Second Chance: Marrying into Wealth Chapter 97

"You think it was love at first sight, but it was all part of Clara's plan. Her time at the Simpson Villa wasn't easy. So she shifted her hatred, believing it was all my father's fault. If my father hadn't abandoned her mother, she thought she could have had the perfect, happy family that I had."

"As for you, the reason she was attracted to you wasn't because of your so-called charm, intelligence, or abilities. It was simply because you were my boyfriend." I watched as Lawrence's face grew darker with every word I said.

But he remained silent. So I continued, "You thought Clara wasn't with you because her family disapproved. Of course, Clara didn't think much of you, that's for sure. But what if she was just playing with you and hiding your existence from her family?"

"Clara told me that after getting close to you, she realized you didn't truly love me either. She found it pointless and broke up with you. Unfortunately, I didn't realize you were cheating on me at the time and continued to act like we were happily in love. Clara couldn't stand it."

"So later, when you pursued her again, she got back together with you. Maybe she just wanted to see how long it would take for me to find out about your affair and go crazy with regret. From start to finish, you were just a pawn in her game to get at me."

Lawrence's face turned as white as a sheet. His eyes were filled with despair, pain, disbelief, and a deeply disturbed emotion.

I seized the moment to ask, "I originally thought, given Clara's hatred for me and my dad, and her role in my parents' deaths, she would have been involved to satisfy her twisted sense of revenge. But I was wrong. She didn't participate at all; it was all your doing."

Lawrence's eyes flickered, and he quickly shook his head in denial. "You can't say she wasn't involved at all..."

I clenched my fingers, struggling to control my emotions, and stayed silent, just watching Lawrence.

He seemed to be recalling something as he spoke. "During that time, she would browse some medical websites while we were together. Once, I saw something about heart failure medications on her computer. I was curious and asked her about it."

"She said she had a friend who died suddenly from heart failure after taking some medication due to extreme stress. She seemed genuinely worried about her own health and wanted to learn more."

I frowned and asked urgently, "Did she ask you to look at it with her?"

Lawrence denied it again. "Not exactly. During that time, even though she was with me, she rejected me one or two times out of three when we were intimate. She seemed distant. I was bored and worried she was trying to push me away. So, when she went to the bathroom, I secretly looked at her computer and saw those medical articles."

I was sure Clara had done it on purpose. Clara was too cunning, using such a method to distance herself from the crime.

Clara was smart and knew how to manipulate people, playing Lawrence like a fiddle without him suspecting a thing.

I tried to catch any inconsistencies in Lawrence's story and asked, "That medication is illegal. You wouldn't have known where to get it. How did you find out?"

Unless Clara helped or hinted at it, it could be evidence to implicate her in my parents' murder and send her to prison.

But Lawrence's answer disappointed me. "While I was reading the articles, a pop-up ad appeared for a website selling the medication. The computer was lagging, and I accidentally clicked on it."

I remembered how sometimes I accidentally click on shady websites while browsing. Lawrence might not have clicked it by accident but was led there by design.

Even if this proved Clara had orchestrated the murder, she still managed to keep herself clean. That was Clara's brilliance.

Lawrence continued, "I was hesitant about killing Kyle, but you pushed me over the edge. It was fate. That day, Kyle ran out of his medication, and you couldn't deliver it immediately. It was my chance. I knew it was now or never, so I took the risk."

His words felt like a dagger to my heart, causing pain and regret. But I didn't let it scare me into taking the blame.

Lawrence was the real killer. I regretted the coincidence and my choices, but I wouldn't let my guilt lessen his crime.

"You're very clever..." Clever enough to use every advantage and cover your tracks so well that neither we nor the police suspected anything.

But, "Clara is even smarter. She used you to kill my parents while keeping herself out of it."

Clara guided Lawrence into committing the crime. But she did it so subtly, without leaving any trace, that she distanced herself from the case.

Without committing the crime herself, she led Lawrence to do it. I wondered if Clara had studied criminal psychology, being so smart and precise in manipulating people.

Lawrence was already weak and pale from my words, caught in a painful struggle. I knew I wouldn't get more about Clara from him.

I changed the subject, testing him. "By the way, your family caused trouble at my house a few days ago and got arrested. They'll be in jail for a while, even with a lawyer. The surveillance footage is clear. They came to Starlight City the day after they found out the house you bought them was seized by the court."

I watched Lawrence's expression and added, "You've been in jail for a month, and your family hasn't visited. They came to blame me the day after the house was seized by the court. They really 'care' about you!"

Lawrence looked at me, but he was calm, not surprised or emotional. He knew his family was selfish and wasn't affected by it.

I guessed Lawrence didn't care about his family.

I continued testing, "And your mom, without a lawyer, is still in another jail. Only a lawyer can help her now."