Chapter 405 The Truth Comes to Light
The two of them stood by the door, one on each side, always seeing each other.
Frank, looking disgusted, said, "Seriously, can't you have some principles? You just cave in whenever she says something. It's so dangerous for her to be in there alone."
Zachary shot back, "If I don't, you'll just tell her I'm not a loving husband, not responsible, not a good spouse, and then you'll try to set her up with other guys."
Frank retorted, "You might as well be mute. Maybe then I'd accept you faster."
Inside the room.
Winona was half-squatting, her eyes level with Grace's. She knew Grace had mistaken her for Yara. Staring directly into the woman's eyes, she felt her heart race as she softly asked, "Grace, why did you want to harm me?"
She was worried this tactic wouldn't work. After all, she wasn't a professional voice actor and couldn't change her voice to sound like Yara. The fact that Grace could call her mother by such an intimate name indicated they were close, making it easy for her to recognize the difference.
But she was overthinking. Grace was totally out of it and couldn't tell the difference.
Grace stared intently at Winona's face. After a long while, tears suddenly rolled down her red eyes. Grace said, "I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose. I'm sorry, Yara."
She kept repeating these words. Winona pinched her palm hard and asked in a normal tone, "Why are you apologizing?"
No one knew how much effort it took for her to suppress her urgency. She couldn't rush. She had been seeking the truth for ten years. She feared that if she rushed, she might miss some important details. But she also feared that if she didn't rush, Grace might stop talking at any moment, or worse, recognize that she wasn't Yara.
Winona's palm was red from pinching. Her voice was low, with a slight tremor from her nervousness. "Grace, what are you sorry for?"
Grace leaned in, placing a finger on her lips. "He's going to kill you."
Winona said in confusion, "Who wants to kill me?"
The room's air conditioning was set to a comfortable temperature, but Winona's back was covered in cold sweat. Her half-wet clothes clung to her, feeling sticky and uneasy.
"I heard it. He wants to kill you."
"Grace, who wants to kill me?"
Grace kept shaking her head. "I can't say, I told your husband to warn you. I told him you were in danger that day. I warned you. I haven't done anything to wrong you."
Her words were incoherent, but Winona understood the content.
"You told Carlos to warn my mom that someone wanted to kill her? And you told him the exact time?"
"I warned you. I told your husband to tell you. Why didn't you run? You can't blame me," Grace suddenly covered her head. "Yara, you didn't run yourself. Don't haunt me. Go away!"
Winona asked her sharply, "Who wants to kill Yara? Was it Kyle? Did he instruct you to find my mom? What's the secret of that painting?"
But Grace just kept screaming, shouting, "Yara, I warned you. Don't haunt me."
"Grace!"
The door was pushed open from the outside, and Zachary stepped in first.
Grace hugged her head and curled up, screaming, "Don't hit me. I was wrong!"
In this state, there was no way to get any answers. Winona's shoulders slumped in frustration. After all this effort, the truth was right in front of her, but she could only watch helplessly. This sense of powerlessness could drive a sane person mad.
Zachary walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and held her. "It's okay. Kyle's done a lot of dirty things over the years. He won't get away with it. At least Yara will get some justice."
Winona shook her head, her voice choked with emotion. "It's not the same!"
What was justice? Only the truth coming to light was justice. If the death of the culprit alone was justice, then why would we need police and judges?
She wanted to uncover the truth of what happened back then, so the judge could clearly write the verdict. Only then could she say she had brought the culprit to justice when she visited her mother's grave, and only then could she ask her to rest in peace.
Zachary said with concern, "Then we'll keep investigating. We'll find a breakthrough."
Winona's eyes flashed with intense hatred as she said, "I want to see Carlos."
She wanted to ask him why, even after Grace had clearly told him the time of the attack, her mom still got hurt. Where was he during those two hours he was missing that night?
Zachary said, "Okay, I'll have someone bring him here."
Given Winona's current condition, Zachary didn't dare let her travel back and forth.
Frank and Rodolfo also came in. Grace's screams had stopped, and she returned to her previous dazed state.
Zachary made a phone call, and half an hour later, Carlos was brought in. The trial was in two days, and he had been restless, going over his old connections to see if he could find any clues to get a reduced sentence.
Seeing Winona now, he immediately felt relieved. He hadn't forgotten her promise to get him out. "Winona, you still can't bear to see your dad in jail, right? I knew you were a good daughter. When I make a comeback, I'll buy you whatever you want."
Frank frowned and thought to himself, 'What did Yara marry him back then?'
This scene didn't look like she was trying to get him out.
Winona felt nothing but disgust for Carlos now. She didn't want to say a word more. "Grace told you someone wanted to kill my mom and even gave you the exact date. Why didn't you warn her? Not only did you not warn her, but you also went missing that night."
Carlos said in a pleading tone, "I wanted to warn her, but they threatened me. They said if I said a word, they'd kill our whole family. You were still young then, and your grandparents were still alive. They were determined to kill her. In that situation, I had to prioritize protecting you all. Otherwise, how could you have grown up safely?"
Seeing Winona's face darken, he quickly tried to defend himself before saying, "I didn't know when they would attack your mom. Grace was a liar. She seduced me. That night I went missing, she lured me to a hotel. Otherwise, why wouldn't I have picked up your mom?"
Winona knew Carlos was a scumbag, but she didn't realize he was this bad—cowardly, selfish, lustful, greedy, and unfaithful.
The painting was accepted by her mother because he was greedy and begged her to take it, but in the end, it was her mother who bore the consequences.
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