Chapter 177

"Yeah, I am."

Trent noticed Abigail kept glancing his way, so he leaned in curiously and caught the voice coming through the phone.

"Dr. Taylor, I was wondering — did you notice any other injuries on the deceased during the surgery?"

Abigail thought back carefully, going over the victim's wounds in her mind, and gave a definitive answer.

"Alright, thank you for your cooperation. We'll be in touch if we need anything else."

The officer asked a few more questions, finished taking notes, then politely ended the call.

"So this whole thing got wrapped up that fast?"

Thinking about how quickly the police had cracked the case, Abigail couldn't help but marvel.

"It's not that the case was simple — it's that the evidence was overwhelming. That idiot had her phone tampered with when she was contacting the victim's family."

"Tampered with?"

Abigail looked at Trent, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Yeah. Someone installed a listening device on her phone, so her role in hiring the killer is basically confirmed."

Trent looked at Abigail and pulled her into his arms.

"Abigail, I told you I'd protect you. I meant every word."

His voice was as calm as ever, yet there was something in it that made her feel at ease.

The words, almost like a vow, made Abigail's cheeks flush slightly.

"Thank you for believing in me."

After pulling herself out of Trent's embrace, Abigail thanked him with quiet sincerity.

"Do we really need to say thank you to each other?"

Trent raised an eyebrow, his gaze on Abigail soft and full of warmth.

Meeting his eyes, Abigail felt her cheeks grow even hotter.

But she nodded earnestly. "If you hadn't believed me, you never would have looked into this. The longer it dragged on, the harder it would've been to find the truth."

He had uncovered the truth right away and handed the evidence to the police with lightning speed — that was, without a doubt, the strongest proof of Abigail's innocence.

With that evidence in hand, no one could smear her name again.

When it came down to it, it was all because of Trent's trust in her.

"No matter what happens, I will always believe in you."

Trent said it with complete sincerity. Their eyes met, and the air between them slowly grew warmer.

They took a few days off — three or four, in fact — while the police, armed with solid evidence, pushed the investigation forward.

They even held off on arresting the suspect until the very end, careful not to tip anyone off.

Unfortunately, Serenity found out anyway.

In the bedroom, Serenity had her hands locked around Bianca's throat, her eyes bloodshot as she glared at her. "Bianca, how dare you betray me?! If I hadn't taken you in, you'd be no better than a beggar."

Bianca's eyes rolled back from the pressure. She clawed desperately at Serenity's hands, trying to pry them loose.

Her legs kicked wildly, trying to push Serenity off, but Serenity was like a woman possessed — her grip impossibly strong.

"Say something! How dare you betray me?"

Serenity had already sensed something was off over the past couple of days.

Everything about Abigail online had quietly vanished, as if someone had wiped it clean. The storm had suddenly died down.

The family members who had been causing trouble had gone silent too — they'd even stopped accepting the money she'd sent them.

Sensing something was wrong, Serenity had rushed to make a donation as cover and tried to flee the country — only to find police blocking her door when she got there.

She'd called in every favor she had, even dipped into public funds she'd been carrying, just to learn what had really happened behind the scenes.

What she never expected was that the one who had betrayed her was Bianca.

Not that Serenity had ever truly trusted Bianca to begin with.

Just a couple of days ago, she had planned to use Bianca to hurt Abigail — but Bianca had sabotaged the whole thing.

She still didn't know when Bianca had planted the listening device, or how she'd managed to pass all the recordings along.

Thinking about the police waiting outside, Serenity's teeth clenched with rage.

Her eyes turned vicious. "If you're going to drag me down, then you're coming to hell with me."

Bianca hadn't expected that once things fell apart, Serenity would come at her this savagely.

After the charity gala that night, she had quietly reached out to Trent and agreed to terminate the pregnancy in exchange for his help — that was the only way she'd managed to earn even a sliver of his trust.

Trent had even promised her a generous sum of money, enough to live out the rest of her life in comfort. That was why Bianca had taken the risk.

That night, while Serenity was drunk, Bianca had slipped a listening device onto her phone.

To keep some leverage for herself, she hadn't handed over the device's contact information to Trent directly.

What she hadn't counted on was everything blowing up so suddenly. Serenity had traced it back to her almost immediately, leaving her no time to run.

"It wasn't... I was... Trent."

She forced the words out between gasps, trying to calm Serenity down.

But the moment Serenity heard that name, it was like a nerve had been struck — her grip only tightened.

"Whoever was behind it, you still played your part."

She let out a cold laugh, her hatred for Trent burning just as hot.

Once she found out that Bianca had been secretly in contact with Trent behind her back, Serenity had put it together — Trent was at the center of all this.

But with the police right outside, she had no way to go after him. So Bianca would have to do.

Besides, Bianca was still carrying Trent's child. That made it feel almost worth it.

A flash of cold cruelty crossed her eyes, and she squeezed harder — no holding back now.

She'd already made up her mind to take them both down. This was just following through.

The fight in Bianca's hands grew weaker and weaker. Her breathing went from ragged to shallow to nothing. Finally, her eyes fell shut, and she stopped moving altogether.

Serenity felt the body beneath her go still. A sudden wave of panic hit her.

"Bianca? Bianca!"

She slapped Bianca's face, but there was no response.

She wasn't breathing.

Only now did the rage-clouded fog in Serenity's mind begin to clear.

She practically scrambled backward, dropping Bianca's body and collapsing against the wall, arms wrapped tightly around herself.

She had actually killed someone.

Outside, the officers had been listening as the sounds of struggle slowly faded.

When silence fell, they made the call — and broke down the door.

They found Serenity curled up in the corner, and Bianca lying motionless not far away.

"Get help — now!"

Serenity was restrained as the room erupted into chaos. Bianca was rushed to the hospital immediately.

But it was too late.

When Abigail heard from Trent what had happened to Serenity and Bianca, she froze.

"Are you serious?"