee asked again.

"No!" Said Yibo with vigor. Then the agents went back into the villa.

"My goodness, how many times does Yibo have to explain it to them? When can we finally get out of here?" Zhan asked himself quietly.

"That will take time Xiao Zhan. They're looking for something specific and I assume you know what they're looking for. Don't you?" A female voice asked him.

Startled, Zhan turned around and looked into the eyes of Agent Nax. "You?" He asked, shocked.

"Yes, me. No matter how many times they question you, you should never tell them where the USB stick is." She said, placing a hand on Zhan's upper arm. "Never! They can't get their hands on this USB stick!"

"Aren't you one of them? Not that I know what you're talking about. But assuming I did, wouldn't it be in your best interest to get that USB stick to you?"

Agent Nax pulled Zhan into the body van. She closed the door, turned on the overhead light and said, "Listen Xiao Zhan. This is very important. Never, under any circumstances, should they get the USB stick. Because then they'll just make it disappear!"

"Of course, Agent Nax, but as I asked, wouldn't it be in your interest to find the USB stick?"

"No. I know what's on it."

"How?"

"Because I gave it to her."

"Please what? You were the traitor with her?"

"No, of course not. But..." She sighed, unzipped the body bag and looked at the dead woman. She gently ran her hand over her cheek, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, kissing the dead Mrs. Isari's cheek.

"Oh my goodness. Did you know each other? Were you close?"

"It's a little more complicated than that."

"Then tell me. Apart from her, and she certainly won't betray you, and me, there's no one else here." Zhan knew that this was the right time to ask Agent Nax. Because right now she was feeling weak and needed someone to listen to her.

Agent Nax didn't seem to have heard Zhan at all. She pushed the zipper of the body bag further and further down and froze when she saw the large belly wound and her exposed lower body. "My God, what have they done to you? Your face is swollen. You have bruises everywhere. I can even see them under all the blood. The wound on your stomach. And, they raped you, he raped you, didn't he? He did it again. Didn't you swear to me you'd turn yourself in, go to prison and..." She cried.

"Agent Nax?" Zhan handed her a handkerchief. She took it gratefully and closed the body bag again.

"I knew her well." She finally said.

"How well?"

"I just know everything about her."

"And what would that be?"

"How much time do you have?"

"Per amount."

"All right. So Isla Isari isn't her real name. She was born as Nafi Ahmed in a small, remote village in Egypt. A very backward village whose inhabitants live far away from the influences of the modern world. Nafi was born with a genetic defect. Something very, very rare. She was born with red hair and green eyes. Everyone in the village called her a miracle and treated her as such. She grew up very sheltered because it was clear from the day she was born that she would one day have to marry the village chief, who insisted on her absolute purity. Instead of learning to read, write and count, she learned to clean, cook, sew and dance. When she was only 14 years old and had to marry the village chief, I think he was already 67 years old, she had to sign a contract with her thumbprint, which she could neither read nor understand. On her wedding night, her old husband, who had disgusted her all her life, fell all over her and was anything but tender."

"He... yeah I know what you mean. She was really only 14 years old and so uneducated?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Since she was his new favorite wife, he spent every night in bed with her for the next weeks and months, which made the main wife and his five concubines jealous. They let her know what they thought of her. They beat her again and again when the husband was not around. She gave birth to two daughters in this marriage, but they were taken away from her immediately after birth and sold to foreigners via a middleman. If she had had a son, the whole village would have celebrated. But a daughter, or even two daughters, was a disgrace. Her husband lost interest in her when he took a new wife, who was only 13 years old. He sold Nafi to an American, married them off and then he took Nafi Landfort, as she was called from then on, with him to America. She was 19 years old at the time. The first week for her in her new home and with her new husband was hell. He and his friends repeatedly abused and raped her until an old maid advised her to pretend to love her husband. Her situation improved, she had her son Michael Landfort and then it got worse again when her husband had regular attacks of jealousy. Violence and rape followed again until one day her husband went too far and almost killed her. Thinking she was dead, he dumped her in a river where Madam Isari, an old Sinti who was there a few times a year and spent a few weeks in a secluded hut, fished her out of the river and took care of her."

"Okay." Zhan was speechless.

