The body lay still on the polished marble floor of the grand foyer. Detective Olivia Barnes surveyed the scene, her keen eyes taking in every detail. The victim, a wealthy businessman named Robert Carlson, had been stabbed multiple times. As Olivia examined the body, she noticed something peculiar: a single red rose placed carefully on Carlson's chest.
Olivia questioned the staff and learned that Carlson had three main suspects in his life: his estranged wife, Evelyn, who resented him for his infidelity; his business partner, Marcus, who had been embezzling company funds; and his personal assistant, Liam, who had recently been fired.
As Olivia dug deeper, she discovered that all three suspects had ironclad alibis. Evelyn was at a charity event, Marcus was in a board meeting, and Liam was at a job interview. The detective was puzzled until she noticed a small detail in the security footage: a delivery man had entered the building minutes before Carlson's death.
Olivia tracked down the delivery company and learned that the order had been placed by none other than Robert Carlson himself. The detective realized that Carlson had staged his own murder. He had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and wanted to frame one of his enemies for his death as a final act of revenge.
In the end, Olivia confronted Carlson's lawyer, who had helped him plan the elaborate scheme. The case was closed, but the detective couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness for the desperate measures Carlson had taken in his final days.
