“Oh, you're finally leaving?"

I was in Ronan’s room packing away his things when Daphne appeared. She was wearing a silk nightgown, a bright red mark on her neck.

"I still don’t get it. Leo only has eyes for me yet, you still held the title of Mrs. Edwards,” Daphne said again.

I ignored her and kept folding Ronan’s drawings.

She rubbed her belly, as she continued to show off. “Last night Leo said once our baby is born, everything the Edwards have will be his.”

When I gave no reaction, she wasn’t pleased. So, she stomped on the drawings I’d just folded, grinding them under her heel. “The houses that used to be under Ronan’s name, they’ll belong to my child too.”

I picked up a craft knife and plunged it hard into the top of her foot.

“Ah!” Daphne screamed.

I grabbed her hair and forced her to look at me. “Proud of yourself, are you? After killing so many people... did you ever think there’d never be payback?”

Her face flickered with panic. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Stop your pretend,” I said, staring her down. “I know everything.”

She suddenly laughed triumphantly. “So what if you know? Who’ll believe you? They all wanted to stop me and Leo from being together, they deserve to die!”

She added, “You deserve to die too. I kept you around just so you could take the fall for me. Now you’re useless.”

Daphne then took a candy from her pocket, unwrapped it and popped it in her mouth. Then she shoved the wrapper into my hand. In the next instant I could see her lips turn black.

She staggered out, screaming, “Help! Violet is trying to poison me!”

Leonardo burst in and grabbed Daphne. “Daphne, are you okay?”

She leaned weakly into his arms, tears in her eyes. “Leo, I don't think I can’t stay with you anymore…”

Leonardo glared at me, eyes bloodshot. “Violet, you’ve gone too far! Apologize to her!”

I watched him coldly. “She ate the poisoned candy herself.”

“Bring her to Central Plaza and make her kneel and apologize in public!” he ordered his men.

***

Soon, they forced me to my knees on the cold floor of Central Plaza. The bodyguards read aloud "my apology” for poisoning Daphne. Familiar faces pointed and whispered. The look of contempt, questions, insults... they were all so painful that I felt suffocated.

A few police officers stepped forward. “You’re suspected of intentional murder. Come with us.”

I pulled out a mocking smile.

"Leonardo, you thought I killed your grandma, but you did nothing to investigate more. You thought I hurt your parents, but you never called the police. Now Daphne got “poisoned” and you’re so eager to throw me in jail?" I thought.

After the interrogation I ran into Daphne again. This time, she was in handcuffs. When that woman saw me, the hatred in her eyes could have torn me apart.

Leonardo immediately rushed over, “Get the complaint withdrawn! Daphne’s so weak right now! She can’t be arrested!”

I took out my diary and tapped his chest lightly. “Leonardo, see you in court tomorrow.”

“Violet, stop making a scene.” Leonardo furrowed his brow and looked at me. “Is it because I was being a little nice to Daphne? You can be jealous, but there’s a limit.”

I was in the defendant’s dock. Daphne sat there, stammering and glancing toward Leonardo.

He coneinued, “What, drag this into court? Not satisfied with putting on a show alone so now you need everyone to watch? Withdraw this suit and go home!”

I didn’t look at him. I picked up the diary and read it aloud.

“Daphne damaged the railing, causing Grandma Gillian to fall to her death; she replaced pain medication with vitamins, causing my mother-in-law Everly to have a fatal allergic reaction…”

“Daphne sabotaged the car brakes, causing my father-in-law Zach’s fatal crash.”

“Daphne sprayed a conductive liquid on the floor lamp cord in his elder brother’s study, electrocuting Uncle Hugo to death.”

“Daphne intentionally caused a gas leak, leading to my sister-in-law Grace’s gas explosion and death.”

With every line I read, the courtroom air grew heavier. Each bloody truth I revealed drained color from Leonardo’s face. He moved from initial rage, to disbelief, to a hollow bewilderment now teetering on the edge of collapse.

His gaze fell on me, his lips moved, but no word came. Those eyes that had once burned with hatred were now filled with a vast, empty silence.

I closed my diary with a sharp snap that echoed in the still courtroom. I finally fixed my gaze fully on Leonardo and asked with determination.

“Leonardo, now, do you still think I’m just jealous, that I’m just causing trouble?”

When I finished the thirteenth entry, he abruptly stood up. “What are you talking about?” he demanded through his pale complexion. his stare was full of shock and fury nearly spilling out.

“That diary of yours IS your plan to kill Daphne. Now, how did it turn into her list of actions in murdering my family? You’re really jealous enough to come up with this?” he insisted.

I chuckled. “I married you to repay a debt to Grandma Gillian. Why would you think I was acting out of jealousy? Leo, all that I read was my hypothesized ‘death diary.’”

“Leo…” Daphne’s sobs broke the the solemn courtroom. She wept, mascara streaking her cheeks, shoulders trembling. “Don’t believe her! She’s always like this! She’ll make lies to frame me.”

“She couldn’t poison me, so now she wants to frame me for murder! I love you so much, Leo… I don’t want anything else. I just want to stay by your side. Why won’t she let me be?” she sounded sad.

I interrupted coldly. “Save the act. This is a court of law. Whining and playing the victim won’t work.”

Daphne wiped her tears, eyes openly defiant. “Vi, you say I killed those people. Where’s the evidence? Your claims have no proof. I’m being falsely accused! Can’t I even speak for myself?”

Watching her calm, composed defiance, everything suddenly became clear to me.

Ah, of course she wasn’t afraid. She thought every piece of evidence I had painstakingly collected had been destroyed by Leonardo, by the man sitting before me.

The dam of memory burst open and the burning pain of it crept back to my fingertips. It was the seventh day after my father-in-law Zach’s accident. I had found Daphne’s contact her people outside and destroyed the cctv recordings and photos showing the brake sabotage.

I thought the truth would finally come out at that time. So, I turned to pack my things, planning to leave.

Daphne, nearly naked, had stumbled to Leonardo’s feet, crying as if she was utterly heartbroken.

“Leo, she’s lost it! She hired someone… she had me defiled and took pictures. She says if I don’t admit to killing Dad, she’ll publish those photos and you’ll despise me!”

Amid her cries and my frantic explanations, Leonardo’s eyes were bloodshot. He snatched the evidence from my hands and hurled it into the fireplace. The flames leapt up and swallowed my hope.

Daphne’s sickening voice cut off from my memory roll. “Your Honor, I also have evidence proving how Violet schemed to kill people, forge evidence and frame me.”