He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 148

The moment Scarlett and Jacqueline rushed in, they recognized him instantly.

It was Artie, the floor manager Jacqueline had recently fired.

Scarlett's eyes turned murderously cold.

"Stellan, what is the meaning of this? He set the fire?"

Stellan nodded sharply. "Yes. He confessed to everything. He set the fire, and I have the entire audio recording securely saved."

Jacqueline stepped forward in absolute disbelief, grabbing Artie by the hair and forcing him to look up.

"Artie, why would you do this?"

"You worked for me for nearly ten years. When your mother was dying of terminal cancer, I lent you fifty thousand dollars so you could afford her treatments. How... how could you bite the hand that fed you?"

Whatever interrogation methods Stellan had used had thoroughly broken Artie. He was terrified, cowering like a frightened animal.

Under their fierce glares, Artie spilled everything.

He admitted that, aside from wanting revenge for being fired, a woman named Stetson had promised to pay him five hundred thousand dollars to do it.

A woman named Stetson.

Those four words made Scarlett's blood boil with uncontainable rage.

Who else could it possibly be other than Sylvia Stetson?

Scarlett couldn't believe this woman was so incredibly vile and deranged that she would actually hire someone to burn down a crowded nightclub.

If her mother hadn't strictly enforced the use of the highest quality fireproof materials during the renovations, if she hadn't installed top-tier sprinkler systems, and if the fire hadn't been contained in time... tonight would have become a hellish massacre.

Scarlett genuinely believed Sylvia had lost her mind.

Just to vent her petty anger, she had willingly disregarded the lives of hundreds of innocent people inside La Belle Nuit.

How was this any different from outright slaughter?

Since Sylvia was so utterly psychotic, so determined to drag innocent people into the fires of hell, then tonight, Scarlett—armed with hard evidence—would personally show her exactly what hell looked like.

Scarlett instructed Stellan to gather all the evidence and recordings, and to keep Artie securely locked away.

With the limitless resources of her mysterious benefactor backing her, orchestrating these moves was entirely effortless.

"Go. You have the evidence in your hands. I'll be waiting to see if you win or lose this war."

With that, Jacqueline stepped out of the car, fully entrusting the entire aftermath to Scarlett.

Watching her mother's frail but stubbornly straight back as she walked away, a sudden, sharp ache gripped Scarlett's throat.

She silently made a vow in her heart.

Mom, I will shield you from every storm from now on. You just need to drop the heavy burdens you've been carrying and live a healthy, peaceful life.

Perhaps it was inevitable that every mother and daughter would go through a period of drifting apart.

But as long as they truly understood each other, as long as they kept each other in their hearts, no matter how deep their disagreements ran, they would always find their way back to a close bond.

Reflecting on the thirty years she had spent with Jacqueline, Scarlett fought back her tears and prepared to drive away.

Right at that moment, an unknown number flashed across her phone screen.

Scarlett accepted the call, and instantly, a chilling, maniacal laugh echoed through the speaker.

The sound was like a crow cawing in the dead of night, so jarring that Scarlett nearly dropped her phone in shock.