Chapter 543 Necessary Heartrending Decisions
Combining all of this evidence, Justin's guilt in the slaying of Maria was firmly established.
Furthermore, during a search of Justin's bank safety deposit box, the police unearthed key clues related to other cases. They found a letter Justin had written to Selena, noting an appointment to meet by the poolside—on the very date of Selena's death. On the back of the letter, written with a red ink pen, was a series of numbers, confirmed as the specific time of Selena's death.
They also found a bottle of medication with a label that read, "Father-in-Law's Painkiller." Handwritten numbers on the bottle indicated the day Anne's parents died in an accident. Ironically, the cause of the couple's accident was the male victim falling asleep at the wheel on the highway due to taking a sedative-containing drug.
Lastly, there was a train ticket to the capital city. At that time, tickets were not registered to a name. However, the date of Anne's death was written on the back, and a wristwatch weighed down the ticket.
The watch was broken, its time frozen within the range of Toby's estimated death.
It was later recognized by Ronald Wilkinson, who confirmed the watch as one of Toby's belongings. Besides the watch, there were several other items that couldn't be identified.
Ideally, they would have questioned Justin about them, but questioning him was out of the question. It seemed Justin had lost his mind; every day in the holding cell, he would shout about a monster coming to get him and scream throughout the night.
The police had Justin undergo a forensic psychological evaluation, which determined that he had developed schizophrenia. After completing the legal proceedings, it was clear that Justin couldn’t be sent to prison given his condition. Thus, he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital located over two hundred miles from Bay City.
On the day Justin arrived, he spotted a familiar face in the ward.
"Thalassa!" he cried out. Justin was restrained, struggling desperately as Thalassa – dressed in somber black – stood nearby with Kenny.
"Help me, they're all jerks at Chris's, they ignore me, won't get me a lawyer, or find me a pastor!" Justin wailed. "Help me, I'll never dare again, I'll give you all my money! I don't want to stay here!"
"Don't you like it here?" Thalassa casually surveyed the surroundings, which were well-lit and clean. "I took quite some time to pick this place out for you," she said slowly.
Justin, taken aback, soon burst out frantically, "You sent me here? It was you?"
"Justin, don't be scared, you'll be well cared for, I made sure of it, you'll live a long life," Thalassa replied with a smile.
"What are you going to do to me?" Justin asked in terror.
"Who knows?" Thalassa shrugged nonchalantly.
"Thalassa, you're wicked, I curse you!" Before Justin could finish his curse, a burly caretaker stuffed a rag into his mouth.
Justin's eyes bulged in panic and he began to retch in pain.
In that moment, Thalassa took a couple of steps closer. Kenny warned her, "Don't get too close."
"It's fine," she assured him, brushing her thumb gently across the back of Kenny's hand before resolutely approaching Justin's bedside. She leaned over, looking at him, and whispered softly,
"Justin, you don't truly believe that a monster is out to get you, do you?"
Justin looked at Thalassa in shock. She smiled sweetly, innocently – just like before.
"It was all our trap – the snowflakes by the laundry basin, Anne hanging, and floating in the water... my mother."
With a rag in his mouth, Justin could only let out a muffled scream.
Staring helplessly at Thalassa, he shouted until his voice was hoarse, while Kenny stepped forward, looped his arm around Thalassa's waist, and stepped back a few paces.
Justin struggled desperately, feeling that death was the worst that could happen, but Thalassa wouldn't let it be that simple. She wanted to make sure Justin understood exactly why he ended up in this situation.
"Justin, you're going to spend the rest of your life right here," Thalassa said before glancing at the caregiver.
The memory of Fiona's words echoed in Thalassa's mind. "This caregiver has a terrible reputation, just got out, and I've given him enough money to ensure he takes good care of Justin."
The caregiver, with a cold expression, nodded at Thalassa, who took Kenny's hand and left without looking back.
"Kenny, Fiona arranged a private room for him. Isn't that a little too comfortable?" Thalassa muttered once they were outside.
"Fiona must have her reasons for arranging things this way. In any case, her intention is certainly not to make Justin comfortable," Kenny said soothingly.
Thalassa took a deep breath and said, "Well, it's time to take care of Maria's affairs."
"Of course," Kenny said gently. "I'll take care of everything. Maria would be at ease knowing her son-in-law is as good as you."
Kenny, with a look of sympathy, touched the top of Thalassa's head and said, "Let's go home."
Just as Kenny and Thalassa reached the parking lot, they encountered the Shaw family.
By this time, Kenny's identity was no secret to the Shaw family. "Thalassa, I was wrong before, and I'm sorry," Walker said sincerely when he saw Thalassa.
Without Thalassa, he might never have known the true reason behind the deaths of his birth mother and adoptive mother.
"Let's not dwell on the past. Live well from now on," Thalassa replied.
"We're planning to emigrate. The paperwork is already being handled," Walker continued. "We likely won't have the chance to meet again."
"Take care," Thalassa said, then took Kenny's hand and walked past the three, heading to their own car.
Unable to hold back, Chris watched them with tearful eyes.
Thalassa and Kenny, their hands tightly interlocked, walked with determined steps and didn’t look back.
"Chris, what's wrong?" asked Shawn.
Chris shook his head. "We won't see Thalassa again; I just wanted a longer look."
With those words, Chris reluctantly redirected his gaze and walked on, with memories of Thalassa flashing through his mind like scenes from a movie, finally freezing on an image of Thalassa's forever vibrant and joyous smile.
"What's wrong with Chris?" Shawn looked toward Walker. "You usually hang out with Thalassa more, right? How come he seems even less willing to let go than you?"
Walker remained silent, his gaze toward Thalassa unguarded and clear.
"Speaking of which," Shawn continued, "I heard that Chris is breaking off his engagement with Crystal. Is it because of the mess Dad's gotten into that the Ayre family..."
"Stop being so nosy," Walker cut him off.
Walker knew that the broken engagement was set in motion well before this event; Chris had come to handle the trust procedures. All three brothers planned to immigrate overseas and had decided not to return. This meant entrusting Justin to a psychiatric hospital long-term after Chris had finished the paperwork. Walker and the others, disgusted by Justin's actions, had no intention of visiting him. Even Shawn, who had previously been indifferent, grew to detest Justin because of their grandparents' deaths. As a child, it was the grandparents who doted on Shawn.
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