The Murder of Lukas Moreau

**The Murder of Lukas Moreau** takes place in February of 2022 at Moreau Manor, a location in Ottawa which Canadian millionaire Lukas Moreau invited seven people to come to out of the blue. These seven people, as well as Lukas's wife, are forced to figure out which of those among them is the killer after Lukas Moreau is found dead in the kitchen, stabbed to death with a kitchen knife.

There are five parts, the first four of which are made up of two dialogues, one at the beginning and one at the end, with discussion in between them. The fifth and final part is made up of one, longer dialogue.

**Victim:** Lukas Moreau

**Suspects:** Jessica Moreau, Felix Walker, Myla Snyder, Marcus Meridian, Miles Meridian, Nova Madison, Ace Axelos, Grace Finnegan

**Secondary Characters:** Olivia Umbra, Autumn Meridian, Sammy Meridian, Bill Barner, Bob Barner

## Plot

### **Part 1**

Lukas Moreau is found dead in the kitchen by Miles Meridian, who screamed upon finding his body. Miles's twin, Marcus Meridian, was found unconscious by Lukas's body. When he awoke, Marcus had lost all of his memories. When everyone in the Manor has gathered in the dining hall and it's clear that one of them is responsible for the murder, discussion begins.

**Jessica Moreau:** She was in the living room, sitting on the grand sofa, greeting guests as they came in. After being challenged, she reveals that she heard something happening in the kitchen and knew Lukas was in danger but was too scared to investigate the situation.

**Marcus Meridian:** He has no recollection of where he was before waking up or how he ended up in the kitchen with Lukas's body.

**Miles Meridian:** He was in the dining hall with Marcus, but left to use the restroom. When he returned, he noticed that Marcus was got and went into the kitchen looking for him, which is when he found the body. After being challenged, he reveals that he didn't leave to use the restroom at all, but to check out the camera system in the security room, where he accidentally disabled all of the cameras.

**Myla Snyder:** She was in the library, looking around, at the time of the murder. After being challenged, she reveals that she was trying to find documents about Lukas and the Moreau family, something she's lacking in her library.

**Grace Finnegan:** She was wandering the halls and exploring all the rooms in the Manor. After being challenged, she reveals that her obsession with writing murder-related stories began because both of her parents were murdered when she was only fourteen, and the killer was never caught. She also remembers Felix because he was one of the investigators looking into the case.

**Felix Walker:** Felix arrived late at the Manor due to traffic. He was just walking through the courtyard when the body was found. After being challenged, he reveals that he met Lukas Moreau a few months back and visited Moreau Manor.

**Nova Madison:** Nova and Ace were both in the ballroom. After being challenged, Nova reveals that she's been struggling financially since the Torontonian Serial Killings, having trouble finding a job because of her association with the killings.

**Ace Axelos:** Nova and Ace were both in the ballroom. After being challenged, he reveals that he's had an infatuation with Nova since the killings, and was trying to flirt with her in the ballroom.

When discussion ends, it is getting late, and some of the guests suggest sleeping for the night, while others say that that's a terrible idea. Ultimately, Jessica shows all of them to their guest bedrooms and they split up to rest for the night, planning to continue discussion about the murder when they're all awake in the morning. Before doing so, Nova mentions that she'll be inviting her girlfriend to join them the following morning.

### **Part 2**

The next morning, Grace Finnegan was found stabbed to death in the bed of her guest bedroom. Felix awoke that morning and was worried about her, but she wouldn't answer her door, so he went to find Jessica, who could open the door with her master keys. She did so, which is when the body was found. Marcus happened to be nearby to join them, and so did Miles, who screamed loudly enough upon seeing the body to wake everyone else in the house. Shortly after the discovery of Grace's body, Nova's girlfriend, Olivia Umbra, arrives at Moreau Manor.

**Jessica Moreau:** Jessica was just leaving her room that morning when Felix approached her to tell her about Grace. After being challenged, she reveals that she actually slept in a secret chamber under the ballroom last night with Marcus. She was worried that the killer would target him, and offered to let him sleep in the chamber with her to remain safe, to which he accepted.

