Chapter 3
But I didn't expect Frederic to give me a damn look.
He pushed me away and brushed his shirt off in disgust.
It's like touching something dirty.
"Ninette, you didn't even call the police last night, you were just acting in front of me."
"Stop lying to us. Everyone here is your family. As long as you plead guilty and confess, you'll still be my wife and the mother of my daughter after you are released from prison."
My mind went blank in an instant.
I swept my gaze over my daughter in front of me. She also slept in the mourning hall last night, so she must have heard me calling the police.
"Freya, can you tell everyone that I called the police last night?"
"Since ... she's a child, she can't lie. Freya, tell them, did your mom call the police last night?"
I was so anxious that my voice was tinged with tears.
But my daughter, Freya Houten, just glanced at me in fear.
Turned around and hid behind her father.
"I don't want a murderer mom! I don't want a murderer mom!"
"It's your fault, you're the one who killed Grandpa and Grandma. I don't want to see you ...."
"Daddy said someone who does wrong must be punished, but why is Mommy still here?"
"Shame on you!"
I trembled as I opened my phone, trying to find the call record of calling the police last night.
But the original 110 had become a private number and it was no longer in service when I called it.
I felt like I was struck by lightning. I stood there in shock.
My relatives around were completely furious.
"Ninette, how long are you going to keep pretending? Even your husband and daughter aren't on your side!"
"Wake up! You killed your own parents and you will get your retribution sooner or later!"
"See, children won't lie, so what are you doing now? Call the police, call the police now ... let them arrest you and put you in jail!"
My face turned pale, my hands tightly covering my head and I suffered a mental breakdown.
I didn't understand how things had come to this point.
I had already canceled the funeral.
And I called the police last night.
"It's not me, it's really not me—"
"They're my biological parents. Why would I do that? I have no motive at all!"
As soon as the words fell, Frederic took out a document and placed it in front of everyone.
"This is your motivation."
"Everyone, please take a look! Before my parents-in-law passed away, they asked someone to notarize the will. Most of the inheritance was given to me and Freya and only a small half given to Ninette."
"She, as their one and only daughter, she objects to their will. Besides, I also found surveillance footage of her retrieving the will."
Frederic's tone was firm and his gaze towards me was as cold as a stranger's.
Waited until the relatives' gazes fall on the will.
He also took out the inspection record of the accident vehicle.
"I also have this record. Only Ninette has ever driven her parents' car and the cause of the accident was brake failure. Everyone should understand the rest, so I don't need to say more."
The hall was suddenly in silence.
The gaze everyone directed to me was like a sharp knife, which was about to tear me to pieces.
I widened my eyes as I stared at Frederic in disbelief.
I had never seen what he was holding in his hand.
So it was even more impossible for me to retrieve the will!
Besides, my mother and father even assured me that they would never make a will!
I didn't know why the woman on the surveillance footage in his hand looked exactly like me.
But no one at the hall listened to my explanation.
When we were arguing, my parents' bodies had already been cremated.
I was about to step forward and help them with their burial arrangements.
Chapter 4
Some relatives rushed over and immediately knocked me down to the ground.
They even spat over me.
"A murderer like you has no right to bury them, get out of here!"
"You're an ungrateful daughter who deserves death. You're a beast."
"You're worse than animals. Even your own daughter doesn't recognize you. What's the point of you grabbing so much inheritance? No one will carry your body when you die!"
Soon, the two elderly relatives left the hall holding my parents' ashes.
I struggled to get up and follow them along.
But the next second, I got another kick to my body.
This time, it was Frederic.
A group of people stepped on me and the pure white mourning clothes instantly turned dirty and messy.
The smell of blood spread wildly in my mouth.
I tried hard not to let the tears fall.
Put all my hopes on the police to investigate the death case of my parents.
As long as it was proven that the evidence in Frederic's hand was forged, I would be cleared of any charges.
But what was even more terrifying was, I still had no clue about the real culprit!
As the ashes lay buried, I reflected on all the information I had gained since my reborn.
I called the police again while everyone was not paying attention to me.
After the burial, all relatives gathered around Frederic and Freya.
They praised them for their justice and righteousness, which destroyed the family ties.
"Thank goodness, the Schmidts has you as a son-in-law, otherwise Jeanette and Bernard would not be able to rest in peace in heaven!"
"As a son-in-law, you are hundreds of times better than Ninette, their own daughter."
"Both her own parents passed away, but she just stood there like a dead person, without even shedding a tear. What a heartless daughter!"
