Novel Full Chapter 155: Five Years Ago Was Murder, Ms. Lowell, What Is Your Explanation
Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Five Years Ago Was Murder, Ms. Lowell, What Is Your Explanation
"AHH!! Shut up, shut up!!" Rose Lowell’s heart leaped into her throat. She knew what this person was about to say. She lunged forward like a madwoman, screaming, "Shut up! I said, shut up!"
Luke White quickly intercepted Rose Lowell as Owen Underwood continued, his voice trembling:
"The night of the fire, Ms. Lowell gave me five hundred thousand to bribe me. She told me that if anyone asked who started the fire, I was to give Estelle Lockwood’s name..."
"I... I wasn’t in my right mind. I didn’t mean to! I didn’t know anything had happened to Estelle Lockwood at the time!"
Next, a woman in her fifties spoke up. "I’m the head nurse of the obstetrics and gynecology department in Crestfall. Ms. Lowell said she was doing it for Estelle Lockwood’s own good. I... I thought a biological mother would never harm her own daughter, so I took all of Estelle Lockwood’s belongings and her diary and burned them..."
"I didn’t know Estelle Lockwood didn’t want to die! I thought she had really committed suicide! I really didn’t know!"
"It was all Rose Lowell! She made me do it!"
After that, more people came forward one by one, their voices trembling as they recounted the events of the night of the fire five years ago.
"That day, Rose Lowell furiously confronted Estelle Lockwood, trying to force her to have an abortion. Estelle Lockwood refused, and Rose Lowell slapped her twice. The fire started later that night..."
"Rose Lowell said Estelle Lockwood committed suicide. As outsiders, how could we have suspected her own mother?"
"I’m not an accomplice! I didn’t commit a crime! How was I supposed to know Estelle Lockwood didn’t start the fire? I didn’t commit perjury! You can’t blame me..."
Estelle Lockwood’s gaze swept over each of their faces.
She remembered them.
Five years ago, after her "death," these were the very people who had declared with absolute certainty: "Estelle Lockwood started the fire! We will not tolerate this!"
It was precisely because of their testimonies that the case was closed so quickly, and public opinion became so extreme.
Now, they were all weeping and wailing, claiming it wasn’t intentional, that they too had been deceived by Rose Lowell.
The nails they had driven into Estelle Lockwood’s coffin had boomeranged back, piercing themselves and Rose Lowell.
The doctors, nurses, lawyers, and others from back then all stood up to testify against Rose Lowell, causing an instant uproar.
Online, Noelle Lockwood’s fans could no longer control the comments section.
[So what really happened with that fire? Did Estelle Lockwood start it or not?]
[My guess is Estelle Lockwood was the victim! If she really started the fire, why would Rose Lowell bribe so many people to frame her? Why forge a suicide note?]
[But Rose Lowell is Estelle Lockwood’s biological mother! Her daughter died in a fire, and not only did she not investigate the truth, she pinned the crime of arson on her. What was her motive?]
[Biological mother? Would a real mother ignore her own daughter, Estelle Lockwood, force her to get an abortion, and slap her? Would she dote on her adopted daughter, Noelle Lockwood, with her entire being?]
[My family has some standing in Crestfall, and for the longest time, we didn’t even know Estelle Lockwood was the Lockwood Family’s biological daughter. Rose Lowell always seemed to despise her, publicly hitting or scolding her. If anyone asked, she’d say Estelle was an ill-behaved ’child of poor relatives.’ But when she talked about Noelle Lockwood, she looked as proud as if Noelle were her own great achievement.]
[I bet Rose Lowell resented her biological daughter for growing up in the countryside and hated her for coming back to snatch the heiress position from Noelle Lockwood. So this was the perfect opportunity, wasn’t it? A chance to get rid of the troublesome biological daughter, slander her name, and then hand over the Lockwood Family to Noelle Lockwood, all perfectly justified?]
[Yes, yes, I heard the Lockwood Family was planning to hand over the inheritance rights to Noelle Lockwood today.]
[Think about it—on the anniversary of their biological daughter’s death, these parents only had eyes for their adopted daughter. I’d say it’s highly likely they plotted to murder their own child!]
[Noelle Lockwood is really something else. An adopted daughter who stole the real heiress’s parents, stole the real heiress’s son, and led the whole family in ostracizing her. She wouldn’t even let her rest in peace.]
Noelle Lockwood’s fans were going crazy, their desperate and ugly attempts to defend her on full display.
[What does this have to do with Noelle! Noelle didn’t know anything!]
[Noelle is innocent and kind, how would she know about the twisted dealings of a rich family? If the real heiress wasn’t so gloomy and antisocial, why would everyone dislike her!]
But such voices were quickly drowned out.
Noelle Lockwood’s phone was blowing up. Her new agent, her assistant, the executives at her entertainment company—everyone was calling her frantically.
The online narrative was spiraling out of control!
No matter how much her fans tried to explain that ’Noelle Lockwood is innocent,’ it was a fact that Rose Lowell had framed her own daughter, and it was also a fact that Noelle Lockwood was the direct beneficiary!
On the scene, Rose Lowell’s expression was frantic. She felt dizzy as waves of panic flooded her mind. "No, it’s not— Nathaniel, listen to me..."
Rose Lowell’s voice was hoarse. "At the time, I... I really thought Estelle had committed suicide! I only resorted to such measures to keep things from escalating! Even... even if I forged the suicide note, I was still doing it for Estelle’s own good!"
"I thought Estelle had committed murder and arson. As her mother, didn’t I have to minimize the impact of the situation? So... so..."
Nathaniel Sloan lifted his eyes, his expression blank. "So, Ms. Lowell, you’re saying this was all just a misunderstanding? You mistakenly believed Estelle committed arson and suicide, and you did all this because you couldn’t bear to let the situation escalate and see her criticized further?"
Rose Lowell’s eyes lit up. Completely oblivious to the trap in Nathaniel Sloan’s words, she leaped right into it.
"Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I mean!"
"Then, Ms. Lowell."
Nathaniel Sloan’s expression didn’t even flicker. "Why, then, did you destroy the evidence of the flammable chemicals found in the delivery room before I arrived?"
His words struck Rose Lowell like a bolt of lightning.
"An excellent question! Where did the flammable chemicals in the delivery room come from? Estelle was about to go into labor. She had neither the time nor the energy to set all that up!"
A woman’s voice cut through the air. Mrs. Kendrick, Eleanor Vance, appeared, her expression icy. Her gaze swept slowly over the doctors who had committed perjury for Rose Lowell, and her words were sharp and resonant.
"Therefore, this was a murder—a murder targeting Estelle and her child!"
"And you two, Rose Lowell and Austin Lockwood! You knew your own daughter was being murdered, yet you helped the killer dispose of all suspicious evidence, forged a suicide note to create the illusion of suicide, and gave her child to Noelle Lockwood. You are unworthy of being parents!"
Police officers stood behind Eleanor Vance. She gave a cold sneer. "Perhaps you’re all curious why Rose Lowell, Estelle’s own biological mother, would help an outsider murder her!"
"Well, perhaps this new piece of evidence can provide an answer!"
Eleanor Vance produced a USB drive. "This is a newly recovered surveillance recording. It shows that before the fire five years ago, someone entered and exited the delivery room after dismissing the doctors and nurses. In other words, this person who was in the delivery room had the means to commit the crime!"
Hearing this, Rose Lowell let out a piercing shriek, staggered, and collapsed to the ground.