Chapter 227

Kayla shook her head frantically. “No, it’s not like that. It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!”
She pointed at the projection, her voice rising. “That video has to be fake! You set me up! You think you can frame me with a forged video? Dream on!”
In a fit of desperation, Kayla lunged forward, snatching the projector from the reporter’s hands and slamming it to the ground. The device shattered into pieces, and the damning footage disappeared from the wall.
Myra, finally snapping out of her shock, looked at her daughter, who stood alone and defenseless in the room. Her heart twisted in agony. She started to move toward Kayla, intending to hold her close. However, before she could, the commotion at the door grabbed everyone’s attention again.
Dexter’s face turned crimson with fury. He spun around and yelled at the bodyguards, “Are you all useless? How are people still getting in here?”
The guards remained silent, their heads bowed.
This time, they hadn’t failed to stop an intruder. The people who entered weren’t people they could stop-it was Laurence, accompanied by a group of officers.
Laurence’s presence brought a wave of silence over the crowd. Myra instinctively stepped in front of Kayla, shielding her with her body.
Dexter, caught off guard, pushed through the sea of reporters and flashing cameras to confront Laurence. “Captain Quinn, why are you here? Have you made progress on the case?”
He clung to the hope of hearing something-anything-that could clear his daughter’s name.
Laurence, however, walked right past Dexter, his gaze locking on Kayla. His tone was firm and unyielding. “Ms. Kayla, you’re suspected of premeditated murder. You need to come with us.” The room collectively gasped.
The police’s involvement solidified the allegations in everyone’s mind. They were no longer just rumors or circumstantial evidence; Kayla’s guilt seemed undeniable.
The reporters, sensing the story of a lifetime, swarmed like vultures. Cameras clicked furiously, their flashes lighting up Kayla’s tear-streaked face.
Dexter and Myra stood frozen as if struck by lightning. Even Sebastian stared in disbelief, unable to process what was happening.
As an officer approached Kayla with silver handcuffs, she started to panic. Her voice cracked as she yelled, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t kill anyone! You’re lying! You’re framing me!”
Her once-pristine makeup had smeared into a mess, her tears mixing with mascara as she clung to her mother’s arm like a drowning person grasping for a lifeline. “Mom, you believe me, don’t you? I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill anyone!”
Myra, her heart breaking, looked down at her daughter-the daughter she had cherished, spoiled, and protected all her life. Kayla’s desperate, tear-soaked face tore at her resolve.
Myra’s sorrow quickly transformed
into fierce determination. She
stepped forward like a lioness
protecting her cub, glaring at Laurence. “You can’t take my daughter based on a video that could easily be forged. Where’s your proof? You need solid evidence, not conjecture!”
Laurence glanced at Dexter, his expression unreadable. His voice was calm but firm. “Mrs. Fuller, we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have concrete evidence. Do you really want me to present it here, in front of all these reporters?”
The unspoken warning was clear-if
the evidence was revealed now, the Fuller family’s reputation would be further tarnished. But Myra didn’t care. Her maternal instinct drowned out all reason. “If you can’t show proof, this is nothing but slander!”
Laurence sighed and nodded to one of the officers behind him. The young officer stepped forward and handed Myra two documents-an arrest warrant and a forensic report.
The arrest warrant was for Kayla. The report detailed the findings from Ruben’s autopsy.
The officer’s voice was steady as he explained, “The time of death
matches the timeline shown in the video. Cause of death-asphyxiation caused by strangulation. The marks on his neck are consistent with the ligature seen in the footage.
“The postmortem showed the victim was force-fed a large quantity of alcohol, and his body was subsequently disposed of in the water. All of this aligns with the events depicted in the video.”
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