Chapter 195

A middle-aged police officer leveled his gun at Katelyn, eyes sharp as blades. "Don't move! We're the police. You're surrounded-surrender and cooperate."

Katelyn's face drained of color, disbelief written all over her features as she scanned her surroundings.

The men she had hired to kidnap Verena were already pinned to the floor by the officers. Now, only she and Elmore remained.

Blood still streamed from her arm, the wound burning and stinging as though a thousand needles were driving into her flesh.

Her body quaked uncontrollably; clutching her injured arm, she stumbled back a few steps.

Shock and dread tangled in her chest, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her eyes widened, almost bulging, as she watched police flood in from every corner.

She stood frozen, as if chained by her own terror,unwilling to accept the brutal truth.

"How...how is this possible? How could this be?" she muttered, resentment thick in her voice.

Why were the police here?

Who called them?

Her mind raced like a wheel spinning without end,searching desperately for an answer.

Isaac had already been taken care of by the assassin she sent. It couldn't be him.

And Verena? She had no chance either-Elmore had confiscated her phone right after she was knocked unconscious.

Just as Katelyn's confusion swallowed her whole, she caught sight of Elmore striding over to Verena,loosening her ropes with swift, practiced motions. The sight made her blood run cold.

Elmore-the very man she had paid generously, who had sworn loyalty and promised to help her succeed.

And yet now...

Katelyn's lips quivered in fury, her eyes blazing. "Did Verena buy you off?"

Elmore smirked, arrogance dripping from his expression. "Sorry, Miss Fuller. My loyalty follows only the highest bidder."

"You!" Katelyn sputtered, rage choking her words.

Verena let the ropes slip from her wrists, turning her steady gaze toward Katelyn. "Katelyn, did you truly believe your plan was foolproof?"

With a scoff, she continued slowly, each word deliberate, "Every move you made was already under Isaac's and my control. Didn't you declare that both of us would die? Well, here's the bitter truth-you failed. Neither of us will perish. Isaac and I will live on, and we'll spend the rest of our days cherishing one another."

Verena paused for two measured beats, lifting her chin, her gaze sharp as a drawn sword. "And you-Shoildon's proud heiress-will become a criminal branded for life. You hired killers, and prison will be your mansion now. Isn't that a cruel twist of fate?"

Hearing Verena lay bare her ruined schemes and predict her miserable fate, Katelyn's eyes reddened,veins of fury running through them.

Even now, she refused to believe that her carefully laid net had unraveled completely.

But denial could not change reality.

Every step had been foreseen by Verena; Katelyn had been nothing more than a puppet dancing on strings.

Would she bow her head and admit defeat?

No.

Never.

She had to find a way to turn the tide, to clear her name at all costs.

A crooked smile crept across her lips, twisting her face into something both desperate and deranged.

For all of Verena's wit, she could never have guessed that Katelyn had kept one final card up her sleeve.

Suddenly, Katelyn thrust a finger toward Elmore, her voice shrill with feigned panic. "Elmore! Why did you kidnap Verena?"

Then,whirling toward Verena, she cried out, "Verena,Kaia told me you were taken by Elmore. I came to rescue you, not to harm you! I was about to cut the ropes with the knife to free you. You've misunderstood everything. I never hired anyone to kill. You have no evidence-mere words cannot condemn me. I truly came to save you! If you don't trust me, ask Kaia!"