4: 4
I looked up at Yvette and caught the flicker of triumph at the corner of her mouth.
The next second she was crying like a broken flower in the rain.
"Officers, please, stop asking questions. I confess."
In an instant, every head turned toward her.
Her voice cracked, and even that little quiver of fear was pitched just right.
"Pauline drugged Barret to stand up for me! If you have to blame someone, blame me!"
This time it wasn't just me. Even Horace froze.
The tears kept coming.
"Barret is my dad's kid with his mistress. My mom and I both hate him, and I always complained about him to Pauline."
"Pauline's so loyal. She said if she ever got the chance, she'd make him pay for me."
I frowned.
"Yvette, what are you talking about? All I knew was that your parents were divorced. I didn't even know you had a brother!"
"How could you not know? Horace can testify. I told all of you!"
Every eye lifted to Horace.
He clearly hesitated.
But after a long moment, he clenched his fist.
"Yvette isn't lying. She did tell us."
I let out a cold laugh and shot him a look of pure contempt.
He rubbed his nose and dodged my eyes.
Yvette cried harder.
"This time I heard my brother was celebrating the start of his freshman year at the hot-pot place we always went to, and I lost it. I said I wanted to teach him a lesson."
"I didn't know the cake she bought was poisoned! He's still my own brother, no matter what. I'd never hurt him!"
I never knew Yvette could act this well.
The little white flower I'd raised all this time had turned into a snake, and it had sunk its fangs into me.
Horace glanced at me, then turned and said something low into Captain Sanders's ear.
The captain's face changed at once.
He waved a hand, sending his men out.
Horace whispered close to my ear, "Pauline, don't hold this against me. Once it's over, I'll cut her off and make it up to you properly."
"Over? You mean once you've put me away?"
His teeth clenched.
"Can't you just back down? I'll have Barret write you a letter of forgiveness, you'll be out in a few days. Do you really have to dig in like this?"
"I'm someone who digs in. Is this the first day you've known me?"
Now he was acting like he was so worried about me.
But I'd already seen the way he stood there holding Yvette, unmoved, while I was sent to prison.
So all I felt was disgust.
An hour later, Captain Sanders came back.
"Pauline, this is the pill bottle we found at your home. It matches what was in the cake."
"And this is the footage we pulled from the bakery of you buying it."
"Care to explain?"
Yvette's eyes shone with the satisfaction of a plan about to close in.
Horace's face was more complicated, even touched with a flicker of reluctance.
I found it funny.
I denied it flatly. "I didn't buy the drug, and I didn't buy the cake."
Yvette panicked at once.
"Pauline, there's video proof. What's the point of denying it?"
"Don't worry, even if you confess, Barret and I will write the letter of forgiveness. We won't let you go to prison."
Horace chimed in too.
"It's just a permanent-hire slot. With your skills, you'll pass just as easily somewhere else."
"Do you really have to push this to the point of no return?"
They spoke with such certainty.
As if I were already being dragged onto the execution ground.
Begging them to toss me one thread of a chance to live.
"Don't trouble yourselves."
I slowly lifted a pinhole camera off my bag.
"Captain, this recorded exactly how Horace, Yvette, and Barret plotted against me together."
Then I held out a USB drive.
"This is twenty-four hours of high-definition footage from my home, every angle covered. It proves someone planted the drug on purpose."
The words had barely left my mouth.
Every drop of color drained from their faces.
