Chapter 313


    Annabelle was perplexed, and after hearing Harry’s words, she felt more skeptical of herself.


    After Daryl died, Annabelle became sick, not physically, but mentally. Francesca remarried after fleeing


    with the Sce family’s money. She didn’t care about Annabelle at all.


    Moreover, Francesca’s second husband was a jerk. He was a violent guy who loved to gamble and


    drink. When he had a difficult day at work, he woulde home and release his anger by hitting


    someone.


    Francesca was smart and would go to hide, but Annabelle had nowhere to hide and had no idea when


    the man would be upset. He’d beat Annabelle up and then burn her with a cigarette. She would be


    covered with bruises, and several times, she even thought she would die at the man’s hands.


    Francesca wouldn’t care about her when she returned home, let alone take her to the hospital. Instead,


    she would smile smugly when she noticed Annabelle’s pained expression. Furthermore, Francesca


    would curse at her stepdaughter, saying she deserved it and that she should die sooner.


    Annabelle was miserable during those years. She even wanted tomit suicide as Francesca said.


    Since Daryl, whom she loved, was no longer alive, there was no one else in the world that she cared


    about.


    Annabelle once thought, “What’s the point in living?”


    Even so, she knew that she couldn’t die alone; she had to drag someone else with her.


    Annabelle hid a kitchen knife beneath her pillow and prepared to kill Francesca’s husband and die with


    him if he beat her again. Later, she did stab him.


    She was pleased when she saw the blood gushing out of the man, but the joy and pleasure didn’tst


    long. Soon, terror and fear overcame her.


    She cried in fear and hid in the corner, watching the man lying on the ground as if he was dead.


    Later, Annabelle called Christopher.


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    Christopher went to her school numerous times in secret to look for her and stuffed a note to her with


    his phone number on it. Annabelle hated Christopher at the time since he was the reason why she lost


    her father and ended up in such a miserable situation.


    Therefore, when Christopher gave her the note, she crushed it into a ball. Annabelle wanted to throw it


    into the trash can, but somehow, she hesitated when


    she passed by the trash can and finally chose to stuff it into her bag.


    When Christopher arrived at her home back then, he was also frightened by the scene in the room, but


    he kept his cool. He immediately called an ambnce and took her out of the house.


    After that, She was taken to the Sce residence by Christopher and never returned to that house


    again.


    Although Francesca’s husband lost a lot of blood, he was saved in the end. Later, the Sce family


    reported his abuse to the police and gave the police some pressure. Thus, after being released from


    the hospital, the man went to jail and died there a few yearster.


    Francesca was given another sum of money from the Sce family to give up custody of Annabelle.


    However, Annabelle wasn’tpletely free.


    her


    For a long time, she often had nightmares and lost control of her emotions. She was fine in the Sce


    residence but often quarreled and fought with her ssmates at school. On several asions, she


    almost thought of ending it all.


    Kendrick was the first to notice her mental health struggles. He then found a psychologist who treated


    her for almost a year. On the surface, she seemed to have recovered, but in truth, she had just learned


    to control herself and conceal her dark side in a tiny little corner deep within herself.


    At that time, she was afraid that she would lose control of herself one day.


    Later on, she attended the same middle school as Christopher. After deciding to reside in the school


    dorm, the pressure she felt about losing control of herself eventually subsided. After so many years,


    she finally felt like a normal. again.


    However, Harry’s words made her doubt herself once more.


    person


    Annabelle and Scarlett were the only people present back then. If Annabelle wasn’t the culprit, then


    who else could it be? Who else wanted Scarlett’s life?


    But soon, Annabelle denied that thought.


    “No. If I killed Scarlett, who knocked me out after I called Christopher? How did I end up here?” she


    questioned internally.


    Annabelle suddenly looked at Harry with fear and shuddered uncontrobly. “It’s you! You killed


    Scarlett! Isn’t that right?”


    Harry said calmly, “She’s my fiancée. Why would I kill her?”


    “Right. Why would he?” she thought.


    Annabelle was usually a quick thinker.


    But at that moment, she was stricken by anxiety and panic. Hence, she couldn’t calm down to think.


    She thought she would’ve had it all figured out, but her thoughts were all jumbled up like a ball of yarn.


    Annabelle didn’t have a single clue about what happened back then.


    She was anxious, for she wanted to get to the bottom of things.


    Her desperation caused her to ball up her hands and hit herself on the head.


    Annabelle wasn’t one to cry, but at this moment, she couldn’t hold back anymore and began to weep.


    Tears rolled down her cheeks like a broken chain of pearls.


    “How can I kill Scarlett? There’s no way I will murder a person!” she pondered.


    Just then, Harry grabbed her hand, pressed her onto the bed, and said coldly, “Enough!”


    Annabelle kept struggling until she exhausted all of her strength and eventually fell asleep.


    Before going to bed, Yuliana got a call from La.


    “Yuliana, I talked to someone at the detention center. You can disguise yourself as awyer’s assistant


    and go in with them.”


    It was very quiet on La’s end, and Yuliana could hear the exhaustion in La’s hoarse voice.


    “Okay,” Yuliana replied and added, “La, you didn’t restst night. Have a good sleep tonight.”


    La chuckled faintly. “I want to sleep, too, but all I can think about is Chris when I close my eyes.


    What will happen to him if I don’t help him?”


    After saying that, La immediately regained her energy and reassured Yuliana, “I’m fine. Don’t worry


    about me. When you see Christopher tomorrow, persuade him to tell you everything, and tell him not to


    hide anything. Only then we’ll be able to help him with as much as we can.”


    Yuliana hummed in response. They chatted for a while about Scarlett’s case before ending the call.


    La was still at thepany.


    Earlier the same day, Jared traveled to Jeahron to visit awyer who dealt with simr cases in the


    past, but the oue of his visit was disappointing. Thewyer politely declined to take Christopher’s


    case, even for Jared’s sake.


    Jared nned to contact anotherwyer at night, but thewyer was not in Jeahron. They would only


    return the day after tomorrow, meaning the matter would be dyed for another two days. Besides,


    Jared wasn’t sure if thatwyer would take the case.


    Thus, La nned to go to Jeahron and meet thewyer with Jared.


    La felt exhausted, yet not physically tired. In the past, she didn’t feel tired when she was working on


    her projects and didn’t get any sleep for days on end. In this instance, only 24 hours had passed since


    the previous night.


    Yet, she felt powerless. It seemed like there was an invisible hand that was controlling Christopher’s


    case, and they couldn’t seem to get rid of that hand no matter how hard they tried.


    In the afternoon, La visited the Lynch family, and they were keen on making Christopher pay the


    price for Scarlett’s death.


    All the evidence in the police’s hands pointed to Christopher killing Scarlett.