Then, when the group of people walked to the door of the funeral home, they ran into the police who arrived.
"Who called the police?"
"It's me."
I stood up resolutely.
"Didn't you say I'm a murderer? Let the police do the investigation. As long as I'm found guilty in the investigation, I won't say anything."
The relatives were instantly angry.
"What are you pretending for? Do you think you can clear yourself of guilty just by shouting "a murderer" to others? Dream on!"
"I'm telling you, even you're the one who called the police, you can't escape imprisonment."
"Don't waste everyone's time here, we are all busy, who would want to fool around with you?"
Some people rushed over and tried to attack me.
The police got off the car and quickly stopped them.
"Enough! Quiet down!"
"Who called the police for a murder case?"
I took a deep breath and stood facing the crowd.
"It's me. They accused me of killing my parents, so I called the police for investigation."
"Also, I suspect the evidence in Frederic's hand is forged. Please clear my name as soon as possible!"
Seeing me being righteous, the curses grew louder and louder.
The police officer nodded in understanding.
One by one, they questioned my relatives at the scene.
However, since my relatives lived in the countryside, they had no idea about my parents’ living conditions.
Until the police asked my daughter, Freya.
She burst into tears in an instant.
"My mom often complains that my grandpa and grandma are old and troublesome and orders me to use the excuse of paying schoold fees to ask my grandpa and grandma for money."
"If I refuse her order, my mom will hit me and scold me. I don't know why she became such an evil and terrible woman. Please help my grandparents. They are the best one in this world for me."
Even my husband agreed.
"Every time I go home to visit my family, Ninette would ask me for money from my mother-in-law, using the excuse that our family doesn't have enough living expenses. If I don't give her money, she would steal her mother's jewelry. My mother-in-law had a lot of jewelries and she had already stolen half of it."
"My daughter didn't lie, please believe her. It won't do her any good to frame her own mother."
My nails pinched my palm fiercely and blood dripped.
Chapter 5
The daughter I gave birth to and raised with my own hands had now become a sharp knife stabbing me.
Thinking of the evidence in Frederic's hands was still under investigation, I forced myself to calm down and hold back my tears.
Soon after two hours waiting, I completely broke down.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Houten. Mr. Houten's evidence is all valid. The surveillance footage shows when and where you appeared and it matches your dashcam recorder perfectly."
"Not only that, an unsent text message was found on your mother's phone."
The next second, my mother's phone was handed to me, with four big words on the screen.
[Please be careful, Ninette.]
Frederic had an expression as if he had expected this.
The five-years-old Freya who couldn't understand what the police said to her, was busy clapping and cheering at the moment.
"Yeay ... bad mommy is going to jail! Grandpa and Grandma are going to be innocent!"
"What goes around comes around!"
My whole body went limp, my legs lost strength that I fell to my knees.
"How is that possible? I've never been there ...."
"And why did my mom send this message?"
"Hasn't she finished typing yet? Did my mom want to remind me to be careful of the real culprit? Please, can you find a way to investigate? I really haven't done it ...."
The anger instantly appeared on Frederic's face and he kicked me on the shoulder.
"That's enough! How long are you going to keep messing around?"
"If you said your parents' letter was fake and your mom's text message identifying the murderer before she died was fake, then what is real? The fact that you killed your parents with your own hands is real!"
"Ninette, I was so blind. Why did I fall for you in the first place? I will divorce you as soon as you go to prison and I won't ever allow you to see Freya."
"A murderer is not worthy to be the mother of my daughter."
Meanwhile, a group of relatives were busy standing under the tree taking pictures.
Uploading my photos to social media and cursing me as a murderer.
Then they were about to leave the hall one by one.
Only Frederic stood there, busy contacting major media reporters and preparing to expose my shameless face.
Until the police were also preparing to close the case, I rushed forward and blocked their way to the car.
"No, the matter hasn't been clarified yet, you can't leave!"
The leading police officer's face turned cold.
"Ms. Houten, let me correct you. It's not that we're leaving you, but that we're taking you with us."
"Do you have anything else to say? If not, just get in the car!"
My eyes swept across everyone's faces.
My mind was racing with thoughts.
All the experiences I had in my past and present life kept appearing before my eyes.
All the details I had overlooked became incredibly clear at this moment.
Car accident, inspection records, the letter and the will.
My gaze swept over the figures of Frederic and our daughter and a white light flashed through my mind.
Rushed forward and slammed the car door.
"Wait! I know who the murderer is!"