Justin looked visibly stunned at first, but he calmed down soon afterward. He then asked indifferently, “Did you come all the way to question me just because of this?”
Rachel’s eyes were bloodshot, and her hands kept trembling. A human life is so unworthy of notice in your eyes. You were the one who did it!
Seeing how aggrieved Rachel was, Justin immediately boiled with rage. He replied with a sneer, “Who cares if I’m the one who did it? This is Riverdale! What can you, a mute illegitimate daughter, do to me?”
Rachel’s eyes were bloodshot. Amid Gloria’s scream, she suddenly picked up a bronze figurine from the desk and struck Justin on the head with it.
“Ouch!” Justin let out a loud cry of pain as he failed to dodge in time. Gloria ran toward them like crazy and pushed Rachel away before asking, “Are you okay, Justin?”
The man covered his forehead with his hand. Blood seeped through his fingers and trickled down the scar on the corner of his eye to his neck, making him look fiercely menacing.
Rachel then slumped to the ground, her eyes full of despair and fearlessness. Hans is dead, and Justin’s the one who did it. I must avenge him!
Gloria stood in front of Justin and yelled like crazy to those outside, “Guards! Where are the security guards?”
People soon burst into the room, and Rachel was dragged away by the security guards as she continued to clutch the bronze figurine. Before she left, she glared furiously at Justin with a look in her eyes that was terrifying-it was as though she would definitely kill him once she had the opportunity.
Justin felt so suffocated, and it seemed like his chest was about to burst while he watched Rachel being marched away. She actually wants to kill me and then herself for the sake of that guy!
“I’ll take you to the hospital.” Gloria looked anxious as she supported Justin with her hand.
Janice was the first person to visit Rachel after she was sent to the police station. “I heard about what happened. You’re too impulsive-how could you get yourself into such a state?”
Merely half a day had passed, but Rachel’s eyes were deeply sunken with exhaustion. She looked like nothing but skin and bones; it was as though she was merely a body without a soul. Upon hearing Janice’s words, she turned up the corner of her mouth to form an aggrieved smile. I’m the one who got Hans killed. I’m guilty.
“The prosecutors are already collecting the evidence. Since Justin is the prime suspect, I suppose he’ll receive a subpoena from the court very soon.”
What can I do?
“You can testify as a witness. He broke Hans’ leg, didn’t he?”
Rachel nodded while gritting her teeth hard. Now that things had turned out this way, she was no longer afraid of anything. If the worst came to the worst, she would fight to the bitter end to send Justin-that murderer-to jail.
Janice clenched her fists and remarked frostily, “Had you been willing to testify long ago, such a thing probably wouldn’t have happened, nor would have Hans died.”
Janice had always been outspoken, and her words stabbed Rachel in the heart where it hurt the most like a knife, reminding her that what killed Hans was not Justin but her indecision.
Meanwhile, in the Hudson Residence, Amber was shocked when she heard the news. “What? Rachel
wounded Justin?”
Jefferey was putting on his overcoat in a hurry to go out. “How can that be fake? The police department has even called me! She really is out of her mind! How dare she hit her husband? She’s putting us Hudsons in jeopardy!”
“Wait a minute, Dad.” Amber grabbed Jefferey’s arm as he was about to leave. “How on earth did that happen? With her disposition, she wouldn’t have the nerve to do such a thing unless she was driven into a corner.”
“Does being driven into a corner justify her hitting him? She really is insane!” Jefferey was burning with anxiety, fearing that the Burton Family would be displeased with the Hudson Family for this. Hudson Pharmaceuticals’ recently acquired shares might all be transferred back into Justin’s hands by then; their company would be handicapped at every turn, and Jefferey would no longer remain in his position as the company’s chairman. Since he didn’t have time to explain more to Amber, he left home in a hurry.
Amber stood at the door for a while. Then, she took out her cell phone and made a phone call. “Is this the municipal hospital? Hi, I would like to ask about a patient in Ward 402 named Hans Egerton. How is he?”
“Ward 402? Let me look it up. Oh, that patient has been discharged from our hospital.”
“Discharged?” Amber was startled for a moment. “Okay, I got it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Amber had a vague realization when she hung up the phone. The only thing apart from Nancy that could make Rachel so crazy was Hans, so something must have happened to him. Amber clenched her fists as she recalled how Noah had humiliated her at the hospital earlier on. She must get Rachel to leave Riverdale once and for all; only by doing so could she marry Justin and get rid of Noah.
Rachel stayed in the detention center for half a month. Jefferey had come once during that period, but she refused to see him; she heard that he had made quite a scene outside because of that. Her other visitors were Janice and those from the police station, who came to ask her about some specific details about the
incident.
On the day of the scheduled trial half a month later, Rachel waited in the waiting room for the public servants to take her to the court to testify. Instead, she met Gloria. ‘Why are you here?’
“I’m here to get you out.” Gloria had lost quite some weight, and she looked at Rachel with a trace of hostility in her eyes. “You probably don’t know this yet, but the trial has been canceled.”
Rachel was stunned upon hearing her words. ‘That can’t be possible!’
How could the trial be canceled with so much evidence being present? Janice is there, and I’ll testify in court, she thought to herself.
“There isn’t enough evidence, and Justin has nothing to do with Hans’ death. You have wronged him.”
Rachel popped up from her chair and glared at Gloria. She was filled with anger, but she couldn’t find an outlet for it.
Gloria, who couldn’t understand sign language, looked at her with sympathy. “It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, but I am confident that Justin isn’t such a person. He has nothing to do with this. Did you know he had to get seven stitches on his head after you hit him? How could you really have the heart to do that?”
Rachel clenched her fists tightly, not believing a word of what Gloria said.
“You don’t believe me, do you? Let me take you somewhere!” Gloria said before she picked up her handbag and stepped outside. Then, she urged snappishly, “Aren’t you leaving yet? You’ve been released on bail!”
Rachel followed Gloria to the western outskirts of the city. The scene had been cleared up; Gloria didn’t tell her about it, but Rachel knew what this place was. The chalk marks were still on the ground, allowing one to see a vague human-shaped outline. Upon seeing this, Rachel slowly turned pale.
“On the day Hans was killed, Justin was with me the whole time, so I can testify that he had done nothing.”
Rachel slowly knelt down on the soil, her fine hands touching the withered grass on the ground. Her lips trembled as the jumbled scenes of Hans being killed flashed across her mind. The words ‘He had his throat slit’ as mentioned by Janice kept reverberating in her head. I don’t believe it!
Gloria and Justin are in the same boat, so she will definitely shield him no matter what he does, she thought to herself.
“All right, you won’t believe what I say, but you will probably believe what your friend says, won’t you?”
A stunned Rachel looked up to see Janice standing behind Gloria-she had arrived before Rachel realized it.
Gloria got back into her car and waited, watching from afar as Janice squatted down, touched the withered grass on the ground as Rachel did, and sat down casually on the ground. “The police have collected all evidence. Hans’ cell phone records showed a call from an unfamiliar number that couldn’t be traced. He lost contact with me after answering that phone call, and this isn’t the primary crime scene.”
Rachel was stunned. Well, where was it?
‘It was at the municipal hospital’s parking lot!
