Chapter 293: School Bullying

Chapter 293: Chapter 293: School Bullying

Even though she knew it was a huge trap and that the two of them meant her nothing but harm, Yvonne Wayne still gritted her teeth and followed them for the money.

’It’s broad daylight, and there are cameras everywhere,’ she thought. ’They wouldn’t dare try anything.’

But the path grew more and more secluded. Yvonne Wayne’s mind, which had felt clouded before, suddenly cleared. She grew afraid they really meant her harm. Watching the woman leading the way in front of her, she was just about to make an excuse to turn back.

But before she could say a word, a hand shot out from behind and clamped tightly over her mouth and nose.

The drug on the handkerchief quickly took effect. Yvonne Wayne’s eyes rolled back, and she passed out.

When she woke up again, she had been taken to a dim room and locked inside.

For four whole days, she was kept alive on just a few sips of water and a couple of small bread rolls each day.

During that time, she also endured beatings and verbal abuse from the woman.

It was also during this time that she learned of their plan and the news of the pet-sitter’s death.

Later, the two of them began to brazenly discuss, right in front of her, their plan to make her confess to the murder.

At first, Yvonne Wayne refused, but then they produced information and photos of her two family members, who were currently in the hospital.

Yvonne Wayne was truly terrified. She was afraid these two deranged people would go after them.

Just as she was about to agree to take the blame, Hayden Shaw burst in with his team, arrested them all, and brought them back to the station.

"So, you were afraid they would harm your boyfriend and child, so you chose to take the fall? Do you take the police for fools? We have all sorts of ways to verify whether you’re the actual killer. If you had really been locked up, you would’ve also been arrested for obstructing a police investigation.

Besides, if you were really in trouble, you could have told us, instead of foolishly agreeing to their demands." Evan Keller’s expression as he looked at Yvonne Wayne was a mixture of helplessness and exasperation.

’What do they take the law for? A toy they can change whenever they feel like it?’

Yvonne Wayne’s expression became flustered. She looked at Evan Keller, wanting to explain.

But before she could speak, Evan Keller raised a hand to stop her. "Alright, that’s enough. You haven’t actually committed a crime. We’ll just have to give you a lecture later, so don’t worry too much." Seeing how terrified and uneasy Yvonne Wayne looked, Evan Keller thought for a moment and decided to offer her some comfort.

But comforting words aside, there were still questions that needed to be asked.

"Tell me, what’s your relationship with the other two?" Evan Keller knocked on the table again, drawing Yvonne Wayne’s attention back to him.

"We were high school classmates, but they were in a clique. They liked to use their family’s wealth to bully kids from poor families, like me." Yvonne Wayne’s expression held a trace of resentment, but more than that, it was filled with fear.

As she spoke, Yvonne Wayne’s fists were clenched, and her body trembled slightly, her fear palpable.

"School bullying? Did it ever escalate to physical harm?" Evan Keller asked with a frown.

Yvonne Wayne shook her head. "No, they weren’t that stupid. If they actually got physical, it would leave marks that other people could see. ℯ

That would have ruined the good-student image they maintained in front of the teachers."

At this, Yvonne Wayne paused, then looked up, staring at Evan Keller. "You know about verbal bullying, right? Where they belittle every part of you, and then use the vilest language to flay you alive, piece by piece.

In my first year of high school, I developed earlier than the other students. That’s when the two of them started targeting me.

They slut-shamed me, got all the other students to isolate me, and photoshopped obviously fake pictures of me to spread around the entire school."

A pained look crossed Yvonne Wayne’s face. That period of her life had been incredibly difficult to endure.

She had thought that was the worst they could do, but she hadn’t expected that in her second year, the guy in their clique would set his sights on her.

He was always looking for opportunities to grope her, and after she rejected him several times, he seemed to fly into a rage. The targeted harassment against her only intensified.

By the time the college entrance exams came around, Yvonne Wayne thought she would finally be free of their torment.

But unexpectedly, the day before the exams, her own parents tied her up at home and only let her out after they were over.

It was only later that Yvonne Wayne found out that the girl from the clique, Lynn Shawcross, had bribed her parents to stop her from taking the exams.

"I’m going to make sure you rot in the mud forever. If you dare to repeat the year, I’ll dare to do it again.

Who told you to use that face to seduce my man." Yvonne had rushed over to confront her on the day of their class reunion.

Unexpectedly, she was held down by the others in the group. Lynn Shawcross went even further, grabbing her by the neck and saying with a smile, "Yvonne Wayne, you should know, I have plenty of ways to make sure you have a ’little accident.’ Nothing that will break any bones, but just enough to make you miss your exams."

Yvonne Wayne knew Lynn Shawcross wasn’t joking, and she didn’t want to waste any more of her time on it.

So she just took her ID, left home to find work, and supported herself, gradually cutting off all contact with her parents.

Then, three years ago, she met her current boyfriend. They fell in love, and she soon became pregnant.

However, both her boyfriend and her child were in poor health, constantly getting sick and needing to be hospitalized.

Yvonne Wayne had spent the last two years working constantly to pay for their medical bills.

She never expected to run into those two again, much less get inexplicably dragged into this whole mess.

Evan Keller looked at Yvonne Wayne’s statement, nodded slightly, and asked one last question. "Your current apartment, did you find it yourself? Or did someone recommend it to you?"

Yvonne Wayne was confused by the question, but she answered honestly. "No, I was working a temp job when I overheard some coworkers talking about how the rent in this area was cheap, and that they were planning to go take a look in a few days.

I happened to be looking for a cheaper place at the time, so I jotted down the address. When I went to see it, it seemed decent enough, so I took it."

Money was extremely tight back then. Even though she vaguely suspected something was fishy, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and move in.

After all, so much time had passed that it would be impossible for Yvonne Wayne to recall what that coworker looked like now.

She never returned to that part-time job, so she had no idea what became of the coworker who had mentioned it.

Evan Keller was now certain. ’This was a setup, one that had been meticulously planned for years with Yvonne Wayne as the target.’

"Captain Keller, we have a new finding on the deceased," Officer Lee said, pushing open the interrogation room door, knocking, and calling out to Evan Keller inside.

"Got it. I’m on my way."