The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Percival had never intended to summon Richard, but since Baron wanted Richard there, he had no

objections.

The tale of his grandparents and Baron was something he had heard since he was a child. His

grandmother had been pivotal to both men.

If they wanted to settle old scores, Percival was willing to let them.

Upon hearing that Percival had unearthed the murderer of the dear old lady, Richard dropped

everything and bolted over to the Brooks Mansion.

Bursting through the door, he was brimming with urgency. “Percival! Baron just told me over the phone

that you found out who killed your grandma. Is it true?”

With a nod and a knowing glance at Thomas, Percival affirmed, “Yeah. Take a seat. We’ll get to the

bottom of this.”

Thomas dragged over a chair, and Richard plopped down eagerly. “Alright! Let’s see who murdered

your grandma. Just give me a name, and I’ll break their damn kneecaps!”

His gaze purposefully swept towards Judith.

Baron had hinted over the phone that Judith was tied up in this mess.

Richard settled in, but Baron did not have anyone to fetch him a chair. So, he grabbed one himself and

sat down.

Percival scanned the room, pulled out his smartphone, and handed it to Thomas. “Project this.”

His phone had a built-in projector, a feature Thomas had used countless times. He quickly set it up.

“Open this photo,” Percival instructed Thomas, then turned to Judith. “After the tragedy with my

grandma, the police locked down the scene. You, being her close friend, were interrogated. This was

your statement from back then.”

The statement seemed clear-cut, leaving no room for suspicion.

All evidence pointed to Judith having an alibi.

The crowd was puzzled, turning to Percival, wondering what a flawless statement could possibly

reveal.

Sensing their confusion, Percival spoke calmly, “This statement is perfect. Too perfect, in fact. But…”

His eyes lifted, locking onto Judith, “In your testimony, you said you hadn’t left your home for three days

around the time of Grandma’s dinner party. Witnesses confirmed that. So then… Who is this?”

Thomas flicked to the next photo.

Judith went pale.

How could this be?

She had covered her tracks perfectly. How had Percival gotten hold of this photo?

Shock rippled through the crowd, their gazes shifting towards Judith.

Richard exploded instantly. “You sneaky witch, Judith! It was you! I’ll kill you!”

He lunged at Judith, but Thomas was quick to intercept. “Calm down. Let’s get the full story first.”

Judith forced herself to remain composed, countering, “What does this photo prove? I was merely out

for some shopping.”

“Shopping, my foot!” Richard bellowed. “You expect us to believe you traveled over a hundred miles to

some podunk town for shopping? What business does a lady of your stature have there? That’s where

Dahlia and her friends were dining!”

The mention of the incident nearly sent Richard over the edge.

Back in the day, Dahlia and her three closest girlfriends had planned a special dinner out of town. They

had grown tired of the local Rivenwood cuisine and craved something new. Somehow, they settled on

this little town with a rumored fantastic hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Richard had questioned the choice,

having never heard of the place, but Dahlia showed him an ad from the newspaper.

At that time, before the internet era, newspapers were their source of information. After verifying the

restaurant’s reputation and learning about a nearby church said to be powerful, they booked their visit

on the fourteenth, planning to stay overnight and visit the church on the fifteenth. Dahlia was quite

superstitious, so she was very interested in attending church.

Each girl was accompanied by a nanny for safety, and Richard, being extra cautious, assigned three to

Dahlia.

Only after assuring their safety did he allow Dahlia to go.

But tragedy struck that evening – a fire claimed the lives of ten people!

By the time Richard arrived, Dahlia, her friends, and the nannies were unrecognizable.

The devastation was incomprehensible.

The investigation cleared the restaurant owner but concluded it was intentional arson. Yet, the culprit

remained elusive.

Twenty years had passed, and the pain was as fresh as ever.

“How was I supposed to know where they were dining? They didn’t even invite me!” Judith spat out,

exasperated.

“Really?” Percival’s voice dropped an octave, his eyes narrowing. “And what about this?”

Thomas switched to the next photo.

It showed a call from Judith’s family landline to Dahlia, made by Judith.

Judith was flabbergasted.

That was impossible.

She had already…

Before she could react, Percival stepped towards her. “Surprised? You paid a fortune to erase this

record. So, how did I find it?”

Back then, recovering deleted call records was nearly impossible with rudimentary technology.

But today, it had been child’s play for Percival and Vivienne to retrieve the lost data.

Judith stumbled backward, overwhelmed by his presence. “No, it wasn’t me. I didn’t make that call!”

“Judith.” Thomas’s voice was as cold as the steel of a blade, “Not only did Percival uncover the calls

you’ve been making to our dear old lady, but he also traced the newspaper article you pointed her to.

Even the accusations from the owner of that restaurant and this snapshot a passerby took of you

heading to the village. Every piece, every bit of it, ties back to you.”

Judith remained defiantly silent, refusing to admit anything.

“If you want to keep playing innocent, that’s fine. We have ways of digging up the past,” Thomas said,

his words hanging in the air like a threat.

Percival glanced at Judith and took a step toward herBooks Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay

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, his presence imposing. “Still no confession? Do you really want me to lay all the evidence out in front

of you?”

Baron stood up as well, his voice rising in anger. “You wicked woman! Even now, you persist with your

lies! Tell me, did you or did you not kill Dahlia?”

Faced with the barrage of accusing eyes and Baron’s interrogation, Judith could no longer hold back.

With a roar of fury, she confessed, “So what if I did it? She deserved to die! That tramp, she was

nothing compared to me, yet she had all the men wrapped around her finger. You were married to me,

but she was always the one on your mind.”

Judith’s words grew more heated as she spoke. “I thought time would make you forget her, but no,

even after Ronald was born, you still couldn’t let her go! Baron Brooks, you’re a grandfather, for

heaven’s sake, and yet you’re still obsessed with that tramp. I hated her; she deserved a thousand

deaths!”

Her expression twisted into a sinister smile. “So, yes, I decided to kill her, to burn her until she was

unrecognizable. I wanted you to remember her as hideous, but, oh… Even in that state, you couldn’t let

her go.”