Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace

I had no choice but to pin everything on the murderer, to spur the cops into action.

It dawned on me that I really had to lay low from now on, not rushing to prove who I really was. I needed to gently nudge the investigation forward under the quise of being Phoebe’s friend.

It had claimed to be Phoebe’s friend from the get–go, maybe Stella and Robin wouldn’t have been so damn suspicious of me.

I’d been too careless; that was clear.

“She’s lying!” Melody squirmed in her attempt to struggle free.

I gave Melody a meaningful look. “Without proof, I’m going to sue you for slander.”

Melody seemed to falter. Her goal wasn’t really to get me locked up but to keep Dexter away from me. Clearly, she had accomplished that.

“The Langleys can afford a good lawyer,” Caleb said, gripping my hand firmly: his gaze on Melody was fierce, murderous even.

I had this eerie feeling that if we were alone in the hospital room, Caleb would have killed Melody without a second thought.

Looking down at our clasped hands, his knuckles were white, and the veins on the back of his scarred hand stood out as if he was holding back a storm.

He held my hand tightly as if to reassure me.

To say I wasn’t soothed would be a lie… but I still couldn’t bring myself to trust him completely.

family and bear an heir. I thought he might suspect me of not being the real Phoebe like Melody suggested – Pretending to be Phoebe, deceiving him, all to secure my place in the Langley

“I did see a suspicious guy hanging around Phoebe’s place on the surveillance footage,” Stella admitted, looking up at Robin. This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Robin frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I thought they were in cahoots, but now, between Melody and Foebe, I’m more inclined to trust Foebe because she’s right–Phoebe wouldn’t share the location of her house keys with someone she didn’t trust,” Stella said, her eyes complex as she looked at me.

It was as if she was saying, “I’m choosing to trust you, don’t let me down.”

I smiled back at her, then turned to Melody. “I’ll be contacting a lawyer and the police to discuss how you lured Phoebe to Tangle Lane. It wasn’t manslaughter; it was premeditated murder. You had a motive; you wanted Dexter, believing Phoebe would snatch him away because Dexter and Phoebe’s relationship isn’t what it seems to outsiders.”

Davtor called out, his voice laden with anger.

10-53

Was he scared that I’d send Melody to jail?

“There’s no need to shout; I can hear you just fine,” I said, looking at him before continuing. “You claim Phoebe was just your sister, but unfortunately for you, she was the fiancée your mother Hailey picked out. Because of Phoebe, Hailey never accepted Melody and wouldn’t let her into the family easily. So, to marry into the Fitzgerald family. Melody had to get rid of

Phoebe.

But she’s a woman, too scared to kill, so she thought about using someone else’s hand to do her dirty work. Coming from the same orphanage, she knew all too well why that psychopath targeted girls from there. She dressed Phoebe in her clothe and deliberately used the murderer to do her bidding.”

I stepped closer to the hospital bed, facing Melody. “I’m right, aren’t I, Miss Melody?”

“You’re spouting nonsense!” Melody was losing control, fear taking hold. She looked desperately at Dexter, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. “Dexter, you have to believe me; she’s trying to smear me. You know me best; I risked my life to save you; how could I possibly kill someone?”

She wanted to say she was too kind–hearted to even think of murder.

Dexter looked at Melody, slowly withdrawing his hand.

I couldn’t help but smirk.

This guy really changed his mind quickly. Now he’s losing trust in Melody?

As Melody saw disbelief spreading among us, she seemed to make a sudden decision. “Officer Robin! I’m ready to work with the police to draw out the murderer. I believe once you catch the murderer, the truth will come out! Then you’ll see who’s lying, me or her!”