"The old woman seemed to mean well for her at first. She took her into her family, gave her the name Isla Isari and taught her how to defend herself against attacks from men. But above all, she learned from her how to use her body to get everything she wanted. After a few weeks in the remote cabin and after she had recovered, Isla wanted to fetch her son Michael. But her husband had left the property with their son. The furniture was covered with white sheets and no one knew where they had gone. So she accompanied Madam Isari to his family and met Pete and Mao, the two sons of the Sinti, who had different fathers and different surnames. Pete Kapajewski and Wang Mao."

"Isko had mentioned the name when he called us. I think she said that her heart belonged to Wang Mao."

"That's right. She fell in love with Wang Mao and he fell in love with her. But the Sinti didn't like that at all. She wanted Isla to marry her eldest son, Pete, and take over the leadership of the family with him at some point. However, Isla refused to marry Pete and asked her to marry Wang Mao. But Madam Isari refused and told her to show her gratitude by marrying Pete as she wanted. Isla had no money, no home, couldn't read, write or do math and didn't have a passport. On top of that, she was pregnant with a child by Wang Mao, who ran away after a fight with his mother and brother. She was bound to Madam Isari. The night before her wedding, she finally gave in, Pete got drunk with some others from their traveling group and broke into her trailer that night. He raped Isla twice and then fell asleep next to her. Isla stole 150 dollars from him, packed her belongings and ran away that night."

"Damn."

"Uh-huh. She ran all night, despite the pain, until she got to a town. Someone called her a cab. She got a ride to the station and out of pity for her, the taxi driver got her a train ticket so she wouldn't get ripped off. He put her on the train, gave her an address to go to as soon as she reached Utah and wished her good luck. When she arrived in Utah, she had another cab driver take her to the address. A woman opened the door. The sister of the first cab driver. She let Isla into her house, bathed her, gave her food and clean clothes, tended to her wounds and bought her a plane ticket to China. More precisely, to Beijing, where the woman had a great-uncle who promised to take Isla in."

"Did she go to the great-uncle? I mean, surely she was afraid of men, right?"

"She was terrified of them. So she got off the plane and slept here and there for a few days before an elderly couple took care of her. She didn't understand the language and so she was terrified of them at first. But they brought her a tent, a blanket, clothes and, above all, food and water. Little by little, she began to trust them. She learned the language and three months after her arrival in Beijing, she moved in with the old couple, who let her sleep in a guest room. They got her a passport, a work permit and even bought her things for the baby. She worked for a few hours a week in a small Thai restaurant, where she helped in the kitchen and mainly did the washing up. The owners couldn't give her much money for the work. But they let her eat there and also gave her things for her baby. Then the day came when she went into labor. The old couple took her to a birth house nearby."

"The one that had burned down."

"Exactly. Shortly after midnight, Isla returned to the couple with two babies in her arms and strong contractions. She told them that a terrible woman had tried to kidnap this one boy after strangling her own baby. She had also attacked Isla and dragged her into the baby's room. Isla was able to overpower the woman and throw her out of the room, despite being in labor pains. She locked herself in there with the two babies until she heard screams and noticed smoke. She dragged herself and the babies out of there. Fearing the police, she took the babies with her. The couple took one of the babies to the police after they learned that the grandparents were looking for the boy. The other child, that was you Xiao Zhan, was less fortunate as there were no living relatives. She kept you and her son, who was born that night and named A-Si by the couple's husband, for a few weeks. But then she saw Pete and some men on a walk. She knew that neither you nor her own son were safe with her. She couldn't protect you. And so she gave you away to social services, with the excuse that she had been your surrogate mother and the couple who wanted you had suddenly lost interest. She gave her own son to her sister after she contacted her and found out that she was living abroad. A-Si was safe with her and he is doing very well."

"I learned that from her."

