Chapter 212

Leia spun Armand to face Noelle.

Feeling guilty, she accused, her voice rising a few notches. "Noelle, are you trying to defend the murderers? How can you let Dad down like this? He’s been so good to you, yet you want to let the culprits get away with it!"

Noelle retorted sharply. "No, I’m raising questions to find the real murderer."

"Hey, what do you mean?" Leia choked out, taken aback.

Noelle continued, "During the power outage last night, the surveillance didn't capture whether anyone went to the kitchen. Maria claimed she went to check the circuit with the electrician. Maybe someone took that opportunity to poison Dad."

At Noelle’s words, Leia’s guilt intensified. She was the one who had used the power outage as a cover to poison Vincent. But there was no way she could admit it.

Her face twitched as she said, "Noelle, the power outage was so brief. How could anyone have used that time to poison him? It’s obvious that Maria and her husband, harboring resentment against Dad, are the ones who poisoned him.”

Maria, feeling cornered by Leia’s insistence, exploded in anger. "Leia, that’s going too far. You’re the one who should be suspected!"

"What do you mean?" Leia’s face turned pale.

Maria shouted, "Ever since Noelle came back, you’ve been nothing but jealous and discontented. Mr. Anderson scolded you just a few days ago. Your motive is far stronger than ours."

"Shut up!" Leia’s face turned beet red with rage. She gritted her teeth and said, "You’re lying. How could I poison Dad? They raised me for over a decade. How could I poison my own father out of a little resentment?

"Besides, we’ve already reconciled. How dare you slander me? I’ll sue you for defamation."

Maria, intimidated by Leia’s threat, wilted again and began to cry, claiming they were wronged.

At that moment, Eli chimed in, "It’s true that we can’t rule out the possibility that someone poisoned him during the power outage. But that widens the pool of suspects and makes it harder to investigate."

Curlie added, "We’ve already determined that the poison Dad was given is a controlled substance, right? It’s not something an ordinary person can get their hands on. I heard from Bennett that this drug is strictly regulated and requires real-name registration for purchase."

Seeing everyone starting to doubt her, Leia, fearing she would be the next suspect, forced an awkward smile and said, "Hey, I knew it. Bennett is a doctor. He should have access to those drugs, right?"

Eli glanced at Leia and said, "So, you think Bennett poisoned Dad?"

"I... I didn’t say that," Leia shrank back, lowering her voice. "But Bennett does have the easiest access to the drugs. Besides, Bennett is kind of eccentric. Sometimes I have no idea what he’s thinking."

To protect herself, Leia was ready to abandon Bennett, even though he had been the kindest to her at the moment.

Damon, however, spoke up. "That’s impossible. When Maria was preparing the drugs, Bennett was with me the whole time. He didn’t have a chance to poison Dad."

"Is that so!" Leia forced another awkward smile. "Damon, I’m just pointing out that he had access to the drugs. I didn’t say Bennett was the murderer. Don’t misunderstand me."

Eli shot her a cold look and said sarcastically, "Good thing Bennett isn’t here right now, or he’d be heartbroken to hear this."

Eli’s side remark made Leia feel wronged. She couldn’t help but lower her head, feeling wronged. "Why does Eli always target me? What have I done to offend him?" she thought to herself.

For a moment, everyone was at an impasse.

At that moment, Kimberly rushed back in. As soon as she reached the doorway, she demanded fiercely. "I heard you found the murderer. Who is it?"

"Mom, you’re back!" Leia quickly approached Kimberly and said, "Maria and her husband were acting suspiciously in the kitchen, lifting the lid."

"We just checked the surveillance. Maria’s husband..."

"Our investigation revealed that they’ve been dissatisfied with the Anderson family for a long time, thinking their wages were too low. They harbored resentment against Dad and wanted to get back at him."

At this, Kimberly’s gaze immediately fell on Maria and her husband.

Maria and her husband burst into tears, protesting their innocence. "Mrs. Anderson, it wasn’t us. We’ve worked for the Anderson family for nearly a decade, always behaving well. How could we poison anyone! Leia is framing us."

Leia gritted her teeth. "At a time like this, you still want to lie your way out?"

Kimberly cast a cold glance at Maria, her usual gentleness gone. She asked in a chilling voice, "Maria, did you really poison him?"

"Mrs. Anderson, no, it wasn’t us," Maria wailed miserably.

Anger flaring, Maria cursed fiercely. "It really wasn’t us. Who the hell is framing us? Damn you to hell! I’ll tear you apart limb by limb! You’ll never see the light of day again! May you rot in the deepest pit of despair, you son of a bitch!"

Upon hearing Maria’s wild cursing, Leia’s face turned ashen with rage. She trembled all over, unable to control her agitation, and screeched, "Take these two to the police station. Execute them. People like them deserve to die."

"Leia?" Seeing Leia more agitated than her, Kimberly quickly moved to restrain her. "Calm down. What’s gotten into you?"

Leia realized she was overreacting and immediately burst into tears. "Mom, I’m just so furious. Maria and her husband poisoned Dad, but they refuse to admit it. They’re outrageous. Every time I think about Dad lying in the hospital bed, I can’t bear it."

"It’s okay. Don’t worry. Your dad has woken up. Though he’s still very weak, at least he’s out of danger," said Kimberly.

"Really! Mom, I’m so relieved!" Leia covered her face with her hands, tears streaming down in a mixture of joy and relief.

Kimberly turned back to Maria and her husband and ordered sternly. "Take them to the police station."

"No. Mrs. Anderson, it really wasn’t us," Maria cried out again, terrified at the prospect of being taken to the police station.

At that moment, Noelle stepped forward and said to Kimberly, "Mom, I think this whole thing is fishy. The culprits might not be Maria. I suggest we investigate further what happened during the power outage."

"During the power outage..." Kimberly was taken aback.

Before Kimberly could fully grasp the situation, Leia snapped at Noelle, "Noelle! Why are you trying to protect Maria and her husband! It’s obvious they’re the poisoners, but you insist there’s someone else. What are you even trying to do?"

Noelle gave Leia a cold stare and retorted, "Because I don’t want Dad’s poisoning to remain a mystery. Hey, Leia, aren’t you overreacting a bit?"

"No." Leia was left speechless once again.

She sniffed back her tears, which rolled down her cheeks, and said with a sense of grievance, "I’m just worried about Dad. Now that we’ve found the culprits, I’m angry, and that’s why I’m so emotional."

"What’s wrong with that? Noelle, I know you’re cold-hearted. I’m worried about him, and that’s why I can’t control my emotions. Isn’t that normal!"

Seeing Leia still pretending, Noelle felt a lump of frustration in her chest and decided not to hold back any longer.

She confronted Leia directly. "Then can you explain why you came upstairs from the basement during the power outage? What were you doing down there?"

As soon as Noelle spoke, all eyes in the room turned to Leia.