All Chapters of Framed in Life, Cursed After Death: Chapter 21 - Chapter 28

Libby collapsed on the floor of Trista's dusty old room and stayed there all night.As she clutched the tiny sweater and flipped through the photo album, her tears ran dry until only hollow, ragged sobs remained.Regret gnawed at her inside like a swarm of insects, leaving her in so much pain she could barely breathe.Trista and I stayed beside her in silence, watching as the truth she had brought upon herself slowly tore her apart.The morning light crept through the filthy window panes and fell across her ghost-pale face.When the first rays of sunlight stung her eyes, her vacant gaze slowly began to focus.Gradually, the despair in her eyes was replaced by fury, and that hatred demanded a target.Louie!It was him! It was all because of him!If not for his lies, his manipulation, and his insidious schemes, how could she have failed to recognize her daughter?How could she have been so ruthless toward me? How could she have brought herself to this ruinous point?I watched

The metallic stench of blood in the stairwell still seemed to linger in my senses.The sight of Libby lying on the ice-cold floor overlapped with the vision of Trista on her final hospital bed.Death was a final destination for me, but for her, it had become a sentence left hanging in the balance.However, Libby didn't die.The wail of ambulance sirens shattered the quiet of the early morning.She still had a weak pulse when they lifted her onto the stretcher.Louie's vicious shove had broken multiple bones, left her with a severe concussion, and caused heavy blood loss, but it hadn't taken her life outright.Perhaps even fate decided that the debts she owed weren't something she could settle with a quick death.Trista and I followed her to the hospital.We watched through the glass as doctors rushed around the operating room, treating the horrifying injuries all over her body.Louie had fled in such a hurry that he hadn't even cleaned up the crime scene. His clear fingerprin

Louie couldn't believe that Libby actually admitted it."However…"Libby shot Louie a piercing glare. "What does any of that have to do with his crime of attempted murder?"Does the fact that I may have made other mistakes erase the reality that he tried to kill me? Does it overturn the fact that he ran down my daughter, framed my ex-husband, and swindled my fortune?"He destroyed my family in the most cruel way possible, murdered my loved ones, and in the end, tried to take my life! Now that the evidence against him is undeniable, he's still resorting to such despicable tactics to escape justice and turn the accusations back on me!"Her voice rose, echoing through the courtroom, laden with an accumulation of bloody accusations and tears."Your Honor, members of the jury! The person standing trial here today is Louie Fraser! It was his cruelty, greed, and hypocrisy that brought about this entire tragedy! The person the law should punish is this murderer! Not the victim he dragged

From her duffel bag, Libby pulled out the tiny, pale yellow sweater she had carefully preserved, though it was showing its age, and the photo album with its worn, frayed edges.Clutching them tightly, she curled up on the dust-covered bed, just as she had done all those years ago when she first learned the truth.This time, Libby didn't cry. She simply kept her eyes open, staring blankly at the mottled water stains on the ceiling through a sleepless night.Early the next morning, she got up at first light.Carefully and almost devoutly, he wrapped the little sweater and the album back up and tucked them into her bag.She washed her face, wiped down her dusty clothes with a wet rag, and smoothed her hair.Then, she walked out of the house that held her life's sweetest and most painful memories and never looked back.After wandering the streets for three days, Libby finally tracked down the place where Trista and I rested.She went to a flower shop, used what little cash she had