Chapter 252

"Officer, this must be a mistake! How could my mother possibly kill anyone?" Vivian's voice trembled with disbelief.

The lead detective stepped forward, his expression grim. "There's no mistake, Miss Vanderbilt."

Evelyn's piercing gaze swept across the assembled Vanderbilts before settling on Laura. "Dr. Watson's forensic team extracted DNA from epithelial cells under Aunt Yvette's fingernails. The results match Laura Scott's genetic profile."

Laura's face drained of color.

Fingernails... That bitch must have scratched me when I grabbed her hair!

Joel Watson produced a manila folder with a flourish. "The full DNA analysis is here." He handed it to Richard, who scanned the document with growing horror before whirling to face Laura.

"So it was you?" Richard's voice was dangerously quiet.

Laura's hands fluttered like trapped birds. "No! This is insane! Why would I kill Yvette? I had no motive!"

Evelyn descended the stage steps with deliberate grace. "You had every motive when Aunt Yvette discovered your affair with Uncle York."

The revelation sent Laura stumbling backward. Even York looked like he'd been struck.

Suddenly, Laura erupted into hysterical laughter. "You vicious little witch!" She lunged at Evelyn, only to be restrained by two officers and a security guard.

Evelyn stood over her fallen stepmother, eyes glacial. "You brought this on yourself. All those years playing the victim while scheming against my father. The countless attempts on my life. And now murder?" She shook her head. "You're the most poisonous creature in this room."

Madam Victoria collapsed into her chair, hands shaking. Laura killed Yvette? Impossible!

Lydia seized Vivian's arm with bruising force. "Your whore of a mother is a murderer!"

"Enough!" Richard roared before turning to Evelyn. "Zoe, what exactly did you mean about Laura and her brother-in-law?"

York wiped sweat from his brow, unable to meet his brother's gaze.

The truth dawned on Richard. "My wife and my own brother?" A mirthless laugh escaped him. "Brilliant, Laura. Absolutely brilliant."

Though long estranged from Laura, the betrayal cut deep. They weren't even divorced yet.

Laura sneered through her tears. "You deserved it! You cast me aside like garbage—why shouldn't I take my pleasures where I could?"

Richard's entire body shook with suppressed rage.

"You were always the fool," Laura spat. "Falling for my act all those years ago, destroying your marriage to Isabella for me. Pathetic!"

Evelyn's voice cut through the tension like a scalpel. "Yes, my father was blind. Blind enough to raise another man's child for twenty years."

The courtroom gasped. Richard went rigid.

Evelyn produced a second envelope, letting it fall at Laura's feet. Inside lay damning paternity results—proof Vivian wasn't Richard's biological daughter.

"Recognize these?" Evelyn asked softly. "They show exactly how you trapped my father and infiltrated this family with your lies."

The walls were closing in on Laura Scott, and everyone could see it.