“The day I made him leave, he didn’t want to go, and I even hit him…” Ruby Donovan sobbed uncontrollably, “He called me ‘Mom’, but I ignored him, kept a cold face and forced him out. The next day, he brought breakfast and crawled onto my bed, saying he loved me. Why did I have to drive him away? If I had just held on a little longer, maybe he wouldn’t have died. By now, he would almost be an adult… How could there be a mother like me in this world?”

Justin Hall looked on in anguish, almost crying along with her, and offered dry comfort: “This isn’t your fault, you did your best.”

“Whenever I think of Shawn, I feel nothing but hatred. I hate Thomas Daniels to death, I hate his whole family.” Ruby Donovan choked out, “Even if Thomas Daniels died, I could never forgive him!”

She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, as if she wanted to bite that name to pieces.

“He let his son kill Shawn, so I let his son kill him. Thomas Daniels died a fair death. This is the retribution for their whole family!”

Justin Hall couldn’t help but ask the question in his heart: “How did you actually do it?”

·

“If you really understood your son, you’d know. For Ruby Donovan to get close to Xavier Daniels was all too easy.”

The Vault’s calm demeanor stood in stark contrast to Sylvia Shaw’s panic. She added unhurriedly, “Oh, Ruby Donovan is the new name of Fiona Donovan now.”

The Vault said, “With someone as guarded and suspicious as Xavier Daniels, he would always doubt anyone who tried to help him, always guessing at their motives. But outwardly, he’s always been friendly, enthusiastic, and helpful, so he actually lets his guard down around people he’s helped before. There are just too many of those people, and he’s confident in being well-liked.”

“How humble Ruby Donovan’s identity is. A cleaner’s job is at the bottom of society, and the area around the school is a mix of all sorts, with heavy foot traffic. She could easily be bullied in all kinds of ways. Maybe, by chance, Xavier Daniels helped her once. That’s how they first crossed paths.”

Julian Grant rubbed his chin, listening intently. Sylvia Shaw also fell silent.

She actually already had her suspicions, but was unwilling to admit it, waiting for The Vault to confirm her foolishness. She still hoped to find a loophole, to give herself a chance to deceive herself.

“Ruby Donovan could use small gifts to thank Xavier Daniels, and unintentionally reveal her own situation to him—wandering from another place, childless in middle age, plagued by illness, with no one to rely on. She had nothing to scheme for, and nothing worth others scheming for. Sometimes, people who have nothing and no future can make others feel especially safe.”

“While getting close to Xavier Daniels, she also approached Thomas Daniels. Thomas Daniels felt guilty towards her, and was of poor character himself, so finding his faults was all too easy. But Ruby Donovan didn’t act rashly; her goal wasn’t simple revenge. Ordinary family conflicts weren’t enough to drive her plan. She chose to wait, to gather more clues.”

Sylvia Shaw hugged herself, feeling a chill all over.

“A mother’s anger and patience are beyond ordinary imagination. She spent nearly a year gaining Xavier Daniels’s complete trust. To put it bluntly, compared to you two distant parents, during that time, Ruby Donovan might have been even closer to him. Unexpectedly, Thomas Daniels made a huge mistake. He kept Summer as a mistress—a girl who admired Xavier Daniels—and even got her pregnant. Having a child in middle age, he must have been delighted.”

The Vault picked up a pen nearby and spun it between her fingers.

The black shadow formed a circle, like all the participants in this case who could not escape, spanning twelve years, only to return to the starting point.

“So, Ruby Donovan felt her chance had come.”

·

Ruby Donovan turned her head to look out the window, her eyes bloodshot.

“When Thomas Daniels first saw me, he almost didn’t recognize me. It’s so long—I only realized then how long twelve years really is. When I was suffering, he was living so freely.”

“I found an opportunity to tell Thomas Daniels that Xavier Daniels had already told me the whole truth about back then, and I mocked him for raising such a son. I said Xavier Daniels boasted to me that if he could kill Shane Donovan back then, he could kill another illegitimate child in the future. If Thomas Daniels dared to get married, Xavier Daniels would definitely take revenge on him—this was his retribution. Thomas Daniels was furious, but also terrified, because he thought his son might really do that. I kept harassing him, day after day, making him think, making him doubt, and slowly, fear took over—he really believed it.”

