“Yes, of course,” Linda replied with a slow flutter of her lashes. “I know exactly what I’m saying. And more importantly, I remember every detail of what I’ve done.”

A faint smile tugged at her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I gave Chelsey the instructions—told her to snap those pictures of Eric. Then I had Gifford go public with his condition. And yes, I told her to slip that poison into your coffee—the kind that takes its time eating through you.”

Gone was the softness in her features. In its place was something cold and gleeful. “The goal was simple: nerve damage, the heart and lungs shutting down. Either you’d be dead, or you’d spend your life in a hospital bed, unable to move. Too bad it didn’t go as planned.”

A sharp inhale sliced through the air as Linda’s jaw tightened. “Chelsey messed it all up! She barely gave you anything, and you figured it out before the real damage was done!”

Disgust twisted her face as she threw a bitter look at Hadley. “It was flawless. Every detail! And yet here you are—walking, breathing, ruining everything!”

Motionless, Hadley stayed exactly where she was. Years of knowing Linda had never prepared her for this level of cruelty. She had always known the woman was cold, but never this unfeeling. Even the value of a human life seemed meaningless to her—just another tool to be used and discarded.

Anger surged up before Hadley could stop it. “How could you do this, Linda? How can you be so ruthless? Is there even the slightest bit of humanity left in you?”

“Ruthless? You’re calling me that?” Linda’s fingers curled around the armrests as she leaned forward, voice rising to a yell. “You pushed me to the edge! You barged into the Flynn family like you belonged! You took everything I was meant to have!”

Her voice cracked as rage took over, rising into something close to a scream. “Everything the Flynns had was meant for me! Nyla’s affection, Ernest’s loyalty, Eric’s trust—they were all supposed to be mine!”

The moment those words hit her ears, Hadley went still. A cold shiver crawled across her skin. “What did you just say?” she whispered.

With a harsh laugh, Linda scoffed. “Weren’t you listening the first time?”

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There was no mistaking it. Hadley had caught every word, and that was exactly why she sat there, shocked. “I knew it… I always knew something was off.” Her suspicions about Linda came rushing back. That fall, the memory loss—it had never added up.

“So the act is over?” Hadley fixed her eyes on Linda’s flawless face, one that now looked more like a mask than skin. “You didn’t forget anything, did you? Ernest. Eric. You’ve known all along.”

“Exactly. I’ve remembered everything from the start. But tell me—what choice did I have?” A slow shrug followed as Linda raised her hands in mock innocence.

Moisture welled in her eyes as she spoke through clenched emotion. “Tell me—if I hadn’t faked everything, would Ernest or Eric have even looked back at me? Of course not! They tossed me aside and broke every promise they ever made!” With eyes full of bitter rage, Linda turned that pain into fury as she glared at Hadley. “I begged. I played the victim. And still, Eric chose to walk away from me!”

Her voice sank into something low and dangerous. “That’s why he has to die. And you? You deserve it even more, for stealing him from me.”

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