**Marcus Meridian:** Marcus woke up a few minutes earlier and was wandering the halls. He happened to walk by Jessica as Felix was approaching her about Grace and decided to join them to her room. After being challenged, he reveals that he slept in a secret chamber under the ballroom last night with Jessica, who offered to let him sleep there as a way of keeping him safe in case the killer decided to target him.

**Miles Meridian:** Miles went looking for Marcus that morning, worried that the killer might've targeted him. He found Marcus with Jessica and Felix as they were opening the door to Grace's room. After being challenged, he reveals that he's already messaged Marcus's wife and invited her to come to the Manor without consulting Marcus at all.

**Nova Madison:** Nova was in her room when she heard Miles screaming and came out to see what was wrong. After being challenged, she reveals that the main reason she invited Olivia to the Manor was because she hopes that having her around will cause Ace to leave her alone.

**Olivia Umbra:** Olivia arrived at the Manor shortly after Grace's body was found. After being challenged, she reveals that even though Nova hates Ace, she is still greatly indebted to him for clearing her during the Torontonian Serial Killings.

**Ace Axelos:** Ace wandered the Manor for a while last night before going to bed. This morning, he was still in his room when Grace's body was found. After being challenged, he reveals that while investigating his own room last night, he found an entrance to a set of secret passageways in his closet. The passageways connected to every one of the guest rooms, including Grace's. After finding the passageways, Ace went through to most of the rooms. In Myla's, she was still awake and reading to herself, so he had no choice but to explain how he got in. In Nova's room, he watched her sleep for several minutes before leaving.

**Myla Snyder:** The night before, Myla was in the library for a while, before retreating to her own room to read to herself for a while. After being challenged, she reveals that Grace had visited her library multiple times before, and Myla had advised her on her writing. She also reveals that she learned about the secret passageways between rooms because of Ace.

**Felix Walker:** Felix went to sleep right away, and when he awoke, he had a bad feeling about Grace. When she didn't answer the knocks on her door, he sought Jessica, who he knew would be able to open the door with her keys. He was there when the door was opened and Grace's body was found. After being challenged, Felix reveals that he knew about the secret passageways from the last time he visited the Manor. Lukas showed the passageways to him, and early in the morning, Felix briefly went through everyone's rooms to check on them. He found Grace's body when he did, at which point he went to find Jessica and pretended to not already know that Grace was dead.

When discussion is coming to a close, everyone is arguing and throwing blame, but Olivia takes charge and orders everyone to calm down and stop accusing each other. Shortly afterwards, everyone splits up for a while, but they stay in the Manor.

### **Part 3**

A few hours after everyone split up, Marcus's wife and daughter arrived at the Manor. When the time to eat arrived, Jessica gathered orders for food from everyone and left the Manor to pick all the food up. Autumn and Sammy ended up going with her, and when the three of them arrived, Myla and Felix had found the bodies of Olivia and Nova.

**Jessica Moreau:** After getting orders from everyone in the Manor, she left to get food with Autumn and Sammy. When she returned, Nova and Olivia had just been found dead. After being challenged, she reveals that she also stopped at a general store while she was out, at which she bought weapons and supplies for the secret chamber.

**Sammy Meridian:** She went to get food with her mother and Jessica.

**Autumn Meridian:** She went to get food with Sammy and Jessica, and only learned of the deaths of Olivia and Nova when she returned. After being challenged, she reveals that she was having relationship troubles with Marcus before he lost his memory because he'd found out that Sammy wasn't his daughter.

**Marcus Meridian:** He spent most of the time after everyone split up in the living room, hanging out with and talking to Miles, until Felix and Myla came to them to tell them that they had found the bodies of Nova and Olivia. After being challenged, he reveals that he remembers why he ended up in the kitchen. He'd seen the killer entering and gone in to fight them himself instead of calling for help.

**Miles Meridian:** He spent the time after everyone split up in the living room with Marcus, until he heard about the discovery of the bodies from Myla and Felix. After being challenged, he reveals that not only is he lonely and jealous of Marcus's life, but that he has had feelings for Autumn for a while now, even if he would never try to act on them.