"Well, a few months after the birth of her son and after she had to give him up with a heavy heart, she found a small apartment, worked as a sales assistant in a supermarket and learned karate and judo. And that's where I come in. I was a young agent fresh out of the academy. My job was to discreetly follow a target and find out where he lived. But on my very first evening, I was already busted. A drunken man who talked to everyone he saw came up to me and shouted that I should stop following these two men and go with him instead, because he could certainly do it well with me. Of course, the target and his companion didn't miss this. They came up to us, dragged us into a dark corner and kicked the drunk man until he stopped moving. They killed him. When they turned their attention to me, I was frozen with fear and had forgotten everything I'd learned about such situations at the academy. They ripped off my shirt, cut open my bra and started touching me. I cried and was even unable to call for help. But suddenly one of the men groaned as a beautiful red-haired woman appeared and kicked him away from me. She also grabbed the other man, threw him to the ground and knocked him out. Then she put her jacket on me and took me home with her. At first I thought she was a white woman. But in the light of her apartment, I saw that she was Egyptian, but red-haired, with freckles and green eyes."

"So she dyed her hair and wore colored contact lenses, right?"

"Yes, but that only came later. I was grateful to her and became friends with her. We met up several times a week and I began to like her more than just a little. At some point, I plucked up all my courage and confessed my feelings to her. She kissed me gently and we made love deeply and very passionately that night. We had a very passionate, but secret, relationship for almost two years. And although I knew that she never felt the same way about me as I did about her, she stayed with me. Which made me love her even more. Neither she nor I are lesbians, I have to say. I guess we are both bi sexual. Or I am and she was just with me because that's what she needed. Needed me."

"And then?"

"One day she told me she was ending the relationship. I wanted to know why, she said because she'd met a man she wanted to marry. It was an old, weak man who didn't have much time left to live. I didn't understand and begged her not to break up with me. Then she told me for the first time about her long and painful journey of suffering and explained to me that it was now her turn to take what she wanted. And that only with the man's money, which she would inherit after his death, could she finally take revenge on the people who had made her life a living hell. I didn't think she was capable of hurting anyone intentionally. But I was very wrong. I myself got married and had a son who is now 15 years old and drives me crazy."

"She became a murderer."

"Yes, but only after she found out what Pete had done."

"What had he done?"

"While searching for her, he found out who helped her in America and helped her leave the country. The nice cab driver and his sister. He also found out where she lived after she came to Beijing. All these people who helped her, even the couple who owned the Thai restaurant, he tortured to death. She had found the bodies of the old couple herself when she went to visit them. They were horribly disfigured. The following was written on the wall in their blood: "We will find you Isla Isari!" She called me and I made sure that the bodies were found. I removed her name, written in blood, from the wall so that neither the police nor the agency would look for her. From then on, when she found the bodies, I could not only see but physically feel that she was changing. She broke off contact with me, dyed her hair black, had some cosmetic surgery, then she reappeared 6 years ago. As an intelligent, rich woman who got everything she wanted. And I never dared tell anyone that I knew her or how I knew her."

"And I suppose you've been keeping an eye on her ever since?"

"Yes. But no matter what I tried, I couldn't get close to her. She was a different person. Cold, dismissive and, above all, hard. But a few weeks ago, she suddenly called me and told me she was about to run out of time and asked me to research some names for her. I did this for her because I hoped I could get closer to her again and persuade her to give up and turn herself in. To face a court and accept her punishment. But then I found out what these people I was supposed to be looking for were hiding. They even included high-ranking politicians. I downloaded everything I found onto a USB stick and sent it to her by post. I then approached the director of the agency and told him what I had found out about these people and that I had given Isla Isari this USB stick. I had a guilty conscience. And well, the director of the agency, he, he's my father. I spoke to him as a daughter. But all he cared about was that we got the USB stick back before she could use it."

"So it was really never about her being a murderer?"

"Not really. No. And that surprised me. And then I investigated further and found out that my father was also belonged on the list I'd made."

"Oh dear."

"He's my father. I love him. But he can't get his hands on that USB stick! As long as the USB stick is not found, the 'Dark Purple Rose' mission will continue. And my life will be safe!"

"Are you saying that if the USB stick got into your father's hands, he would kill you or let you be killed to make sure you kept quiet?"

"Yes, he would. And he has a lot of people behind him to help him."

"My goodness. And why did you take those blood samples? What did you want with them?"

She smiled. "Back in the birth house, eight couples had been found. But not babies! Except for the baby that this woman killed. But as it turned out, it wasn't a newborn baby, it was at least six months old. Apparently, as a police investigator named Wen Rouhan suspected at the time, the attack on the birth house was planned and not as spontaneous as it was made out to be."

