After the Fall A Leap into a Stranger's Arms novel Chapter 315

Lawrence nodded. “I’ve found a few leads, but there’s no solid proof yet.”

Catherine glanced at her father, then at her husband, completely lost about what they were talking about.

“Go ahead, tell me,” Nestor said. His voice was heavy, his face tense.

“My people discovered that Alice has been spending a lot of time with a man named Garnett. From what I can tell, he’s probably an old lover…” Lawrence trailed off, watching Nestor carefully.

Nestor squeezed his eyes shut, the pain written all over his face. “What did I ever do to deserve this? I’ve never treated her badly. Why would she do this to me?”

Lawrence took the opening to explain to Catherine. “Dad’s heart problem… it wasn’t natural. Alice has been putting a slow poison in his tea.”

“What?” Catherine gasped, unable to believe what she was hearing. “She poisoned my dad?”

Nestor opened his eyes, anger and heartbreak fighting for control. “Every day when I got home from work, Alice would make me tea. I honestly thought she cared that I was tired from work. I never suspected a thing. But after drinking it for about two weeks, my heart started acting up. Last night, we found out she’d been slipping something into my tea, hurting my heart.”

Catherine stared at her father, her shock turning to outrage. How could Alice do something so cruel?

Nestor still looked like he was struggling to process it. The test results from his tea had shattered whatever trust he had left.

Suddenly, Catherine remembered something. “Dad, do you remember the day the maid broke a spice jar? Alice was furious. I think that jar was where she hid the poison, so she could add it to your tea every day.”

Nestor thought back. Alice really had gotten way too upset that day, nothing like her usual self. Maybe Catherine was onto something.

Lawrence continued, “That’s not all I found, Dad. There’s something else, and I want to know what you think.”

“Lawrence, do you have their phone call? Let me hear it,” Nestor said, desperate for answers.

Lawrence pulled out his phone and played the recording of Alice and Garnett talking that morning. The room was so quiet you could hear every word. Alice’s true nature came through loud and clear. Garnett’s voice was almost sickening, especially when he talked about missing Alice and Shirley. Nestor took a shaky breath, his anger and disgust bubbling up.

Catherine already knew Alice was cruel, but she never imagined she could be so shameless. Not only was she flirting with another man, she was using her father’s money to keep her lover happy.

She looked at her father, her heart aching for him, but she had no idea how to make any of this better.

Nestor covered his face with his hands, trying to get his emotions under control. When he finally looked at Catherine, his eyes were red and filled with pain. Suddenly, he realized something awful. Maybe it wasn’t that hard for Alice to pass off someone else’s child as his, because he already had a real daughter right here.

His voice was raspy with anger. “Back then, I did get it checked. When Alice first brought Shirley home, I was suspicious and kept my distance from her. Alice got mad at me for not treating Shirley like my own, so she took scissors and cut Shirley’s palm. She wiped up the blood with a tissue right in front of me, then handed it to me so I could get a paternity test.”