Chapter 125
Graham was a light sleeper. He instantly opened his eyes when he heard the door being pushed open.
Julianna rushed to the bedside, but before she could speak, Graham grabbed her and pulled her into his embrace.
He nipped over, pinning Julianna down. “You couldn’t resist coming on to me after considering it all night?”
Julianna’s mouth twitched. “I’m not here to throw myself at you…”
Graham stopped her from continuing with his lips. Julianna made m u f l e d sounds as she kept smacking his shoulders.
But soon, Graham’s fiery heat melted Julianna. She weakly clung to his neck, a soft moan escaping her throat.
“Can we?” Graham asked gently, which snapped Julianna back to her senses.
She blinked, looking at the unusually handsome man above her, and forcefully pushed him away. “No way!”
Julianna wiped her mouth and sat up. She found her phone with the help of its light.
Graham grabbed the phone and threw it on the bed, leaning in for another kiss
Covering his mouth with her hand, Julianna said seriously, “Stop messing around, Something has happened!”
Seeing her anxious look, Graham stopped teasing her. “What’s wrong?”
Julianna grabbed her phone and hold it up to his face. “Sabrina Hood, the former designer at Starlight Design Studio who had been helping the film crew of ‘Dark War’ with costumes, took her own life!”
Graham asked, “What’s so surprising about that?”
Julianna was anxious. “The person who wants to set Stephie up knows her well and knows that Stephie will help Madeline. Sabrina had a grudge against Stephie, so the former might have acted out of resentment!”
Graham pursed his lips. “That seems plausible, but there’s no substantial evidence. It’s all just your speculation. Besides, what kind of hatred would drive her to want to kill someone?”
Julianna frowned, n a t c h n g her phone back and rolling her eyes. “Follow this lead. What if we find something? She’s currently a prime suspect!”
She huffed and prepared to get out of bed.
Graham pulled her back into his arms. “Where are you going?”
Thinking that being too intimate was bad, Julianna tugged on his arm. “I’m going back to sleep.”
Pressed against her back, Graham hugged her tightly and lay down, his warm breath on her neck. “I couldn’t sleep well all night. Sleep with me for a
white.”
She asked, “Why couldn’t you sleep well?”
He replied, “What do you think? Why couldn’t you sleep then?”
Julianna was stunned. “How do you know I couldn’t sleep?”
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Graham said, “I couldn’t sleep, afraid you’d come on to me at any moment. You couldn’t sleep because you were wrestling with the thought of coming.
no?”
Julianna snapped, “Nonsensel When did I come on to you?”
“Just now?” Graham retorted.
Julianna was speechless.
He chuckled. “I wanted you to do it so I was ready at any moment. Be good, sleep. I’m tired,”
Julianna struggled, and Graham kissed the back of her neck. “If you move again, I can’t guarantee what will happen.”
She yelled, “Graham!”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
He responded, “Yes, I’m here. Be good and sleep. It’s not the right time to rush to the hospital to tell Stephanie anyway. It’s not even four o’clock yet.”
Seeing that he wasn’t going to do anything else, Julianna gave up resisting, knowing he wouldn’t let go.
She stared at the light seeping through the curtains until her eyes gradually closed.
In her dream, she saw a cherry tree with ripe cherries. A man climbed the tree, ate the cherries individually, and said they were sweet.
Julianna was so angry t
that she wanted to grab him. “You stole my cherries! Give them back to me!”
The man said, “They are delicious. I’ll come back for more next time.”
Julianna shouted, “You can’t have any!” She soon woke up in anger.
Graham was gone. She looked down at her pajamas, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw they were still neatly in place.
She grabbed her phone from the nightstand. It was already eight o’clock.
Julianna called Stephanie and asked if she knew what happened to Sabrina.
Stephanie hummed in response. “I’m at the police station now. Sabrina left a note stating she swapped out the props on set and added extra explosives. She detalled the purchase times and sources of the items. She did this out of resentment because I fired her. The police are questioning me because the case involves me. They need to take my statement.”
Julianna was surprised. “So it really was her? Was the handwriting hers?”
Stephanie analyzed objectively, “Yes, the handwriting belonged to Sabrina. But I suspect she was just a scapegoat. Sabrina did it on the balcony, so it was easy for someone to discover her and call the police. If she really wanted to die, she wouldn’t have done it so deliberately. The note was too detailed as well, almost as if afraid to miss any detail. There are many suspicious points.”
Julianna thought about it. “It does feel like someone pushed Sabrina to take
the blame, eager to wrap up the case.”
Stephanie agreed.
Julianna asked, “Then what now? If all the evidence points to her, won’t the police conclude she was the culprit?”
“That’s very likely. Since there’s evidence and the suspect is dead, the case will generally be considered closed. But we’ll keep investigating,” Stephanie paused. “As long as the person behind this is targeting me, they’ll strike again. Julia, don’t worry. I can protect myself, and Vincent will also protect me.”
Julianna was still worried. “Stephie, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Don’t worry.” Stephanie smiled and changed the subject, easing her mood. “Did you go back to the condominium or the design studio last night?”
“The condominium,“ Julianna answered.
Stephanie said, “Oh? You and Graham?”
Julianna coughed. “Do you think I’d let that lecher try anything? if he tried, I’d kick him!”
Stephanie laughed. “I’m relieved that you two are doing well.”
“Who wants to do well with him?” As soon as Julianna turned around, she saw Graham standing at the door with a tray of sushi and oatmeal.
Julianna continued, “Stephie, I need to wash up and go to the design studio. I’ll visit you in the evening after work.”
“Sure. I’m really fine now, okay?” Stephanie replied.
“Okay, bye.” Julianna hung up and looked at Graham, who raised his eyebrows. He asked, “I’m a lecher?”
“An’t you?” Julianna retorted.
Graham glanced at her pajamas, which had a cartoon character on them, and smiled. “If you say so. Wash up and eat breakfast. I’ll take y
studio.”
you to the design
Julianna nodded and went to wash u
up.
At the police station, Stephanie was able to enter the forensic department, thanks to Vincent’s connections. She saw Sabrina’s body.
Stephanie put on her gloves and examined the corpse.
The forensic pathologist provided his findings, “There are no other injuries on the body, no drugs in the blood or urine, and only neck marks consistent with hanging. Based on the body’s stiffness, the death occurred before dawn. The scene had an overturned stool, indicating the victim stepped on it, tied her neck to the clothesline, and kicked the stool to end her life.”
Stephanie nodded slightly. “Indeed, there is no suspicious skin or fibers under her nails and no other injuries.”
She closed her eyes, visualizing the crime scene.
If Sabrina had been hanged while she was still alive, there would have been a struggle, and there would be signs of it.
The autopsy showed no struggle marks, indicating the hanging was the primary crime scene, not a secondary one.
Stephanie suddenly opened her eyes. “Sabrina willingly did it.”