ログインI had just shown Portia the paternity test result for her and Mavis.I had always known Mavis was not my biological child.My own child had died shortly after birth. My late husband adopted Mavis from an orphanage.Portia did not dare to read the paternity report. She kept insisting I was spouting nonsense and slandering her.“It’s a fake! This is forged!“You’re slandering me! This is all because Davin ruled your daughter’s death a suicide, and you couldn’t get a payout, isn’t it? You’re just out for revenge!”Seeing her try to wriggle out of it, I sneered inwardly.At that moment, Raelyn walked in. She handed me Mavis’ diary, then cast her eyes downward.The notebook Raelyn brought was the one I had been searching for but could never find.It turned out Raelyn had it all along.She sobbed and apologized, “Ms. Lance, I’m sorry!“This is Mavis’ diary. The note is hers, but she didn’t kill herself!“Mavis asked me for help… but I was too scared.”In front of everyone, Raely
I had also requested that the meeting with Portia be livestreamed.Netizens who heard my words thought I was still rambling.[She’s insane, just throwing around accusations!][She’s so stubborn. If she won’t tell where the hostage is, just make her suffer a little to make her talk. She’ll crack and give up the hostage’s location.][She’s a money-grubbing monster. She doesn’t deserve to be a mother!]The livestream’s comments were filled with attacks against me, eager for me to get offline.Once Portia processed what I said, she reflexively shot back a rebuttal.“Ms. Lance, you’ve lost it. How could you pin Mavis’ death on me?“If money is what you want to let Valarie go, fine. But I won’t stand for your lies!”Davin was furious. He rushed forward and grabbed me by the collar.He glared at me and said viciously, “Shut your mouth and hand over Valarie, or you’ll regret it!”He tried to threaten me, but I did not show a trace of fear on my face.I was not afraid, of course.I
Davin trembled all over again when he heard my words. He incessantly called me a madwoman and a deranged, vicious hag.The surrounding police officers exchanged uneasy looks. They clearly did not expect the situation to escalate to that point.No matter how much they pressured me, I did not reveal Valarie’s whereabouts.An hour after I was taken to the police station, the police commissioner himself, Kendrick Weber, came to interrogate me.He sat across from me in full uniform. “Ms. Lance, what will it take for you to tell us where the hostage is?”I kept my head down. When the wall clock struck four, I finally spoke.“I want to see Portia.“Now.”Kendrick was perplexed when he heard my request.Before he could respond, Gabriel spoke up again, urging me to stop this foolishness.He said, “Fable, I performed Mavis’ autopsy myself. You have to trust me. There’s no mistake.“At this point, you should confess to what you’ve done before this gets any worse.”Davin immediately ch
Just as everyone thought I would accept the facts and stand down, I cut off one of Valarie’s toes. I turned to face Davin with a dark and unreadable expression.“I don’t buy this note.“You’re down to three chances, Mr. Elkin.”My refusal to accept the note written by my own daughter caused an uproar.The police chief said angrily, “Ms. Lance, the handwriting on that note is Mavis’. Your blatant denial doesn’t change the facts.“We’ve traced your location. Surrender now, and you might get a plea bargain.”Gabriel also chimed in, “Fable, turn yourself in. Based on your past service, we can show leniency.”Online viewers erupted in fury. They started hurling insults and condemnation at me.[Unbelievable! She’s still lying to herself with the proof right in front of her.][I think she’s the real murderer. She pushed her own daughter to it and is framing someone else.][How low can you go, profiting off your own child’s death?!]Davin glared at me furiously, as if he wanted to
That girl was Mavis’ best friend, Raelyn Conner.In front of everyone, Raelyn said, “Ms. Lance, I can testify. Mavis was depressed. She’d talked about hurting herself before.”Her words made my body turn stiff.I was in disbelief. It took me a long moment to regain my senses. I stared at Raelyn. Her expression held a trace of evasiveness. My chest tightened with a sharp, suffocating pain. How could Mavis’ best friend stand here and give false testimony? Raelyn often came to my home for meals and shared a bed with Mavis to talk about everything.Just the day before the incident, Mavis had excitedly told me she and Raelyn had gotten into the same university. They had already made plans to visit Bencraft Castle and try the local pizza in Nexopolis once the semester began.Mavis had sounded excited when she told me this. How could a person who looked so cheerful suffer from depression and have suicidal thoughts?“Raelyn,” I said as my hands were trembling, but I tried to keep cal
I had seen the evidence Davin presented a hundred times. It all pointed to Mavis having died by suicide.I remained unconvinced.Those so-called pieces of evidence were nothing but carefully fabricated lies. Their flimsy veils failed to hide the truth.I continued moving the scalpel lightly along Valarie’s arm, leaving a shallow, bleeding trail.“Mr. Elkin, you know very well this isn’t what I asked for.”My voice was ice-cold as I said sharply, “I want the real murderer. I want the evidence that he assaulted my daughter. I want the evidence you’ve been hiding. Stop wasting my time with this nonsense, or next time, I’ll take more than a finger.”Davin’s face instantly turned pale, but he still refused to yield.“This is the evidence! It proves Mavis killed herself!”Portia threw herself toward the camera, her cries raw and desperate.“You’re insane! Let my child go! We gave you the evidence! What more do you want?!”Watching her lose all composure, I let out a bleak laugh.“







