Another rumble of thunder made Nora's heart race like a drum. She jumped out of bed and hurried to sit beside the newly declared murderer, panic etched on her face. It seemed as though the destructive violence of nature outside mirrored the looming danger approaching the lives of the mother—daughter duo.

"Olivia, wake up. Please wake up," she pleaded, her voice trembling as she gently patted Olivia's cheeks in an attempt to revive her. Panic deepened when she touched Olivia's palms and feet, her eyes widening in fear-they were ice-cold, almost frozen. Without wasting a moment, Nora began rubbing Olivia's frozen hands and feet, one by one, hoping to restore warmth and consciousness.

But after a couple of minutes, when she noticed that Olivia's cold, numb body didn't respond, an unknown fear crept into her heart without her realizing it. She refused to entertain any bad thoughts about Olivia's condition. To steady her mind, she whispered to herself with a hint of confidence in her voice, "No, you can't give up easily. You have to wake up, no matter what."

After saying that, she got up from the bed and ran to her writing desk, where a bottle of water was placed. She grabbed the bottle, returned to the bed, and opened the cap. Then, she began sprinkling water droplets all over Olivia's face, calling her name repeatedly in an attempt to bring her back to consciousness.

As a result, after a few minutes, Olivia's eyebrows twitched, and her eyeballs began to move slowly beneath her closed eyelids. Seeing this, a faint, weakened smile appeared on Nora's dread-filled face. She leaned closer and called Olivia's name again, this time with a slightly louder and clearer voice.

"Olivia, wake up. Please, wake up."

Olivia's eyelids fluttered open, her vision blurry as she struggled to comprehend her surroundings. Her chest heaved, shallow breaths escaping her lips as though she were gasping for air. Her heart pounded rapidly, each beat reverberating in her ears, nearly drowning out the faint, lingering 'piiiii' sound echoing in her head.

She blinked several times, trying to focus, her brows furrowing in confusion. A tremor ran through her body, and her fingers trembled as she instinctively reached out for something to hold onto, finally gripping the bedsheet tightly. Her skin felt cold and damp, beads of sweat forming along her hairline.

"What... what happened?" she stammered, her voice weak and unsteady, barely audible. She pressed her trembling right hand to her forehead, wincing at the dull ache throbbing behind her temples.

Her muscles felt heavy and sluggish, her limbs weak as if they had momentarily forgotten how to move. Drawing in a shaky breath to steady herself, the shock lingered, her wide, dilated eyes darting back and forth as if trying to piece together the fragments of reality she had just re-entered.

Nora sat beside Olivia on the bed, crouching slightly as she gently took Olivia's right hand, rubbing it in soothing circles to help her regain full awareness. Olivia blinked again, the panic slowly fading from her features, though her left hand remained clenched tightly in the bedsheet, her knuckles white with tension. The weight of the news she had received lingered, a sharp ache in her chest making her breath shallow and uneven.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you hear me?" Nora asked in a stuttering voice, her worry for Olivia evident.

"Yes," Olivia whispered in reply, her breaths heavy.

"Thank God!" Nora exclaimed, placing her right palm over her heart and releasing a deep sigh of relief after hearing Olivia's answer.

"Now try to get up and drink this water; you'll feel better," Nora said, helping Olivia's nearly numb body sit up properly on the bed and handing her the bottle.

Olivia grabbed it and took a few sips, wetting her dehydrated throat, which had felt as dry as a desert after receiving the shocking news. After drinking, Olivia began to calm her racing heart by taking deep breaths, her eyes closing in the process.

As a result, there was a pin-drop silence as Nora gave Olivia some time to mentally prepare herself to hear the rest of the news. She knew it was Olivia who could change her fate, and her mother's as well. Olivia would have to make another of the hardest decisions of her life, one that could shape her future in significant ways.

On the other hand, Olivia seemed to understand Nora's unspoken thoughts, as if some kind of telepathy was at work, helping them understand each other without words.

A few more minutes passed in silence. Then Olivia reached out and grabbed Nora's hand with her trembling right palm, her heart pounding in her chest. Finally, she spoke the words Nora had been desperately waiting to hear.