"Okay... and that means?"

"It means someone deliberately planned all this. I got some documents from the coroner at the time and his audio recording of the autopsy. He had copied everything and hidden the copies. He had to give all the originals to my father, who showed up there as the director of the agency and said they needed everything for their investigation. As I said, I got hold of the copied documents and the audio recording. The coroner examined the baby. He said it was at least 6 months old, already dead when the fire started and could hardly have survived more than 4 more weeks because the baby had tumors on every organ in its body. It was terminally ill! The woman who is said to have burned down the birth house was lying with her skull crushed near the entrance. The autopsy revealed that she had never had a baby. What's more, the woman's identity was never revealed."

"So it would be pointless to look for her?"

"Yes. And she hadn't set the fire. Because the coroner also found at her autopsy that there were no ash deposits in her lungs. Which would have been the case if she had still been alive at the time of the fire. She would have inhaled the soot when she breathed. But her lungs were clear. And then her skull had been smashed in. Who killed her? Why? And who caused the fire and why? And what happened to the eight babies? One baby turned up. Little He Peng was handed over to the grandparents. But what happened to the other babies?"

"So you're looking for the babies from back then?"

"Yes. During the autopsy of the dead couples, the coroner took small samples of the skin tissue, which are still being stored! I'm hoping to find out through a DNA test if any of those babies from back then were at the university at the same time as you. So they're still alive."

"I understand. But you took the blood samples from students of different ages."

"Yes, unfortunately. I only looked at the birthdays, not the years of birth."

"Pretty stupid."

"I know."

"So, what did your tests show?"

"That you're the son of the juvenile court judge Wuxian Han and the public prosecutor Wuxian Sun. Unfortunately, your parents died in the fire. I would have been happy if I could have told you that they were still alive."

"That woman, I mean Mrs. Isari, already told me who they were. Their professions and that they died. But their names were new to me."

"The fact is Xiao Zhan, your parents were murdered. And my theory is that the fire was started because of them. They wanted to get them out of the way. I still don't know why. But they were the only ones I think the fire was set because of. Because they were both famous and very influential."

"Well, I don't know anything about that."

"Your father was known as an empathetic juvenile court judge who was very committed to the young people who came to him in court. He actively helped to put them back on the right path and was known and loved everywhere for it. Your mother was a merciless prosecutor who didn't let any criminal get away with it. She mostly took on cases involving murder. And she won 98% of her cases. Which is really impressive."

"What else were they like? What did you find out?"

"Well, I was told that the two of them met in court when a teenager was in court. The teenager is said to have bullied and tormented a classmate until he committed suicide. In other words, he drove him to his death. After the verdict, your parents started dating. They fell in love and got married soon after. They were popular at court and known as a power couple. And when she became pregnant, their joy was obvious. The former investigator who worked for your mother told me that your mother was very impatient and couldn't wait to hold you in her arms. And your father even bought a sidecar for his motorcycle because he wanted to ride around with you like that. I heard he even had a tiny motorcycle helmet."

"Wow." Zhan said sadly. Because now he knew what great people his birth parents were and was angry and sad because he never got to know them.

"I think that's enough for today. You have a lot to deal with. But you have to know one thing, I'm not giving up! I'm going to find the babies and whoever set the fire."

"I'll help with that. And Yibo... I think he will too."

"Yeah sure." She said. Suddenly they both flinched in shock as someone knocked on the van door.

"I'll certainly help. But you should get out of there now. The body is about to be taken to the coroner's department. Also, Agent Lee is looking for you Agent Nax." It was Yibo, who had apparently been quietly and secretly eavesdropping on their conversation the whole time.

They got out of the van, Agent Nax rushed to Agent Lee and Yibo grabbed Zhan, pulling him into his arms and hugging him tightly. "I'm fine." Zhan said in a clenched voice because Yibo was holding him so tightly he could barely breathe. But he liked it. It was the first hug Yibo had ever given him.

"I know Zhan. I'm hugging you because I need this right now. I'm recharging my energy with you." Replied Yibo. Zhan smiled, wrapped his arms around Yibo and they held each other for about half a minute before walking to Yibo's car and making their way to Zhan's apartment.