Chapter 4

"And oops," Denise said. "Who would've thought we'd get so carried away that we accidentally knocked the old hag's oxygen tube loose…"

My breathing abruptly stopped. The blood in my entire body surged to my head, and a deafening ringing filled my ears.

Mom hadn't died because her condition suddenly worsened, and the doctors couldn't save her. She had died because of Denise!

"We only realized the old hag had stopped breathing by the time we finished. Her face had turned purple… and though I called for a doctor, it was too late."

Denise paused, and her tone turned mocking as she continued, "No one ever suspected anything anyway. I just told Ernest his mom's condition suddenly worsened, and she didn't make it. He's so gullible that he believed me without a second thought."

In that instant, the last thread of my reason snapped.

Mom was dead because the disgusting couple couldn't keep their hands off each other in her room. They had essentially killed her!

"Denise, you evil bitch! I'll kill you!"

My eyes went bloodshot. I let out a feral roar and lunged forward, desperate to strangle her neck and kill her. But several crew members held me back with everything they had.

I thrashed and screamed, then finally broke down in tears.

The livestream comments were full of rage and curses.

"How is this any different from murder? Someone call the fucking police right now!"

"Oh my god. How is she still smiling? Is she even human?"

"Burn in hell, you disgusting pieces of trash!"

"The production crew is so shameless for keeping the cameras rolling. Have they traded their conscience for fame?"

Right now, Magnus' face was deathly pale. He clearly hadn't expected to unearth such a horrific, criminal secret either.

Staring at the smug grin on Denise's face, he fought back a wave of nausea and asked in a trembling voice, "How could you do that to your husband? Aren't you afraid he might find out one day?"

Under hypnosis, Denise just scoffed. "So what if he finds out? The old hag should've long been dead anyway. I was sick and tired of having to tend to her every single day. Honestly, her death gave us some peace, not to mention saving us a fortune in medical bills."

Listening to her venomous words, I stopped fighting the crew and stood frozen to the spot, feeling my body turn cold.

Just then, the timer chimed, signaling the end of the hypnosis session.

Denise slowly opened her eyes and rubbed her temples. When she saw me staring at her with bloodshot eyes, she blinked in confusion, then pursed her lips impatiently.

"What's your problem now, Ernest?" she asked. "Why are you making that face again? Did I bring up another one of your embarrassing secrets again? Don't be so petty, alright? I was just making the show more entertaining…"

She was completely oblivious to the dead silence in the room and the odd looks on the crew's faces. As she eagerly turned toward Carl, her face lit up with anticipation.

"How are the numbers looking, Mr. Greenwood? Did my follower count shoot up again?"

The muscles in Carl's face twitched. He forced a strained smile and said, "Ms. Hawkins, our show is currently the number one trending topic nationwide.

"It didn't just blow up… Multiple top media outlets have reached out to schedule an exclusive interview with you."

"Really? That's amazing!" Denise shrieked. "Quick, Mr. Greenwood! Cue up the playback! I can't wait to see how well I did!"

Carl hesitated for a moment before nodding toward the control room. A second later, the main screen lit up.

The excited smile on Denise's face slowly froze. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and her pupils shrank in terror.

After a long, dead silence, a bloodcurdling scream tore from her throat.