"Tell me what happened to my mother after my surrender. I want to know everything in detail." She paused, locking eyes with Nora, and then, with a new spark of fire in her eyes, finished her sentence. "I'm ready to hear the truth."

Nora noticed how Olivia was doing her best to control her fear, trying to build confidence within herself. Although her body still trembled, her eyes conveyed that she was mentally prepared to face whatever came her way.

Nora nodded in response, placing her other hand over Olivia's trembling one in an act of support. She then began to explain every incident that had occurred with Olivia's mother just a few hours ago.

***

Evelyn collapsed to the floor, her face pale, as the truth behind Vinson's death hit her. The thud of her fall echoed in the holding cell, and she sat there, fragile and shaken, resembling a broken doll.

"Mrs. Taylor!" Mr. Collins exclaimed in a worried voice as he hurriedly stood up, causing the chair to fall on the floor with another loud thud. The noise drew the attention of two female officers, who rushed in with concerned expressions.

"Open the door!" Mr. Collins commanded. One of the female officers quickly obeyed, and the three of them entered the holding cell with hurried steps, sitting down beside her.

Mr. Collins grabbed Evelyn's shoulders and shook her gently as he asked, "Mrs. Taylor, are you okay? Can you hear me? Mrs. Taylor, do you...?" He stopped mid-sentence when Evelyn shifted her gaze toward him, her eyes conveying a profound fear of losing someone.

In a low, trembling voice, she asked, "My daughter is a victim, Mr. Collins. Tell me, what should I do now?" As she finished, a tear slipped from the corner of her left eye, a poignant testament to a mother's fragile mental state.

The two female officers exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of what had actually happened. Meanwhile, Mr. Collins was left speechless by the question. His heart began to pound in fear of the unknown enemies who might have manipulated Leo and Olivia, planting delusions in their minds that ultimately led Olivia to kill her husband. Perhaps they were victims of a carefully orchestrated plan by someone—or a group of people.

"Mrs. Taylor, please, control your emotions. Otherwise, we won't be able to find a way to reach the real culprits. Are you hearing me?" Mr. Collins asked again, shaking her even more.

As a result, Evelyn came back to her senses and nodded in response. Mr. Collins withdrew his hands from her shoulders. Then, one of the female officers offered her a glass of water, which she had brought from the cell sink while Mr. Collins was busy waking Evelyn from her shocking state.

Evelyn took the glass and drank the water in one gulp. Then, she shifted her gaze toward the floor, gasping for breath, her eyes darting left to right as she fixed her stare on the cell's floor, trying to solve something. Mr. Collins was aware of this behavior, having noticed it in the past. He decided to help her troubled mind by providing all the details of the incidents.

"Mrs. Taylor, we need to find the people who orchestrated this game to satisfy their vile desires. Think carefully—who could be your common enemies? We can't suspect Leo and Edric, as their bodies are lying in the OCME Morgue. And if Vinson died two months ago, then whose body did Olivia see at dawn?"

Evelyn remained silent after hearing all the questions, but her eyes continued to dart across the floor like a spinning top, clearly indicating that she was analyzing the incidents to find a clue. Mr. Collins didn't stop either; he kept bombarding her with questions, hoping her sharp mind would identify the faceless enemy-or enemies.

"Olivia clearly confessed to you that she saw Vinson's dead body inside the garden storage bench, and that she killed her husband to avenge Vinson's tragic death. If that were true, then who died at the Lunar Skyline Tower? A person cannot die twice in two different places. And most importantly, where did the body from the garden storage bench go?" Mr. Collins finished his sentence and began rubbing his temples in frustration. However, his expression quickly shifted from frustration to shock when, a couple of minutes later, Evelyn responded.

"Vinson didn't die in the Lunar Skyline Tower," Evelyn said firmly. She lifted her head to meet Mr. Collins's gaze, her voice steady but laced with an edge of anger, her eyes blazing with both determination and fury as she declared, "Because he's alive—Vinson is alive!"

====================================

OCME Morgue = Office of Chief Medical Examiner's Morgue.