Chapter 226

“I agree. The Fuller family is the richest in Khogend. Who wouldn’t want a piece of that pie? This kind of behavior… Ugh, disgusting.”
“They already gave her some money out of kindness, but greedy people like her are never satisfied. It’s shameful!”
“Exactly! Her husband’s death has nothing to do with the Fuller family. This is just ridiculous!”
The crowd began to share their thoughts again.
Mina, hearing the murmurs, didn’t lash out or defend herself. Instead, she laughed. But it wasn’t a laugh of joy. It was harsh, filled with bitterness and malice. It sent chills down the spines of everyone in the hall, including Dexter and Myra.
With an unsettling smile, Mina handed a memory card to a reporter standing beside her. The reporter, clearly prepared for this moment, quickly inserted the card into his equipment.
A beam of light illuminated the white wall, and suddenly, both the image and audio of a recorded video were projected for everyone to see.
Mina’s hoarse voice broke the tense silence. “Listen carefully. This was recorded a month ago when my husband was driving Kayla. This conversation is the very reason he was silenced!” Kayla’s voice came through first. “I’m heading to Alverton now. Felica is there too. A rural place like that is perfect for getting rid of someone. I want you to kill her. Do you dare to do it?”
Then came another voice, casual and mocking. “That’s it? Tell me, if I do it, how much will you pay me?”
“One million dollars-nothing more.”
“My dear Kayla, this isn’t picking up groceries-it’s murder! A million? What do you take me for, a beggar?”
As the conversation played out, Kayla’s face went pale. She wanted to cover her ears and shut it all out. How was this possible? On the night she strangled Ruben, she had taken that memory card from him. She had even snapped it in half and tossed it into the water! Could he have… made another copy?
Mina answered her silent question.
“You didn’t expect this, did you? I found this while going through my husband’s belongings.” She pointed at the projection, “And this is Kayla’s motive for murder! She wanted to kill Felicia, the real daughter of the Fuller family, and take her place!”
The hall erupted.
Many of those present remembered the incident in Alverton. Felicia had gone missing for an entire day and night, and rumors swirled that her half-brother, Shawn, had pushed her off a cliff, causing her to be swept away by the river. She barely survived.
At the time, most had dismissed it
as none of their business, especially since Felicia had returned unharmed. But now, the memories all came flooding back. That wasn’t an accident-it had been a carefully orchestrated plot by Kayla, who even conspired with her biological brother to eliminate Felicia!
A woman in the crowd gasped, her hands covering her mouth. “Kayla is terrifying!”
Mina let out a chilling laugh. “The worst part is yet to come.”
The reporter pressed another button, and the projection shifted to a new video. This one showed the pitch-black shoreline of a beach. The shaky footage had clearly been taken in secret.
On-screen, the faint outline of a luxury car-a Rolls-Royce-came into focus, rocking violently. The camera zoomed in, revealing Ruben in the driver’s seat. He was
struggling as someone loopedeling
belt
around his neck from behind He thrashed and flailed, desperate to fight back. His face turned red, his veins bulging. Finally, his body went limp.
Even though it was just a projection, the gruesome scene of a man’s life being taken left everyone in the room stunned, their breaths caught in their throats.
But it wasn’t over. The video showed Kayla, disturbingly calm, instructing Shawn to buy a bottle of whiskey. They poured it into Ruben’s mouth and then worked together to push the car into the river. Dexter staggered, barely catching himself.
Myra, trembling, covered her mouth in shock. Her wide eyes turned to Kayla, disbelief etched on her face.
Was this someone they had taken in for 18 years?