Chapter 256 Back in the House


    Whether it was ckmail or something else, Helen had already made up her mind-Caroline wasn''t walking out of this clean.


    Finished


    Her eyes narrowed, locked onto Caroline''s retreating figure until she disappeared into the living room. Then she followed, masking her fury with aposed expression.


    Inside, Teresa was waiting with a notebook and pen. "Write down all your favorite foods so Caroline can n your meals."


    She had no choice but to y along. As much as she resented Helen, this wasn''t the time to let it show.


    "Thanks, Teresa." Helen took the notebook, sat down at the dining table, and started writing.


    She looked calm, thoughtful, like she was really trying to remember what she liked.


    But her mind wasn''t on food at all. It was circling something darker-how to get both Caroline and Teresa out of her way, without anyone suspecting a thing.


    She didn''t rush. When she finally handed the list to Caroline, she turned to Teresa with a sweet smile. "Teresa, I''m in the mood to do some shopping. Could you have the driver take me into town?"


    The estate sat far from the city, and finding a cab willing to make the trip wasn''t


    easy.


    She used to go out with Linden, but now that he was back at work, she had no one but the driver.


    Teresa''s brow creased. "You''re pregnant. You shouldn''t overdo it. You really ought to stay home and rest."


    Helen gave a bright, effortless smile. "Don''t worry. I''ll take it slow."


    Teresa paused, then gave a slight nod. "Fine. I''ll call the driver."


    Truthfully, she didn''t care where Helen went. If anything, it was a relief to have her out of the house.


    It meant she could finally talk to Caroline without tiptoeing around the tension. After Helen left, Teresa gently pulled Caroline down beside her on the couch. She called over a maid and asked her to bring some fresh fruit, which was soon arranged neatly on the coffee table.


    "These came from a friend of mine overseas," she said, smiling as she offered the te. "Go on, try a few." Caroline smiled back, polite but firm. "Teresa, I''m here as the cook. You don''t need to treat me like a guest." She hadn''t epted that paycheck just to sit around eating fruit


    She intended to earn every cent-though not for Helen''s sake, but for Teresa.


    Teresa waved her off dismissively. "Oh, please. You just need to keep up appearances while Helen''s around. Don''t take it so seriously. Just whip up a couple of dishes from whatever she scribbled in that notebook."


    Then she softened. "You''re a guest to me, Caroline. And once all of this is over, I want you to visit more


    often."


    Caroline nodded. "Thank you, Teresa."


    Chapter 256 Back in the House


    Looking at her, Caroline felt something twist in her chest. Teresa reminded her so much of her ownT mother. If only her mom were still alive.


    But that wasn''t possible-not since Helen. If it hadn''t been for her, none of this would''ve happened.


    And as those thoughts circled her mind, a terrifying suspicion hit her out of nowhere.


    If Teresa had only asked her toe here to keep Helen in check, then what if Helen''s sudden agreement to the paternity test... was just her way of ying along, too?


    The timeline didn''t add up. She''d been ducking it for weeks. Why the sudden change of heart?


    Something about it was off.


    Her face turned serious. "Teresa, you need to be careful around Helen from now on. Don''t eat anything she gives you. Don''t believe a word she says."


    That gut-deep fear crept back in. What if Helen nned to strike again?


    What if she wanted to drag Teresa down with her this time? It''d be a fatal frame.


    Teresa''s face tightened. "You think she''d try to poison me? That she wants me dead?"


    Caroline''s voice dropped. "We have to be cautious. It''s not something we can afford to overlook."


    But Teresa looked doubtful. "She''s just a young woman. Maybe maniptive, maybe calcting-but murder? That''s a different level. And this is the Grayson Residence. She wouldn''t dare do anything reckless here."


    Caroline understood her disbelief. Teresa hadn''t seen the truth behind Helen''s smile. She hadn''t lived through what Caroline had.


    So, Caroline took a breath and voiced it inly.


    "Helen''s not just maniptive. She''s a monster. She killed my mother."


    Teresa''s eyes flew open. She sat bolt upright, the calm in her posture gone. "But I thought your mom died of a heart attack. And because no one reached her in time."


    Caroline''s eyes brimmed with tears. Her voice shook as she spoke. "That''s what everyone thought. But Helen never liked my mom. She''d been scolded by her more than once and held onto that grudge. She knew about her heart condition. So one day, when no one else was home, she poked her, prodded her, verbally attacked her where it hurt the most. She pushed and pushed until my mom copsed. And then she just stood there and watched it happen."


    Helen''s cruelty didn''t stop there. She had killed her before, too-just not in this life. But that part she could never say out loud.


    Teresa sat frozen, her expression caught between disbelief and fury.


    "Do your brothers have any idea about her ... her evil?" Her voice was sharp with tension.


    Caroline gave a small shake of her head. "I found out by ident. There''s no proof. If I told them, they wouldn''t believe a word."


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    Chapter 256 Back in the House


    Teresa looked at her and saw the pain she was trying so hard to bury. She didn''t ask anything the "It''s alright now," she said firmly, her eyes darkening. "We''re in this together, and she''s not walking away from this. I''ll make sure she answers for what she''s done."


    This wasn''t about loyalty to Caroline. It was about justice—for a woman who didn''t deserve any of it


    A woman with a good heart, lost to the cruelty of her own granddaughter. That kind of sin didn''t just disappear.


    Caroline managed a faint smile. "Thanks, Teresa. Right now, we just have to stay alert. She can''t be allowed to pull this off again."


    Teresa''s gaze narrowed into a re. "If she ever tries to hurt me, she''s not going to live long enough to even see the moon of the very night."


    She''d never imagined Helen capable of something so vile. But now, that illusion had shattered.


    At the edge of a busy shopping mall, Helen dismissed the driver with a wave and stood near the curb, ncing around. A few minutester, a thin man in a baseball cap approached, his movements jittery and restless.


    He handed her a small box. "Hundred and twenty."


    Helen frowned. "For this? That''s steep."


    The man shrugged without emotion. "Potent stuff''s hard to find these days. You''re lucky I got any at all."


    She opened the lid and examined the contents, her brows furrowed. "It''ll work on a live target?"


    "Hell yeah," the man said. "This''ll kill a cow clean. Human? No problem. Just don''t


    mess around with it-get some on your skin, and you''re not waking up either."


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    213


    After the New Year''s Eve Tragedy: Her icy Return