Chapter 196

Katelyn had a backup plan. She had feared that if she killed Verena and the matter was ever pursued,fleeing abroad would be as useless as running in circles.

She knew her butler valued his son above all else, so she lured him with silver and promises, offering wealth and prosperity for his son's family.

The bargain was clear: if things went awry, the butler alone would shoulder the blame.

Temptation often blinds judgment, and the butler accepted without much hesitation.

Besides, it was the butler who had mostly dealt with Elmore.

As far as Katelyn was concerned, she had clean hands-no thread for the police to unravel. Watching her desperate attempt to escape punishment, Verena narrowed her eyes.

She saw plainly that Katelyn was not strong but merely drowning in her own failure, hiding despair and fear behind a mask of frenzy and feigned bravado.

Verena did not let her savor those delusions. She pierced the bubble without mercy.

"You imagine Kaia would still rush to your rescue now? She isn't like you, hardened by deceit. She's naive, yes-but not so blind as to stain her hands with crime."

Verena's lips curved in a wry smile. "You say you came to save me? That's laughable. Do you think everyone is witless, unable to guard evidence? Kaia recorded every word of your dealings with her. And your butler-the one you believed would gallantly take the fall-I already hold proof of your transactions and your scheme of hiring hitmen."

As if recalling something, Verena cast her gaze around the factory. "Ah, I nearly forgot. From the moment you stepped inside, every word, every move was caught on camera. You can neither flee nor wash your name clean."

A faint smile touched her face as she added slowly,"But take comfort-though you wished for my death,I won't grant you the mercy of dying. Death would free you too easily. Instead, you'll waste away in prison until the end of your days."

Her mocking gaze fell upon Katelyn.

From Verena's eyes, Katelyn read nothing but contempt and cold superiority, as though she were a mere insect pinned beneath glass.

"No...no..."

Katelyn shook her head violently, whispering like someone possessed, "This can't be, I won't lose...I won't lose."

Her chest rose and fell in ragged waves as she staggered backward. She clawed at her hair with both hands, desperate to wake from what felt like a nightmare.

But the tearing pain on her scalp drove home the cruel truth-this nightmare was real.

She had lost.

The realization cracked her completely.

She bent low, cursing under her breath, and then broke into a wild, jagged laugh, her figure trembling like a puppet on broken strings.

Abruptly, the laughter cut off. She jerked her head up, eyes blazing at Verena.

Those bloodshot eyes seemed on the verge of bursting, her features twisted like a demon's mask.

"Verena, do you think this will make me bow my head?"

Her rasping voice echoed through the vast factory,chilling the air itself.

Her gaze darted to the knife glinting on the floor, anda deranged smile tugged at her lips.

"As long as you're dead, I haven't lost!"

She lunged down, snatched the knife, and clutched it in her left hand, raising it high to drive it into Verena's chest.

But the police were quicker than her madness.

Bang-bang-bang!

Gunfire cracked through the factory, deafening and absolute.

Three bullets tore into her arm and shoulder.

Agony ripped through her, and the knife flew from her grasp.

The searing pain spread like lightning, blood gushing down her arm, dyeing her white coat into a grotesque red shroud.

Her vision wavered, legs faltering beneath her.

With a heavy thud, she collapsed unconscious onto the floor.