Chapter 295

The investigation into Alice's allergic reaction had hit a wall.

As pressure mounted from every direction, Hannah pressed the police to pick up the pace. She personally delivered every scrap of surveillance footage and every statement she'd managed to collect.

She'd braced herself for a drawn-out ordeal-days, maybe weeks, of combing through evidence before a suspect could be found.

But just a few hours later, her phone buzzed.

Officer Gavin Mercer, the lead investigator, was on the other end."Ms. Scott, we need you at the station right away. There's been a development-we've identified a main suspect, but we need your help to verify some details."

Gavin's words had carried an edge of urgency, clipped and unyielding.

After ending the call, Hannah wasted no time-she grabbed her keys and sped toward the precinct, heart pounding with restless curiosity. Who had they caught? Who could possibly be behind it all?

Stepping through the station doors, she was swallowed by an oppressive wave of tension.

A uniformed officer wordlessly/ gestured for her to follow. She trailed him through the sterile hallway. As they rounded a corner, a sudden, bloodcurdling shriek erupted from behind a glass-walled observation room, slicing through the hush.

"It wasn't me! Let me go! You're framing me! I didn't do anything-let me go,ahhh!"

Hannah stopped cold, her breath caught in her chest. That voice-it was unmistakable Daphne's. Alice's allergic reaction was caused by Daphne?

She whipped around, peering into the observation room through the glass.

Inside, Daphne sat slumped in a metal chair, wrists shackled,hair a wild tangle, her entire body trembling as two steely-eyed female officers pinned her in place.

Daphne's face was drained of all color, eyes bloodshot and brimming with tears, her cries growing more frantic as she struggled against the cuffs.

Right then, Gavin stepped out of a nearby office,his jaw set in a hard line as he caught Hannah's eye and offered a brief,heavy nod. "Ms. Scott, glad you made it."

Hannah tore her gaze away from Daphne. She faced Gavin,her voice thick with disbelief. "You're saying... Daphne is the suspect?"

Scenes from the surveillance footage raced through Hannah's mind-Daphne storming into the dressing room, eyes blazing with anger. Still, having Daphne pegged as the culprit was a shock Hannah hadn't seen coming.

Gavin gestured for her to follow him into a vacant office."She's our top lead right now," he explained. "What you turned in-especially the timeline-was critical. Daphne was the only one with a clear window alone in Alice's makeup room. She had almost a full minute in there with no one else around. All signs point to her as a prime suspect."

His delivery was brisk but precise, every word backed by evidence.

"Right now, she's emotionally all over the place. She denies any intentional poisoning-says she just lost her temper and broke a few things."

Hannah nodded and gave a succinct account of the previous night's events, filling in the details as Gavin questioned her.

When she stepped out into the hallway and passed the observation room, Daphne's eyes locked onto her. Instantly,Daphne flew into a fit of rage. "Hannah! You set meup! I hope you rot in hell!"

One of the femnale officers barked, "Miss Whitaker, this is a police station! Pull yourself together!"

"Pull myself together? How am I supposed to stay calm when she's out to ruin my life?" Daphne screamed, her voice trembling as she jabbed an accusing finger at Hannah. "She set me up! She wants to destroy me, all because I lost my temper and broke a couple of things? She set the whole trap to frame me! Officers, what are you waiting for? She's the real criminal here-arrest her!"

Hannah halted in her tracks, her exhaustion vanishing beneath a flash of icy outrage.

"Framing you?" A cold laugh escaped her lips. "If I'd wanted to take you down, the single backstage slap would've been the least of your problems. With the evidence of you trashing the dressing room and causing a public disturbance, you'd already be behind bars by now. You really think you'd still be here,screaming your head off at me?"

Her eyes narrowed, voice slicing through the chaos. "And let's not forget-you triggered Alice's allergic reaction. She could've died, That's not just some petty outburst. That's intentional harm. You have any idea how many years you could get for that?"

Daphne recoiled, unnerved by Hannah's intimidating presence.

Daphne recoiled, unnerved by Hannah's intimidating presence."It wasn't me... I swear, I didn't hurt anyone..." Her voice trailed off as she spotted Miles striding in her direction, desperation flickering across her face. "Miles! Please, you have to help me!"

Hannah followed Daphne's pleading gaze and spotted Miles closing in.

His expression was unyielding as he cut her off. "That's enough.Look around-you're in a police station."

It was clear he'd heard her entire outburst just now.

Daphne's words died on her lips.

Miles's voice was low and firm as he turned to the man behind him. "Mr. Fraser, she's yours." Then, with calm finality, he added, "Daphne, from this point on, you'll follow Mr. Fraser's instructions. You caused this mess. Deal with it. No one can clean it up for you."

Crushed by the assumption that her brother abandoned her,

Daphne watched her brother with disbelief, her eyes glistening.She mouthed his name in a trembling whisper, "Miles..."

Two female officers took Daphne by the arms,escorting her down the hallway. Elliot Fraser kept pace just behind.

Miles lingered a moment and then faced Hannah. Exhaustion shadowed his features. "Ms. Scott, can we speak for a minute?"