Chapter 64: CH. 64 | Confession From the Suspect

"L-Lily’s grandmother? Wait, how do you know...?"

"So you’re admitting it, huh?" Theo asked.

He swung his arm and shoved Mona to the ground. Avara kept her pinned so she couldn’t fight back, while Mona crawled around in pain, still screaming for help.

"You must remember her screaming in pain from that knife. She’s just an old woman, kind to everyone, but you’ve got a rotten heart!" Theo said firmly.

Theo drew his sword and drove it into the floor right beside Mona’s face, the blade sinking into the wood, startling both Mona and her daughter.

"Let go of my mother! What’s wrong with you?!" the daughter shouted.

"Go ahead and tell her what happened. Let her judge her own mother’s actions for herself," Theo said.

"I will. I’ll tell her everything," Ava said

"No!" Mona said, "I didn’t kill Lily’s grandmother. You’ve got the wrong person."

Theo’s gaze shifted back to her. He pulled his sword back out and pressed the blade close to Mona’s eye, threatening her, "What if I gouge your eye out? Would you still deny it?"

"Forget your eye, how about I just kill you and your daughter both, what do you think?" Theo threatened.

"N-No... please don’t kill me!"

"I-I’ll tell you everything. I’ll confess!" Mona said, panicking.

"Good," Theo said, grabbing Mona’s arm and forcing her up, "Come with me!"

Theo and Mona walked out of the house, and Avara shifted back into her crow form, flying up to perch on Theo’s shoulder.

Mona’s daughter ran after them, begging them not to take her mother away, saying life without a father had already been hard enough on them.

"I don’t want to lose my mother. She’s the only family I have left."

"Please, let her go... I’ll do anything!" she pleaded.

Desperately, she stripped off her clothes and stood there naked on the ground.

Theo turned away, and so did Mona, stunned by her daughter’s willingness to sacrifice herself.

"I’m not interested in that," Theo said, "Even if you killed yourself, it wouldn’t erase what your mother did."

"Put your clothes back on!"

"Come with me and talk this over with Huston," Theo ordered.

The woman nodded in agreement, put her simple dress back on, and followed Theo. Following her directions, they finally arrived at the house of Archan Village’s chief.

When Theo arrived, Huston himself came out to greet him, along with his wife. Theo shoved Mona down onto the ground, making her wince in pain.

"W-What’s going on here, Theo?" Huston asked.

"I used my power and saw exactly what happened at Lily’s grandmother’s house," Theo explained, staring at Mona, "It’s confirmed. She’s the one who did it."

"What?!" Huston said, stunned.

Huston glanced at Mona, crouched down, and asked her to confirm the truth. At first Mona tried to deny it, but Theo pulled his sword back out and pointed the blade at her again.

"F-Fine... I confess."

"I-I really did hurt her, but it’s because I was genuinely furious!"

"She stole all my customers. Her stock sold out faster than mine, even though we sell the exact same things!" Mona shouted. ℴ

"I lost it. My head was clouded with anger. I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and went to her house," Mona said, "But I swear on the gods, I never meant to actually hurt her!"

"My plan was to go there and just threaten her, verbally. I don’t know what came over me," Mona muttered.

Huston listened to every word Mona said, then stood back up, hands on his hips. He let out a quiet sigh and told Mona that what she’d done had gone way too far.

He had no choice but to hand Mona over to the Village Security Authority, since the only person who could truly settle this peacefully now was Lily’s grandmother herself.

Theo nodded quietly, sheathed his sword again, and looked toward Mona one last time before turning his attention back to Huston.

"My job here is done," Theo said, "I’ll leave the rest to you, Chief Huston."

Huston turned and thanked Theo for everything he’d done. The two of them shook hands, and Theo said his goodbyes before heading back toward Myra Apothecary, where Lily’s grandmother was still under intensive care.

News about Lily’s grandmother’s condition had spread like wildfire.

A crowd had gathered in front of Myra Apothecary, praying and hoping that the woman, known throughout the village for her kindness and warmth, would wake up and recover.

Theo pushed his way through the crowd and spotted Myra standing by the gate. She smiled and opened the gate for him right away.

"How’s she doing?"

"She’s still unconscious, but her condition’s starting to improve."

"Good."

He walked inside and found Thalia comforting Lily, while Aya was doing the same for Riley. All four of them turned when Theo arrived.

"Theo...?"

"How’d it go?" Thalia asked.

Theo nodded briefly, telling them he’d caught the person responsible. Thalia and the others looked visibly relieved, but Lily seemed consumed with rage instead.

She stood up in reflex and demanded to know the culprit’s name. Theo tried to calm her down.

"No way!"

"I want to meet her and smash her ugly face in!" Lily shouted.

"She’s already been taken into custody by the Village Security Authority. You need to calm down, Lily."

Thalia stepped in to soothe her again. Slowly, her anger eased, though her frustration lingered. Thalia turned and shook her head, unable to keep Lily’s emotions steady, one moment crying, the next furious, completely unstable.

"So what are we going to do now?" Thalia asked.

"Lily and Riley need support right now. I’m worried that if we leave them, they’ll struggle."

"I’ll head back to the city. You and Aya should stay here until Lily’s grandmother wakes up," Theo answered.

"The city? What for?" Thalia asked, "Just stay here. It’s already night."

Theo smiled, reaching out to give Thalia’s shoulder a gentle pat, "There’s something I need to take care of in the city. I won’t be gone long."

He and Thalia both glanced at Lily and Riley, "I think they need you and Aya a lot more right now, since you’re both women, and they can open up to you about how they’re feeling."

Thalia went quiet for a moment, then cleared her throat, agreeing with Theo’s decision.

Still, she asked Theo to stay the night so he could head to the city first thing in the morning instead.

Theo listened to Thalia and agreed with her.

He’d head back to Aluric City the next morning, leaving Lily and Riley’s care in Thalia and Aya’s hands.

"All right. I’ll stay the night."