Chapter 803

But they were a step too late.

Hawley had already seized Rosetta, holding the dagger to her as he backed her against a wall.

“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill her!” he screamed, his voice filled with menace as he saw people rushing toward him.

In the chaos, his wig fell off. Baillie, still doubled over in pain, finally recognized him. “It really is you!” he spat, his voice laced with fury. “Hawley… The Windsor family has no quarrel with you! Why are you doing this? What did you put in the tea? Tell me!”

Hawley let out a sinister laugh, one hand tightening around Rosetta’s neck. Rosetta, terrified, trembled violently, her face ashen.

“Baillie, save me… Please, save me!” Rosetta pleaded, her voice shaking as she begged her son for help.

But Baillie was in too much pain to save himself, let alone anyone else.

Ivy rushed over, her face paling at the horrifying scene.

“Hawley, what did you put in the tea?” she demanded, her heart aching with a mix of grief and rage as she looked at the chaos engulfing the chapel. “Even if you hate the Windsors, the others are innocent!”

“Innocent? You rich people are all scum! Especially you Windsors!” Hawley’s face was flushed with agitation as he shouted his accusations, the knife in his hand waving menacingly at the crowd. “You adopted Marjory not to give her a warm home, but because you listened to some charlatan who told you she could be a scapegoat! Well, you got your wish. She died young!”

Ivy stared at him, completely bewildered. “Marjory? Who’s Marjory?”

She suspected Hawley had the wrong target.

“The one you all called Emma Windsor!” he roared back. “Her name wasn’t Emma, and she wasn’t a Windsor!”

The pieces clicked into place for Ivy. Adkins had been the one to handle the adoption. By the time Emma joined the family, her name had already been changed. Ivy had never known her original name.

“If you hadn’t adopted her, she wouldn’t have died so young!” Hawley screamed. “You took her in but treated her horribly. You killed her, and I’m here for revenge!”

Sensing an opportunity, Ivy pressed him. “So you were the one who set fire to Windsor Manor!”

“That’s right! I burned it down! I caused Baillie’s car accident, too! And even before that, when your car’s brakes failed, that was me! I told Marjory to leave the Windsor family, but she wouldn’t listen… If she had, she wouldn’t have lost her life!”

Before he could finish, Baillie’s wife, Flora, who had been standing beside him, gasped. Her face contorted with fury as she shoved her husband away. “What did he just say? The car accident was deliberate? That means my baby… someone murdered my child?”

Cold sweat beaded on Baillie’s forehead, his face a sickly shade of gray. “Flora, I… I just found out about this myself, we-”

“He’s lying!” Hawley shouted. “He knew all along but didn’t have the guts to tell you! You’re blind, too! With all your money, you could have had anyone, but you chose these demons! The only thing they care about is profit, not family!”

As vile as Hawley was, Ivy had to admit he wasn’t wrong.

Upon hearing the truth, Flora’s face hardened. She swung her hand and slapped Baillie so hard his head snapped to the side.

“Baillie, we’re done! I want a divorce!” With that, she turned her back on the entire mess and stormed out.

“Hawley! You’ve gone too far!” The lead plainclothes officer arrived, his voice booming with authority as he drew his service pistol. “Arson, murder… do you have any respect for the law? I’m ordering you to drop your weapon and release the hostage! Do it now, or I’ll shoot!”

The tension in the room stretched to its breaking point. Just then, the first ambulance arrived and began transporting the most critical patients.

Jamison seized the opportunity to rush to Ivy’s side. “Ivy, get back. The police are here now. They’ll handle this.”

She turned to him, her eyes filled with concern. “Are you okay? Did you drink any of the tea?”

“No.”

Jamison thought back. While he had been talking with the other guests, he had seen a staff member pouring tea for people in the reception area. He seemed to recall a cup being placed next to Ivy as well.

“Did you drink any?” His face tightened with sudden fear.

“No. I was just about to pick it up when you came back and sat down,” Ivy replied. As she replayed the moment in her mind, a cold sweat broke out on her back. They had been inches away from suffering the same fate as the others. Thankfully, they hadn’t.

Seeing Ivy standing there unharmed, Hawley’s face twisted with frustration. “You two are lucky,” he sneered. “I was planning to send all you Windsors to hell at your father’s funeral, but I didn’t expect…”

BANG!

Before Hawley could finish, the officer fired a warning shot into the ceiling. “Hawley, stop wasting time! Release the hostage now!”

Police sidearms were typically loaded with a couple of blanks for warning shots. Even if one hit a suspect, it likely wouldn’t be fatal. But the sound was deafeningly effective. Everyone in the room flinched, and Hawley’s face paled with panic.