But beneath their outward denial, if it were just about the recent argument, it would likely only be considered an attempted crime at worst. But now, the evidence in front of them was irrefutable. The once confident and proud couple now sat in stunned silence, afraid to utter a single word that might make things worse for their daughter.

Seeing Lise’s stubbornness, the officer placed another document in front of her.

“Perhaps you’d like to take a closer look at this. It seems you laced Castiel Todd’s girlfriend’s milk with a hallucinogenic drug, which led to her delusions and, ultimately, her death.”

Lise froze, the color draining from her face. How had things escalated to this point?

The document also contained screenshots from the surveillance cameras. Inside the bag was a USB drive, which held the video evidence from that moment.

Lise found herself with no way to deny what had happened.

Jaxen’s hands balled into fists at his sides. His veins stood out, the strain from holding back his fury evident in his posture. He fixed his gaze on Lise, his voice icy as he asked, “That was a bright life, someone who never held any grudge against you. Why did you have to take it?” The weight of his anger was impossible to ignore. If it were possible, Jaxen would have ended Lise’s life at that moment.

His friend had a passion for dancing, a passion she held above all else. She was exceptionally skilled, even earning the chance to join the top ballet institutions. She was a person to be proud of, yet her life was stolen at the peak of her beauty.

Jaxen couldn’t bring himself to believe she’d taken her own life, especially not because of that scoundrel, Castiel.

Years had passed with Jaxen gathering every shred of evidence he could. Now, finally, all that effort had paid off.

Katelyn remained silent, but she could sense the sorrow that weighed heavily on Jaxen.

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Lise stared at the evidence, her eyes wide with disbelief. She shook her head repeatedly, her voice trembling as she said, “It wasn’t me! It couldn’t have been me!”

But the fear in her eyes told a different story. What more needed to be understood at that moment? It was clear now: Lise was the one who had taken that girl’s life.

Sharon’s body went stiff, her face draining of color as she collapsed to the floor. She pleaded, her voice breaking, “This has to be a mistake. Please, check again. It can’t be Lise.”

Her daughter, so obedient and kind—how could her daughter be capable of murder? The arrogance that once defined her was gone. At that moment, Jeff appeared to grow older by several years, his body worn and drained.

For the Bailey family, though, this was only the start of an unthinkable nightmare.

The police officer looked at Lise with a piercing, emotionless stare. He asked coldly, “Do you have any ions to being arrested? If you do, get a lawyer. We’ll see you in court.”

With the mountain of evidence stacked against her, he didn’t believe any lawyer could defend her. Her intentions were dark, treating someone’s life as though it meant nothing at all.

Without warning, Lise spun toward Katelyn, her voice desperate.

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