“If it’s not true, then why are you shaking so badly, Lauren? Are you scared she’s going to call the police?” Lauren backed away until she hit the wall, and Oliver loomed over her like a vengeful shadow. “Admit it to me right now—were you going to poison me?” Suddenly, he slammed his fist into the wall just inches from her face, and Lauren let out a terrified, high-pitched squeal.
“Yes, yes, alright, I was going to do it,” she whimpered, her whole body collapsing in on itself like a mouse caught in a trap. Oliver’s eyes were glassy, hollow, holding just one, unspoken question. “Why, Lauren? For what possible reason? I would have given you anything you ever wanted. Anything.” Tears streamed down her face, leaving tracks in her heavy makeup as she sank to her knees, pleading with him. “Ollie, please, you have to forgive me, I’m just so stupid, so weak. But look, nothing actually happened, right? We were so happy together. You’re not going to throw all of that away over some silly little misunderstanding, are you?”
She clung desperately to his hand, but when Oliver turned away from her, I saw only a mask of utter disgust and profound pain on his face. He had genuinely cared for this poisoner, and he couldn’t accept that she had been using him for her own gain all along. “Get out,” he said, his voice so quiet it was almost a whisper. He shook off her clinging hands as if she were a pesky insect. “Get out of my house, and I never, ever want to see your face again.”
Lauren struggled to her feet, slipping on her high heels. Her face, now smeared and streaked with makeup, no longer looked the least bit seductive. With one last, desperate glance in his direction, she fled the office, the sharp clack of her heels echoing down the stairs to the first floor. The villainess was gone, but I felt a lingering, profound unease settle over me. I was now certain that Lauren was tied to my husband’s death, but I had no real proof beyond these circumstantial hints, a fact that only deepened my frustration.
“Thank you for… for opening my eyes,” Oliver said, his voice flat and emotionless. “That woman had me completely and utterly under her spell.” “You’re welcome,” I replied, wincing as I felt a strong, sudden kick from the baby inside me. Eight months was a significant milestone, and the stress of the confrontation was taking its toll. Seeing my obvious discomfort, Oliver simply let me retreat to my small room to rest before resuming my work. That was the full extent of his gratitude.
A week after the incident with Lauren, Oliver’s attitude toward me hadn’t softened in the slightest, nor had anything changed for me financially. He soon reverted to his usual arrogant, dismissive self, telling his mother only that he and his fiancée had had a falling out and split up. Susan was visibly pleased by this news, though she tried her best to hide it. She even managed to pull her son back into the family business for a little while, a minor victory for her.
I later reflected that I had saved yet another scoundrel from a terrible fate, and it seemed to have made no lasting impression on him whatsoever. Oliver’s inherent greed remained completely unchanged. He seemed to shrug off the near-death experience like a bad dream, quickly resuming his old, selfish ways. A few days later, I had a day off. I had arranged to meet Arthur at the cemetery, by his empty grave, as he still thought it was the safest place for us to talk. I didn’t mind the location; I had to think of more than just my own comfort now.
When I handed Arthur the photos I’d taken in Oliver’s office and told him everything that had happened with Lauren, he was absolutely astonished. “Who would have ever thought our stories would connect like this,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief, then promised me firmly, “Don’t you worry, we are going to make sure that killer faces justice. If she worked for your husband, there’s a very good chance she was the one who visited him right before he died.”
“You mentioned that all of your husband’s money vanished into thin air after you were locked up, right?” “That’s right,” I confirmed with a nod. “I asked my second fiancé, the guard, to look into it through some of his friends who worked in economic law. They told him that Victor’s company was dissolved overnight, and all the accounts were completely emptied.”
Arthur vowed to investigate this new angle himself, and then he studied the photos I’d given him with intense focus, his eyes widening when he noticed the two conflicting death certificates for his father. “You know, Julia,” he said, looking up at me with a new respect, “without you, I would never have been able to prove their role in my Dad’s death. Thank you. I think it’s finally time for me to step out of the shadows.”
“I truly hope you succeed, Arthur,” I wished him luck with all my heart. “Those people deserve to face the full force of the law. After working for them, I’ve seen with my own eyes that they would do absolutely anything for profit.”..