**Felix Walker:** In an attempt to clear both of their innocence, Felix and Myla were wandering the secret passageways and looking for evidence to prove that they couldn't have done it. Although they found no such proof, after a while of this they stumbled in the scene of Nova and Olivia's murder in their room. After being challenged, Felix reveals that he is carrying a switchblade on him, with which he intends to kill the culprit after he find them.

**Myla Snyder:** Myla was searching the passageways with Felix, looking for a way to clear them. They found the bodies of Nova and Olivia, at which point they went to tell everyone else in the Manor what they'd found. After being challenged, Myla reveals that she has committed crimes such as theft and bribery to get her hands on information for her library. In fact, she was stealing from the Moreau library just earlier that day.

**Ace Axelos:** Ace spent most of the time in the dining room by himself, until Myla and Felix told him about what they'd found. After being challenged, Ace reveals that he's packed his belongings and intends to leave the Manor whether anyone wants him to or not.

When discussion is ending, Ace is the primary suspect, given that he's the only one without an alibi for the murders of Olivia and Nova. Still, since there could be multiple people in on the crime, they cannot confirm his guilt, and instead everyone must stay in the Manor for another night. To prevent a situation like what happened with Grace, they decided that everyone will sleep in the same room, with someone awake at all times to watch over everyone. They will take shifts of who watches over them, and in between shifts everyone will be woken up to make sure no one's been killed. Jessica took the first shift of two hours, Myla took the second, Marcus took the third, and Felix took the fourth. Meanwhile, Autumn and Sammy would sleep in the secret chamber under the ballroom to ensure their safety.

### **Part 4**

Jessica's shift went perfectly as planned that night. During Myla's shift, however, Ace suddenly got up and ran not only out of the room, but he managed to escape the building and drive away before anyone could stop him. Myla awoke everyone, but it was too late, so she just finished her shift as normal and Marcus started his. However, Felix was never woken up to begin his shift. He did eventually awake, but not because Marcus woke him up. By the time he awoke, it was already morning, and the body of Miles Meridian was in the room, his throat slit. Not long after that, two unknown men show up at the Manor, Bill Barner and Bob Barner, who only speak in rhymes.

**Jessica Moreau:** Jessica completed her two-hour shift first, before sleeping with everyone else. She was only awoken when Ace ran away and when Myla's shift ended. After being challenged, she reveals that Lukas was the leader of an organization known as Artemis, which intended to make up for where police failed.

**Felix Walker:** Felix slept at the same time as everyone else, only waking up when Jessica's shift ended, when Ace ran, and when Myla's shift ended. He was the one who woke up to find Miles's body, however. After being challenged, he reveals that he retired as an investigator only to become the agent of an organization known as Artemis, led by Lukas. Artemis was opposed by an individual known as the Insurgent, who was terrorizing them and killing their members. Lukas gathered six possible suspects who could be the Insurgent, as well as Felix to act as a spy among them, and invited them all to his Manor to determine the truth. He also reveals that his switchblade is missing, and was likely the weapon used to kill Miles.

**Myla Snyder:** Myla slept until she was woken up to begin her shift. During her shift, when Ace woke up, she tried to stop him, but was unable to, and woke everyone else up to let them know what happened. When her shift ended and Marcus (actually Miles) took over, she went to sleep and didn't wake up until Felix found the body. After being challenged, she reveals that Lukas entrusted her to hold Artemis intel within her library. She also reveals that she actually made no attempt to stop Ace from escaping, but rather she was too scared to fight against him and let him run.

**Marcus Meridian:** Although Marcus was supposed to take the third shift, he was tired and switched with Miles last minute. After being challenged, he reveals that him and Miles planned the switch long before. Miles was worried that the killer would target Marcus while he watched over everyone, and wanted to protect him by taking his place, which Marcus accepted.

**Sammy Meridian:** Sammy slept in the secret chamber with Autumn.

**Autumn Meridian:** Autumn slept in the secret chamber with Sammy and didn't know about the death of Miles until Jessica retrieved them to tell them what happened that morning. After being challenged, she reveals that the one she cheated on Marcus with, and the father of Sammy, is Lukas Moreau.

When everything that can be shared has been shared, all that's left is to find the killer. Everyone agrees to stay here and talk through it until they find the truth.

