Chapter 122: The Culprit

For one impossible moment, it almost felt as though Kristoff could see her—that he somehow knew who had truly saved their son.

Instead, a weary smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

He reached out and gently stroked the puppy’s smooth metallic head covered with white fur.

"Thank you," he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. "You saved my son."

His fingers lingered for a moment before he let out a shaky laugh.

"Looks like every cent I spent on you was worth it after all."

A bittersweet smile trembled across Isobel’s lips as tears blurred her vision.

"If only you knew," she whispered to the screen.

"It wasn’t the robot who refused to let our son die. It was his mother."

...

Minutes later, the rhythmic thump of helicopter blades shook the mansion.

The medical team burst into the nursery, and within moments Kristoff was hurrying after them, Alexander held protectively against his chest as they rushed toward the waiting aircraft.

The room fell eerily silent.

Charlotte remained where she was, rooted to the spot.

The silence pressed against her ears.

Slowly, her gaze drifted to the oversized teddy bear lying crumpled on the floor—the same bear that should have been the end of Alexander.

Her fingers curled into tight fists.

How...?

How could he still be alive?

Her jaw tightened. Everything had gone perfectly. The nanny had been asleep. The baby monitor had been disabled.

No one should have reached him in time. No one.

Yet somehow... he survived.

Her eyes swept across the nursery until they landed on the small white robotic puppy sitting innocently beside the crib.

The toy looked harmless. It was cute and looked realistic.

She walked toward it with measured, unhurried steps, every movement hiding the fury boiling beneath her skin.

The moment she picked it up, the puppy’s tail wagged happily. Its bright eyes blinked up at her with innocent affection.

A cheerful electronic bark escaped its tiny speaker.

Charlotte stared into its glassy eyes.

Her grip tightened.

"You..." she whispered, her voice trembling with barely restrained hatred.

"You ruined everything."

The puppy tilted its head, as though trying to understand her. Its tail wagged even faster.

The innocent gesture only fueled the venom flooding Charlotte’s veins.

A murderous gleam flashed across her eyes.

For one terrifying moment, she wanted nothing more than to rip the machine apart with her bare hands—tear out every circuit, crush every sensor, reduce it to a pile of shattered plastic.

This ridiculous toy... This worthless little machine... Had destroyed a plan she had executed to perfection.

Her lips curled into a smile devoid of warmth.

"Enjoy your little victory," she murmured softly, her voice almost tender.

"It won’t happen again."

She set the puppy back into the crib with deceptive gentleness.

The robotic dog barked happily, unaware that it had just made itself the next target.

...

The puppy gave another cheerful bark. Charlotte’s smile never wavered.

Destroying it inside the nursery would be foolish. The entire mansion would be crawling with police officers, doctors, and security personnel after an incident like this. Every camera would be reviewed. Every servant questioned.

She had survived this long because she was patient. And patience had always rewarded her.

She reached down and lovingly straightened the puppy’s little blue ribbon as if she were simply tidying Alexander’s toys.

"Good dog," she cooed softly.

Anyone walking into the room at that moment would have seen nothing more than a concerned mother fussing over her son’s belongings.

Only the coldness in her eyes betrayed the truth.

You won’t be wagging that tail for much longer.

She cast one last glance around the nursery, making certain she had left nothing behind that could tie her to what had happened. The oversized teddy bear still lay where it had fallen, a silent reminder of her failure.

One mistake, she thought bitterly. I underestimated a toy.

Her nails dug into her palms until crescents of pain bloomed beneath her skin.

No... Not a toy. Something about that robotic puppy wasn’t normal.

Its response had been too fast. Too precise.

Almost...intentional.

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed.

"I’ll find out what you are," she whispered. "And when I do..."

"Auntie, I am Alexander’s KitKat." The puppy said in a cute human voice.

"You ..."

The unfinished threat hung in the empty nursery.

Then she turned on her heel and walked out, closing the door behind her with quiet elegance.

The instant the door shut, the puppy’s bright blue eyes flickered.

A tiny green indicator blinked once.

REMOTE CONNECTION: ACTIVE.

...

In the Foster mansion, Isobel watched Charlotte disappear from the live video feed.

Her expression hardened. She had seen the hatred in Charlotte’s eyes.

She knew that look. She has seen a lot in the orphanage.

But why? She did not understand.

Isobel’s expression darkened. She reopened the surveillance recording and dragged the timeline back to the beginning.

"No..." she murmured. "This wasn’t an accident."

The footage rolled.

She watched every second with painstaking attention, refusing to miss even the smallest detail.

The nanny entered. She checked on Alexander. There was nothing unusual.

Then, moments later, Charlotte walked into the nursery carrying an enormous teddy bear.

Isobel frowned.

At first glance, there was nothing suspicious about it. It looked like any expensive, oversized plush toy a wealthy family might buy for a child.

She almost skipped ahead.

Then Charlotte gave the teddy bear to the maid, who gently laid it beside Alexander.

Isobel froze.

Her finger hovered over the mouse.

"Wait..."

She rewound the footage.

Again. And again.

The teddy bear itself wasn’t the problem.

It was where the nanny had placed it.

The massive plush toy had been propped against the side of the crib at just the right angle. It leaned precariously over the sleeping infant, its weight barely supported by the crib rail.

Isobel’s pulse quickened.

She watched the nanny give the bear one last, almost imperceptible nudge before walking away.

It wasn’t enough to make it fall immediately, but just enough to ensure that the slightest movement...

...or the gradual shift of gravity would send the heavy toy toppling onto Alexander.

A chill crawled down Isobel’s spine.

"It wasn’t negligence," she whispered, horror filling her voice. "It was deliberate."

Her eyes narrowed into icy slits as the recording continued to play.

Charlotte hadn’t left a weapon in the crib.

She had left a trap.

One designed to look like nothing more than a tragic accident.

Isobel slowly closed the monitoring window, her heartbeat finally beginning to steady.

"She already tried once," she whispered.

"She’ll try again."