Chapter 578

Joanna Sterling did not sleep all night.

The wind howled outside the window.

Each time it slammed against the glass, she would jolt awake.

Fear coiled around her like vines, tightening with every passing hour.

The image of Mr. Valentine collapsing right before her eyes replayed in her mind.

She had never witnessed the thin line between life and death so closely.

If Mr. Valentine really couldn't be cured of the poison and died...

Could she, the "murderer," ever clear her name?

Not only would the Valentine family never let her go, but even she herself felt everything was too much of a coincidence.

Why did Mr. Valentine knock over that cup of coffee yesterday, of all days?

Why did she, as if possessed, clean up the coffee grounds so thoroughly?

If she hadn't cleaned them, they could at least test the residue for poison, even analyze its formula.

But now? The evidence was gone. Wasn't the prime suspect her?

Joanna buried her face in her palms.

Tears threatened to spill over.

The sky gradually lightened.

Only then, in utter exhaustion, did she drift into a fitful sleep.

However, she had just fallen into a shallow slumber when the bedroom door was kicked open with a loud bang!

Joanna sat up with a start.

She saw Susan Langley barging in, followed by a burly-looking Sterlingny.

"What do you want?" Joanna immediately retreated, on high alert.

"What do we want?" Susan sneered, closing the door firmly behind her, cutting off all sound from outside. "We're here to interrogate you, the poisoner!"

"I'm not! I didn't do it!" Joanna protested loudly. "I don't know anything!"

"Go ahead, scream. Scream all you want." Susan approached slowly, her eyes icy. "You should know better than I do about the soundproofing in this Valentine villa. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will hear you. Joanna, no one can save you today."

With that, she gave the Sterlingny a look and pulled a coil of rope from her pocket. "Tie her up."

The Sterlingny immediately stepped forward. In desperation, Joanna grabbed a vase from the nearby coffee table, holding it protectively in front of her. "Stay back!"

The Sterlingny paused.

Susan, however, smiled.

She suddenly lunged forward, moving with startling speed. One hand snatched the vase away, while the other struck a precise spot on Joanna's wrist!

Joanna felt her entire arm go instantly numb and weak.

The vase slipped from her grasp, crashing to the floor and shattering.

She herself collapsed weakly.

She looked up at Susan in shock. "You..."

Susan brushed off non-existent dust from her hands, her demeanor a complete departure from the fragile, gentle act she put on for Preston Valentine. Her tone was sinister. "What are you waiting for? Tie her up!"

The Sterlingny hesitated no longer. She rushed over and used the rope to tightly bind Joanna's hands and feet, securing them behind her back.

Bound and unable to move, Joanna was both frightened and furious. "What are you really trying to do? I told you, I don't know anything! I didn't poison anyone!"

The Sterlingny paused slightly, looking at Susan.

Susan crouched down, pinching Joanna's chin and forcing her to look up. "Don't know? Hah... If it really wasn't you, why hasn't the Valentine family let you go and cleared your name after a whole night?"

She leaned close to Joanna's ear, lowering her voice, but each word was clear. "I think you're the one who poisoned him. Otherwise, why were you in such a hurry to dispose of the coffee grounds? Hmm?"

Hearing this, the Sterlingny tightened her grip, the rope biting painfully into Joanna's skin. "Confess! Hand over the antidote, and Miss Susan might spare your life!"

"I don't have an antidote! I don't know anything about any poison!" Joanna struggled and shouted.

But Susan no longer listened to her protests. She tilted her chin toward the bathroom, signaling the Sterlingny.

The Sterlingny understood. She turned and entered the bathroom, turning on the faucet.

Soon, the sound of rushing water filling the tub echoed out.

Susan grabbed Joanna by the hair, dragging her up from the floor and toward the bathroom. "Look at you, such a mess. Didn't sleep well last night, did you? You even smell sour. Come on, let me help you get cleaned up."

A strong sense of foreboding rose in Joanna's heart. "Let me go! Susan, this is vigilantism! The Valentine family won't let you get away with this!"

"Vigilantism?" Susan laughed, but her eyes were vicious. "Joanna, you've got it wrong. I'm helping the Valentine family interrogate a suspect. If you confess obediently, it'll save everyone trouble."

As she spoke, they had reached the bathroom door.

The bathtub was already half-filled with water, the surface rippling.

Without the slightest hesitation, Susan gave a hard push!

"Splash!"

Joanna was shoved into the icy cold water of the bathtub, sending water flying everywhere.

Bound hand and foot, she couldn't maintain her balance and instantly sank beneath the surface, her mouth and nose submerged!

The feeling of suffocation hit her violently!

She struggled desperately, trying to surface, but her hands were tied tightly behind her back, and her legs couldn't find purchase. The sides of the tub were slippery. She thrashed like a fish out of water, to no avail.

