Love After Leaving: No Regret (Agnes and Raymond) novel Chapter 399

Clara's mind raced, scrambling for anything that might hold.

"I must've come into contact with it on my way back to the hospital. Somewhere along the way. It wasn't intentional, I swear..."

Agnes tilted her head, her smile thin.

"Brushed against something. Interesting. Tell me exactly where you've been today, everyone you saw and everything you touched.

"I'll have every inch of it tested within the hour."

Clara's face turned paper-white. Her lips parted, but no words followed. Her body trembled, the silence stretching until it became its own answer.

At that moment, one of the men in black entered from the kitchen doorway and approached Raymond. In his hand was a sealed evidence bag.

"We found this in Ms. Blue's quarters. Just tested positive for the same neurotoxin."

Frank took the bag and held it up to the light. Inside was a small glass vial, nearly empty, its residue a pale amber. His eyes narrowed.

"This compound originates from Doblaria. It's derived from a rare plant known as Moonfang Blossom.

"There's nothing like it available locally."

His gaze snapped back to Clara. "Where did you get this?"

Clara shook uncontrollably. No denial came this time. Not even a fragment of one.

Frank pressed harder.

"Speak up. Who put you up to this? Did you come to my hospital with an agenda from the start?"

Her breathing grew uneven.

Then, suddenly, she closed her eyes. For a brief moment, the chaos seemed to still.

When she opened them again, something had changed. She exhaled slowly, wiping the remnants of tears from her face before speaking with an eerie calm.

"Yes. Fine. All of it. No point hiding anymore.

"I was jealous of Agnes. I wanted what she has. I wanted a way into the Newtons. I wanted her place."

A detached smile touched her lips. "That's all there is to it."

Frank's expression darkened. He shook the evidence bag in front of her face.

"You still haven't answered my question. This compound doesn't grow on trees. It doesn't sell itself on street corners. Where did you acquire it?"

Clara didn't look up. Her voice had gone flat, almost bored.

"If you have money, someone always finds what you're looking for.

"I contacted someone through the black market. I don't know who they were. I didn't ask."

She lifted her head then, a hollow smile on her face, her composure almost unsettling in its completeness.

"But you need not worry, Mr. Newton. There wouldn't have been lasting damage.

"The dosage was controlled. It wasn't lethal. I never intended to harm you."

Her gaze slid to Agnes, cold and deliberate.

"I just wanted her gone.

"As long as she was in the picture, I was never getting through that door.

"So that's the whole story. Do what you want with me. I don't care anymore."

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