Bethany locked George and Meghan in a room on the mansion's second basement floor. The Gallagher residence had two basement levels and three stories above ground; the housekeepers lived on the first basement level. The second basement rooms were primarily used for storage. Bethany confined them because the housekeepers were on vacation; no one would suspect anything.

Returning home, Bethany grabbed a flashlight and descended to the second basement. The room where George and Meghan were imprisoned was in a corner, secured by a thick door. With the door closed, even their screams wouldn't carry to the level above. Furthermore, a door in the middle of the second basement led to the first, further muffling any sound. This ensured their confinement went unnoticed.

Bethany opened the door and shone the flashlight inside. The room was instantly illuminated, revealing a strong, unpleasant smell of blood. George and Meghan hung lifelessly from a stake.

Bethany felt a surge of fear; her heart pounded. She'd always been obedient, and this was her first foray into such madness. Overwhelmed by nervousness and fear, despite her initial resolve, she took a deep breath, swallowed her fear, and entered.

Approaching George, she placed her forefinger under his nose to check for breathing. Instantly, George moved, biting her finger. "Ah!" Bethany screamed, startled, dropping her flashlight. She angrily kicked George in the groin. He screamed in pain, releasing his bite. The bleeding, which he'd just stemmed, restarted. George, furious, cursed, "Bitch! You vicious bitch! Let me go! I'll come back and haunt you as a ghost!" His curses, however, lacked the power to intimidate her, given his weakened state.

Meghan, roused by George's scream, weakly raised her head. Seeing Bethany, she pleaded, "Mom, please let me go. I know I was wrong. I'll do anything if you release me. Please don't let me die. Boohoo"

Bethany frowned. "How can they still be alive? They've lost so much blood!" she thought.

Bethany retrieved the dagger she'd left there the previous day. George stopped cursing as Bethany looked at him, dagger in hand. He trembled, pleading, "Calm down, honey. Don't do anything stupid. Killing people is illegal. If you kill me, you can't escape. Please let us go! I promise not to call the police!"

Meghan added hastily, "And me… Mom, please let me go! I won't tell anyone! We'll say we injured ourselves!"

George nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes. Our injuries have nothing to do with you. If you let us go, it's as if nothing happened! Honey, don't go to jail! You're only 50, you still have 50 years to live!"

Meghan urged, "Mom, it's not worth sacrificing yourself for us. Please stop!"

Bethany asked coldly, "How do I explain to Evangeline if I let you go? That I let you go to kill Eddie?"

George quickly reassured her, "No, no, no. I won't hurt Eddie, not a hair on his head!"

Bethany sneered. "Then what should we do?"

George replied, "Just let Evangeline make the video public. I don't care about my reputation!"

Meghan agreed, "Me neither." Their wealth meant a tarnished reputation wouldn't significantly impact their lives.

Bethany said gloomily, "No way. The video will ruin the whole family's reputation. Meghan, you've been all over the livestream. If the video of you and George is exposed, it will damage your relationships with Sam, Eddie, and Jas! That video must not be exposed!"

Meghan cried, shaking her head. "Mom, please let me go. You only need to kill Dad. Evangeline said that a death in the family would be enough. He forced me! Mom, please let me go! You watched me grow up. You couldn't bear to kill me!"

George raged, "You wicked woman! I was blind, spoiled you, and now you're slandering me! You seduced me! Honey, don't listen to her. She seduced me! We've been married for 30 years. Do you really want to kill me? Just kill Meghan and let me take care of you! If I die, who will care for you?"

Meghan cried, "Mom, don't believe him! He's lying! But I'm different. I won't kill anyone!"

Slap! Bethany slapped Meghan, hatred in her eyes. "You can't say that, Meghan! You pushed Evangeline off a cliff and stopped others from saving Sam! You're the cruelest one!"

After Bethany left the hospital, Edward sat alone in the courtyard, feeling depressed. He suspected Bethany's intentions and chose not to interfere. He'd always looked down on her; hopelessly romantic, preoccupied with trivial household affairs, lacking ambition or assertiveness. She was naive and easily manipulated. Killing George and Meghan was the only significant thing she'd ever done. Despite his disdain, Edward felt a pang of depression. He was too emotional.

He sat on the bench, checking his phone to kill time. His Twitter was flooded with insults and curses regarding a previous post about caring for Pamela's mother. Millions of comments, insults, and doctored photos targeted him. He'd lost millions of followers.

He'd helped prove Evangeline's innocence and assisted with Pamela's funeral. He couldn't understand the backlash. He checked trending topics: "[Pamela's mother]," "[Pamela was forced to die by Edward]," "[Edward framed Evangeline]," "[Pamela's video]," "[Pamela's mother accused Edward]," "[Pamela's mother made Pamela's letter public]," "[Pamela's mother upset about ICU stay]," "[Evangeline is really miserable]."

He clicked on "[Pamela's video]." It began with a shaky shot of his face, then went black, but his voice was audible, a conversation with Pamela the night before her death. Edward clenched his fist in anger. Pamela had recorded him.