?Chapter 2922:


    Even so, trying to wrap her mind around a teenager poisoning anyone, let alone her own parents, was almost impossible. Seeing the shadow of regret flicker across Linda’s face made everything feel even heavier.


    It finally made sense why, years down the line, Linda would order Chelsey to do the same to Hadley.


    She had done it before, and she had only grown more skilled at hiding her spite.


    “What’s wrong? Does the truth scare you?” A careless shrug followed as Linda continued, “What else was I supposed to do? I was just a kid—there was no way I could win against them directly.”


    Back in the monitoring room, Ernest and Eric exchanged a knowing look.


    Pieces of that long-ago day finally started to fit together.


    “So…” Hadley snapped out of her daze and continued, “Did you always know who they really were? Their families and backgrounds?”


    “Naturally.” Linda gave a curt nod, not bothering to pretend otherwise.


    “Why even ask that?” she scoffed.


    “Letty raised me and her group took the Flynn brothers. You think I wouldn’t know exactly where they came from?”


    Her eyes drifted shut for a moment as she reached back into the past.


    “I remember overhearing Letty say they’d hold onto the boys a bit longer. Wait for them to get older, and then… cut them open.”


    She shot Hadley a sideways nce, her tone sharp.


    “Do you understand what that meant? Can you even grasp it?” A shiver ran down Hadley’s spine. Of course, she understood.


    Buyers usually preferred preschool kids. Back then, Ernest and Eric were already too old for that.


    No one searching for adoptable kids would want boys their age… Which meant those traffickers had something even darker in mind.


    “That was all me…” Linda lifted her chin, watching Hadley’s stunned reaction with a sh of pride mixed with scorn.


    “I was the one who made sure they got out alive.”


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    Dropping her voice, she added, “I knew exactly who those boys were. I worked my way into their circle, made them trust me—and yes, I did what I had to do to get them free. Why is that so hard to ept?”


    Her gaze locked on Hadley, challenging her.


    “I didn’t flinch when it came to poisoning my own parents, just to keep those two out of a trafficker’s hands. Isn’t that what matters?”


    Her voice bristled with indignation.


    “So what if I had my own reasons? At the end of the day, I was the one who saved them. Are you really going to say it doesn’t count because I had something to gain?”


    Inside the monitoring room, Ernest and Eric listened in silence, exchanging a long look. Finally, Ernest gave Eric a quiet nod.


    Eric caught on quickly and went over to speak with the officer by his side.


    A few minutes slipped by.


    “Linda.”


    Inside the hospital room, Linda was still staring Hadley down when a voice called out to her. She tensed.


    “Who’s there?”


    “Linda.”


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