Married To My Ex's Brother, Reborn Miraculously

Gustave cleared his throat, his eyes flicking briefly between Augustine and Anne as he stepped forward with the file in hand.

"The test results are conclusive," he began. "The cupcakes were indeed poisoned. The toxic substance found in Audrey’s system matched the traces discovered in the plastic pouch collected from the bakery. The troubling part—only Lorie’s fingerprints were present on it."

Anne’s brows shot up in disbelief. "So you are saying Patricia didn’t know about the poison?"

Her mind flashed back to Paule’s visit—his insistence that Patricia would never try to kill her, no matter how deep her resentment ran.

Gustave gave a helpless shrug. "That’s what it looked like at first. But everything took a sharp turn after the results came out. Patricia changed her statement completely. She confessed. Said she alone was responsible."

Anne’s heart sank, confusion clouding her thoughts. "Why? Why would she suddenly admit to it?"

Gustave opened the file and read from the statement. "She claimed she has hated you ever since you became part of the Clair family. Blamed you for Lorie’s pain. She said Robert loved you, that he wanted to marry you, and that you deliberately tricked Lorie, setting her up with him. According to Patricia, that betrayal drove Robert to despise Lorie, and he took that hatred out on her."

As Anne absorbed Gustave’s words, a gnawing guilt began to settle in her chest. A part of her started to believe that Lorie’s suffering might have been her fault. If only she hadn’t swapped the drink that day, if she had found another way to avoid the trap, perhaps Lorie wouldn’t have been pushed into marrying Robert. Perhaps she wouldn’t have met such a tragic end.

"She said it was revenge," Gustave finished, lowering the file. "That Lorie had no knowledge of the plan. She claimed that it was hers alone."

Anne stood frozen, her mind reeling.

Gustave let out a quiet sigh. "Honestly, it’s getting harder to tell what is real. I don’t know if Patricia is telling the truth, or if she is covering for someone."