Just as the air in her lungs was about to run out, and darkness began to creep into her vision—

A cold hand pressed against the back of her head, forcing her back down into the water!

"Mmph... gurgle..."

More water rushed into her windpipe, burning painfully. Joanna used all her strength to struggle, kicking against the sides of the tub, producing dull thuds.

But the hand holding her head down was as steady as a rock, its strength astonishing.

So Susan wasn't as weak as she appeared on the surface!

Her lungs felt like they were about to burst. A buzzing filled her ears. The shadow of death had never felt so clear.

Just as her consciousness was about to fade, that hand suddenly yanked her head out of the water!

"Cough! Cough, cough—!"

Joanna coughed violently, greedily gulping air. Tears, snot, and water covered her face, a pitiful sight. Cold terror made her whole body tremble.

Susan's face leaned close to hers, wearing a cruel smile. "Talk. Who put you up to this?"

Joanna could only gasp for air, unable to form complete sentences.

"Don't know? So someone gave you the poison and told you to use it? What did they offer you? Money? Or a promise?" Susan asked leisurely, as if making casual conversation.

Joanna shook her head, her voice hoarse. "No... no one put me up to it..."

"Oh?" Susan raised an eyebrow. "I checked your bank account. Yesterday afternoon, an unexplained deposit of one million dollars came in. Joanna, it was for the money, right?"

Joanna's pupils constricted sharply. "Impossible! How could there be a million dollars in my account? I don't know anything about it!"

"Don't know? Still pretending." Susan chuckled softly, but her eyes held no warmth. "You think you can hide it from the heavens? If the Valentine family wants to investigate, is there anything they can't find out? Joanna, just admit it. Tell me, where's the poison formula? Or, where did you hide the rest of the poison?"

"I really don't know anything about any poison..." Joanna repeated despairingly.

"So you used it all in the coffee? Didn't keep any?" Susan sighed with feigned regret. "You really are... ruthless. You didn't leave Mr. Valentine any chance of recovery."

"It's not like that! Listen to me—"

"Splash—!"

Before she could finish, Joanna was shoved back under the water with brutal force!

This time, it lasted longer.

Water rushed in from all sides, filling her mouth and nose, drowning all her senses. Joanna struggled with all her might, but felt her strength draining away rapidly.

She finally understood.

Susan didn't care about the truth at all.

She just wanted to extract a confession through torture! She had even fabricated a "motive" and "evidence" for her—that million-dollar transfer was the ironclad proof!

Susan wanted to pin the crime on her solidly, to claim credit from the Valentine family!

Fear turned into icy despair. Joanna used her last bit of strength to kick, churning the water in the tub noisily.

The Sterlingny's uneasy voice came through. "Miss Susan, if you keep holding her down... won't she really drown?"

Susan scoffed. "What's there to fear? She committed suicide out of guilt. What does that have to do with us? Besides, before she 'killed herself,' we already got the 'truth' out of her..."

Joanna's eyes snapped open wide underwater.

They didn't just want her to confess. They wanted her dead! Dead, there would be no witness, and all the blame could be pinned on her!

No! She couldn't die!

The instinct for survival made her erupt with a final burst of power, struggling frantically.

But the hand holding her head down didn't budge an inch.

Consciousness gradually faded...

Outside the door.

Preston Valentine strode into the villa, a trace of weariness between his brows, but also a faint glimmer of light.

The butler approached him. "Young Master Preston, any leads?"

Preston nodded, about to speak, when the butler added, "Miss Susan is here. She said she wanted to see Miss Joanna, to talk to her."

Preston's steps halted, and he frowned slightly. "What do they have to talk about?"

He had originally planned to go to his study first to organize the clues, but when he reached the staircase, he changed direction and headed toward the second-floor guest room.

Better to tell Joanna first, to let her know not to worry too much, that he had found some leads.

Arriving at the guest room door, it was completely quiet inside, not a sound.

Preston raised his hand and knocked.

"Joanna, it's me."

No answer.

He paused, then knocked again, raising his voice slightly. "Joanna, can you hear me? Come to the window. I have something to tell you."

Inside the room.

Joanna, on the verge of losing consciousness, faintly heard the familiar voice outside the door!

It was Preston!

Hope flared in her heart. Using every last bit of strength remaining in her body, she twisted desperately in the water, her feet kicking hard against the sides of the bathtub!

"Thud! Thud!"

The dull thumping sounds transmitted faintly through the water and the tub.

The hand holding her head down—Susan's—changed expression. She immediately made a silencing gesture to the Sterlingny, her eyes fierce.

The Sterlingny held her breath in fear, not daring to move a muscle.

The struggles in the bathtub gradually weakened.

The water's surface was left with only faint ripples.