Chapter 286
Howard frowned slightly, his gaze unconsciously drifting to Chloe, who was eating her meal. "Alright, I understand."
Seeing Howard's serious expression, Chloe slowly set down her knife and fork. "What's wrong?"
"About your father's case from years ago..." Howard began slowly. "Karen has confessed."
Chloe's utensils clattered softly against the table as she slowly looked up at Howard. "What do you mean?"
"Teddy said your father's death was connected to Karen. He wants us to come down to the station now." He stepped forward and gently steadied Chloe. "Chlo, whatever happens, I'm here with you."
When Chloe arrived at the police station, the officer in charge greeted her.
"Hello, Ms. Brown. According to Karen's confession, your father's death wasn't an accident. She and her lover, Derek, conspired to kill him. We'd like to ask you a few questions about what happened back then..."
The officer's voice seemed to fade in and out...
Growing fainter and fainter...
Suddenly, everything went black, and Chloe collapsed.
When Chloe woke up, Howard had already brought her to the Evergreen Wellness Clinic.
Howard sat by her bedside, gripping her hand tightly.
Seeing Chloe wake up, Howard's eyes lit up. "Chlo!"
"Howard." Chloe looked at him with wounded eyes.
"Go ahead and cry if you need to." Howard pulled her into his arms, whispering soothingly.
"Adeline's on her way too. Chlo, it's okay. You still have us." Howard patted her back gently, like comforting a child, until Chloe's emotions gradually stabilized.
Meanwhile, in Crystal Haven.
When Adeline got the news, she immediately dropped everything and rushed to the airport.
Downstairs from her office building, she spotted Kelvin already waiting in his car.
Seeing Kelvin's unexpected appearance, Adeline frowned. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm coming with you to Riverton. Something this serious happened, and you know how impulsive you can be." Kelvin said with a slight sigh.
He knew Adeline's personality all too well.
Before Adeline could protest, Kelvin had already ushered her into the car. "We'll talk on the way."
"Kelvin, thank you." Adeline turned to look at him as he focused on driving.
Kelvin hesitated for a moment. "So... would you consider giving us another chance?"
When Adeline remained silent, Kelvin didn't push.
He simply said, "It's okay. I have all the time in the world. Let's deal with what's in front of us first."
The two arrived at Evergreen Wellness Clinic at 2 PM.
Chloe had gotten some rest and was much more composed.
Howard sat quietly by her bed, peeling an apple.
"Chloe, are you okay?" Adeline called out softly.
As Chloe's best friend, she knew that Edward's accidental death had always been an unhealed wound for Chloe.
She never imagined it hadn't been an accident at all.
"They're both complete scumbags!" Adeline said through gritted teeth. "After everything Mr. Brown did for her."
Seeing Chloe's expression change, Kelvin gently nudged Adeline's arm as a reminder.
Only then did Adeline realize she should change the subject.
In the room, Adeline chattered away, trying to cheer Chloe up.
Seeing Howard's continued silence, Kelvin pulled him outside for a smoke.
"Something on your mind?" Kelvin offered Howard a cigarette.
Chloe hated the smell of smoke, so Howard had rarely smoked since they'd been together—only when dealing with particularly stressful situations. Surprisingly, Howard accepted the cigarette.
Howard's long fingers held the cigarette as he frowned and spoke slowly. "I'm just wondering why Karen suddenly came clean after keeping this secret for so many years. Could they have some other agenda?"
He didn't give a damn about Karen and Derek's fate, but if they wanted to hurt his Chloe, that was absolutely unacceptable.
"You mean..." Kelvin trailed off, his brow furrowing deeper.
Howard nodded. "Karen's been acting completely unhinged since she confessed."
"Could it be because of Derek?" Kelvin looked at Howard.
Howard nodded. "I had Teddy dig around privately. Derek sold his house and is planning to skip town."
"So he wants to bail on Karen, which made her lose it?"
Howard shook his head. "But Karen's behavior is weird. She's been hanging around Evergreen Wellness Clinic these past few days, like she couldn't care less what Derek's up to."
Kelvin fell silent at Howard's words.
"That is strange."
As they talked, they suddenly spotted a familiar figure walking toward Chloe's room.
Howard frowned and opened the fire exit door, calling out, "Griffin."
The figure stopped, and Griffin slowly turned around, flashing Howard a smile. "I heard Ms. Brown was sick, so I came to check on her."
Griffin held up a fruit basket.
Howard strode toward Griffin. "Thanks for the thought, but Chlo needs her rest right now."
Hearing Howard's dismissal, Griffin didn't seem fazed and just chuckled. "Why's Mr. Miller acting so paranoid?"
He lowered his voice and whispered in Howard's ear, "Shouldn't we be on the same team here, protecting Ms. Brown together?"
Hearing Griffin's provocation, Howard's eyes instantly turned ice-cold. "Griffin, I'm warning you—don't get any ideas you shouldn't have, or I won't let you walk away from it."
Griffin chuckled again. "Mr. Miller's such a gentleman. But how's a gentleman supposed to properly protect his girl?"
He moved closer to Howard. "Oh, by the way, I was the one who sent Flora that surveillance footage of Amara's fall. That idiot Sloane thought it was Remy who ratted her out and took a dive off the building. But she had it coming, don't you think, Mr. Miller?"
Howard's eyes grew cold. "So it was you."
"Is Mr. Miller upset?" Seeing Howard's expression darken, Griffin smiled. "I was helping Ms. Brown get her revenge. Aren't you thrilled about that?"
He casually brushed past Howard and walked smugly toward Chloe's room.
"Griffin?" Kelvin emerged from behind the fire door after watching Griffin leave.
"He's a complete psycho." Howard said slowly.
"He seems really interested in Ms. Brown?" Kelvin looked at Howard, clearly fishing for details.
Howard replied grimly, "Just a random encounter."
In Chloe's room.
Griffin entered with his sunny, cheerful demeanor restored. "Chloe, feeling any better?"
He casually placed the fruit basket on a nearby table.
"I heard Sloane's dead—jumped off the building, from the 22nd floor of this very hospital." Griffin said out of nowhere.
Chloe was startled. "Sloane jumped?"