Ruby Donovan recalled how Thomas Daniels looked back then, laughed, and continued, “Then I went to pass information to Xavier Daniels, saying I’d overheard Thomas Daniels wanted a divorce. Not only that, this unfit father even called his own son a pervert, a murderer. I pretended to be nervous and went to Xavier Daniels to confirm it, and he didn’t suspect a thing. He’s a pitiful person too. The less fatherly love he got, the more he longed for it. When he finally realized that longing would never be fulfilled, it turned into disappointment.”

Justin Hall looked at her with a strange and complicated expression, confused by his friend’s state, but unable to refute her.

Ruby Donovan was lost in her memories, unaware.

Ruby Donovan’s expression was tinged with madness: “I sowed discord between father and son. Both of them were proud and self-righteous, never thinking they could be deceived by someone as uneducated as me, so they both believed it. They had a huge argument and parted on bad terms. Thomas Daniels was a hot-tempered and cold, heartless man. Now that he had a new child, he started to feel estranged from Xavier Daniels. Their relationship already had cracks, and now, it couldn’t be maintained.”

Ruby Donovan said sarcastically, “When Thomas Daniels got angry, he’d say all sorts of harsh things, like threatening Xavier Daniels with his past. And Xavier Daniels, he couldn’t tell what was real.”

·

The camera panned down from the corner of the room, clearly capturing the expressions of all three people in the interrogation room.

“Ruby Donovan is terminally ill. When she stirs up emotions, it’s hard to tell what her motives are—it really looks like she’s doing it for Xavier Daniels’s sake.”

The Vault’s clear voice was vivid and striking, each syllable like a blow to Sylvia Shaw’s heart.

“At this point, Justin Hall could step in, letting Xavier Daniels know his father had such a mortal enemy.”

“That period happened to be when public opinion about Harry Forrest sniping a witness was at its peak. Ruby Donovan kept provoking, saying she could take the blame for Xavier Daniels and kill for him, or pin the crime on Justin Hall and Harry Forrest. When these scenarios are described often enough, even someone like Xavier Daniels would be affected.”

Sylvia Shaw’s lips moved.

The Vault said, “A person’s emotional collapse can happen in an instant. Maybe it’s a drunken slip, maybe an unintentional accusation, maybe an exaggerated warning—any of these could have made Xavier Daniels finally decide to kill. He’s already killed once, and the impact of that is deep and far-reaching, more serious than he imagined. Maybe he doesn’t realize it, but when faced with this situation for real, he’d find it even easier to pick up the knife.”

Sylvia Shaw banged her head on the table, making a strange sound in her throat.

Julian Grant was stunned as he listened, and couldn’t help but ask, “Have you already interrogated Ruby Donovan? That fast?”

The Vault shot him a look, signaling him not to ruin the mood.

Julian Grant understood and obediently shut up.

The Vault continued to Sylvia Shaw, “You’re his mother, but he never thought of relying on you. What a pity. Taking the blame for him—is that the last way you can show your love as a mother?”

Sylvia Shaw raised her head and shouted, “You have no proof! I killed him, not my son! Thomas Daniels wanted to divorce me and go support another woman—I wouldn’t allow it, so I killed him!”

The Vault: “If all this really was orchestrated by Ruby Donovan, believe me, she would have left very clear evidence.”

·

“By the way, I…” Ruby Donovan struggled to sit up, her breath weak, and said, “I recorded the whole process of plotting with Xavier Daniels to frame him. I stole your sleeping pills for Xavier Daniels, but I also added some other white tablets. As long as the forensic doctor does an autopsy, they’ll definitely find out. All the evidence is in the little box by my bed—don’t forget.”

Justin Hall grew anxious: “Why are you saying this? Never mind, just get some rest.”

Ruby Donovan said, “I’m so sick, I have to tell you. If I don’t make it, everything will be for nothing.”

Justin Hall snapped, “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Justin Hall got up to pour some water.

A red thermos was in his hand, but he could barely hold it steady. His hand kept trembling, and the hot water spilled out of the cup, scalding his hand.

Justin Hall quickly put the thermos down.

He wiped the back of his hand with his clothes, turned around, and asked, “Xiao Dong? Who taught you to do this? Who told you all these things? Don’t you think that person is scary too?”

Ruby Donovan was about to speak when her whole body shuddered and she bent over, coughing violently.

Justin Hall hurried over, gently rubbing her back to help her breathe, and reached for the emergency button nearby.