### **Part 5**

The guests begin by discussing the contradiction regarding the fact that Ace is the only one without an alibi for the murders of Nova and Olivia, and yet he can't be the killer because he was gone hours before Miles died. They discuss the possibility that two people could've worked together to kill Nova and Olivia, but the Barner Brothers tell them that that isn't the case. Shortly after this, they realize that Ace must've killed Nova and Olivia, even if he isn't responsible for any of the other murders. This is reinforced by the fact that Nova and Olivia were killed by completely different methods than the other victims, who were all killed with knives. The conversation next switches to the murder of Grace, which seems to make the least sense because the murderer has no obvious motive to have killed her, unlike Lukas and Miles. The Barner brothers hint that it may not have been about Grace, but the room she was in. They soon realize that the killer must've dropped the murder weapon in Grace's room after killing Lukas, and went to retrieve it when Grace woke up. If that's true, the passageways must have been used, unless Jessica is the killer, because she has the room keys. However, Jessica and Marcus were both sleeping in the secret passage on the night Grace died, and as Sammy and Autumn can now confirm, the opening of the door is too loud for either of them to have slipped out without waking the others. This lowers the suspects to Felix and Myla, although Felix is especially confident that neither of them can be the killer. The Barner brothers advise them to consider what Grace's room is near. Grace's room is separate from the rest of the guest rooms, and after consulting a map of the Manor, they realize it's the only one that's on the path between the kitchen, where Lukas died, and the library, where Myla was after Lukas died. Suspicion shifts to Myla, and although Felix is quick to defend her, she confesses. However, with that confession comes her also admitting that she's rigged explosives to the Manor and will detonate them as soon as she escapes, killing everyone here. She will, however, spare Sammy, taking her with her to raise her to be an apprentice one day. With that, she leaves.

### **Aftermath**

"This is Lukas Moreau speaking, head of the Artemis Canadian division. As you already know, our division has been recently halted by an individual known as the Insurgent. For weeks, our members have been targeted in violent attacks, and many of our meeting places have been lost. Recently, after thorough investigation, I determined six suspects who I believed could be the Insurgent. They were all invited to my Manor, and I was sure that if one of them was the Insurgent, they would take the opportunity to attack. As planned, they took out the decoy in the kitchen. Unfortunately, when I went to see who had done it, I found that the security footage was unavailable. Something had gone wrong. Over the course of the next few days, the people in the Manor investigated the murder. It is to my great regret that I report that, in this time, the Insurgent took the opportunity to kill two others. I am also aware of another killer who emerged from this, but I will discuss him later. I feel extremely responsible for the deaths of Grace Finnegan, Nova Madison, Olivia Umbra, and Miles Meridian. I have gotten into contact with each of their families and informed them on what has happened. I can also not neglect to mention what we uncovered from this: the culprit of the Torontonian Serial Killings. I have told investigators and provided the necessary evidence. Finally, some closure for the families of those who were killed so long ago. Anyway, as people started to die, I couldn't just do nothing. I knew I couldn't show my face, so I sent the Barner brothers to assist. With the help of them, the Insurgent was revealed to be Dr. Myla Snyder. Yes, the Archivist of Ottawa. She had used the information we entrusted her with to fight back against us. Her motives are currently unknown. When she was caught, she confessed, but revealed she had rigged explosives to the house to kill everyone else. Then, she fled. Fortunately, the Barner brothers led everyone out to safety before the explosion could kill anyone, but unfortunately, Dr. Snyder escaped and took with her Sammy Meridian, the daughter of Autumn Meridian. Yes, and my daughter. My short affair with Mrs. Meridian came out during the time at the Manor. Anyway, for the time being, Myla Snyder is on the run. Despite her best attempts, we know about her identity now. She can no longer return to her library, though the agents I sent to investigate reported that she had already looted everything important from there. We are trying to track her now. As for Ace, we reported his crimes to the police and they tracked him down quickly. He was found sleeping in his car a few miles from the Manor. He has been taken into custody and is awaiting a court date currently. As for the survivors of the Manor, I have brought them all to a safe place for now. I can't risk the Insurgent finding them. That's all I have to report. We won't let Dr. Snyder get away with what she's done. For now, Lukas Moreau out. Artemis stays strong."