Quite a familiar reporter's mic, isn't it?
Rachel Priest, the Intrepid Reporter you've encountered throughout the Financial Center, goes missing. Now it's up to you to find her... dead or alive.
Tropes:
- Angry Guard Dog: Alden threatens you with this if you keep bothering him. Unfortunately for the mogul, this ends up being used against him, since one of the killer's traits is that they own a guard dog.
- Armies Are Evil: General Marsh is behind a project that turns soldiers into violent killing machines all for the sake of money.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Drake fell in love with Rachel because she was the only one who believed him about the experiments the government did on him.
- Black Site: You find Rachel's corpse (or rather, her skeleton) inside a secret military laboratory she snuck on.
- Body Horror: Rachel was killed by being injected with a Super Serum that forced her bones to grow until they tore her skin apart.
- Call-Back: Mayor Howard Johnson reappears, promoting you to the Historical Center at the end of the case.
- The Climax: For the Financial Center district.
- Continuity Nod: Grim News Headquarters reappears as a crime scene.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: This case finally reveals just how corrupt and amoral Alden Greene is: he's been funding a Super-Soldier project that turns men into killing machines all for the sake of money. He then kills Rachel for knowing too much in a pretty horrific way.
- Dead Man Writing: Ramirez finds a recording left behind by Rachel, and you later come across a video of her left in her tablet.Rachel: "It's Rachel Priest. I'm investigating a huge story implicating the army, and well, maybe I'm becoming paranoid...""... but I'm scared something bad is going to happen to me. In case I die, please keep investigating this. I've left you a more detailed video message in my office."
- Death Seeker: Drake Ribbs admits he's been considering suicide now that Rachel is dead and there's no one in the world who cares about him.
- Defiant to the End: Rachel during her murder, if Alden's flashback is to be believed.
- Evilutionary Biologist: Kelly Speltz. She's been known to perform illegal experiments on animals which she claims will make humanity better than it is now and she also created the serum that killed Rachel.
- Face Death with Dignity: In the flashback of her murder, Rachel just tells Alden to Get It Over With, claiming that one day the world will see what monster he really is.
- Gentle Giant: Despite looking like a killing machine, Drake Ribbs is actually quite sweet. Even his violent outbursts aren't his fault, but rather the Super Serum that was injected onto him.
- A God Am I: Kelly Speltz says she's doing the work of God with her experiments.
- He Knows Too Much: Why Alden kills Rachel: because she found about the illegal Super Serum he's been financing.
- Hollywood Acid: Rachel's body was dissolved on a vat of acid until only her bones remained.
- Intrepid Reporter: This finally comes to bite Rachel in the ass. Even her Dead Man Writing admits her investigation is the one who probably killed her.
- I Am a Monster: Drake calls himself this, since the Super Serum has made him too scary to hold a proper job.
- Last Episode, New Character: Drake Ribbs, James Marsh, and Kelly Speltz are introduced in this case, which is the last one of the Financial Center.
- Never My Fault: Carl pins the blame of selling Rachel's information to Alden onto her, claiming that she didn't pay her properly.
- Regretful Traitor: After finding out that by selling Rachel's information to Alden he indirectly caused her death, Carl is shown to be sad and distraught. During the Additional Investigation, he pays honors to her and even asks you to find her Best Reporter trophy so he can send it to her family.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: General Marsh tries to use his political connections to get off the hook, only for it to fail. Jones lampshades this himself.Jones: "Is it me or is Marsh trying to use his political connections to get off the hook?"
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Alden's trial, Jones says that he's done with the Financial Center.
- Shout-Out:
- Carl Ackerman has a Pony camera.
- James Marsh resembles General Shepherd.
- Smug Snake: General Marsh claims that you've lost already, since he could get you arrested if you keep investigating the Super Serum project. Then he gets arrested himself.
- Stripped to the Bone: By the time you find Rachel, only her skeleton remains.
- Super Serum: It's revealed that Alden Greene has been financing a project to create Super Soldiers with this. Said serum was also used to kill Rachel, since it was only intended to be used on men.
- Take Over the City: Alden reveals that this has been his plan from the beginning, and the Super Serum he's been financing would've helped him accomplish it.
- We Can Rule Together: Alden tries to put you on his side during his arrest, but he's quickly disregarded.Alden: I'm impressed, <Player's Name>, you'll go far in this city... but you could go even further if we worked together.
- Would Hit a Girl: Clearly, Alden had no qualms injecting Rachel with the serum which killed her, and proceeding to dump her headless skeleton into a vat of acid.
