“I have the same opinion as you, Ms. Atkinson,” William answered. “Mrs. President is a careful person. Why would she allow an attendant to record a video in secret?”
“Ha! I knew it!” Hazel sneered. “She manipulated my father, created a scandal between me and Mr. Lindberg, and blamed her daughter's illness on me. I endured how she made me a scapegoat for her deeds over the years. I knew she had been using me, but I didn't want to offend her and invite trouble. Nevertheless, my endurance only caused her to push her limits.”
“That's how the world works.” William could understand her feelings. “The weaker you are, the more they will take advantage of you.”
“I endured her actions in the past, but my father lost his life this time.” Hazel grew emotional. “Despite his evil deeds, he was still my father. Besides, he loved me. He was the only family I had...”
Her voice choked.
William handed her a tissue and comforted her, “My condolences.”
After a pause, he got down to business. “Now that we know Mrs. President is behind this, then—”
Hazel interrupted him by saying hatefully, “You don't have to persuade me to change my mind. Even if it was Mrs. President's plan, the real murderer was still Francesca. She knew the snake was venomous but told it to bite my father! That was murder!”
William asked, “Are you sure the snake bit your father? Could it be someone else who poisoned him?”
“After leaving the hotel, we got into the car. Nothing happened after that. Less than two hours after my father got home, he started feeling unwell. When the doctor arrived, he was already...”
She trailed off as her eyes turned red. “The forensic pathologist examined him and said he died from snake venom. Who else could it be? It must be Francesca's doing!”
“We can only be sure after examining him personally.” William wound down the window and called out, “Sloan!”
“Yes.”
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The readers' comments on the novel: Mysterious male escort is a mogul