True Love Deserves a Second Chance
Chapter 280 The Murderer

Joyce's fingers brushed against the scorching heat and she jerked back, startled. She shot him an annoyed look. "What the heck are you doing? Dad's still outside."

Sebastian pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "Did I freak you out? It's not like you haven't seen it before. It's been extra excited lately; must be missing you. Babe, how about tonight..."

Before he could finish, Joyce clamped her hand over his mouth. "Nope, doc said third trimester's a no-go for sex."

Sebastian kissed her palm. "Just messing with you. I can keep it in check. Once our baby arrives and you're all healed up, we'll leave him with his grandpas and go on our honeymoon. You wanted to see the Northern Lights and hit up Radiant Canyon, right? We'll do it."

Joyce's mind was already drifting to happy places. She imagined snuggling with Sebastian, awestruck by the Northern Lights. They'd be on the other side of the world, soaking in the Grand Canyon's epic views.

Joyce wrapped her arms around Sebastian's neck, her eyes sparkling. "The best thing ever is doing what you love with the person you love. Babe, I'm so happy."

She stood on tiptoe and kissed his chin.

Sebastian looked down at her glowing face and felt a pang of guilt.

Since they'd been together, Joyce hadn't had a single peaceful day. They finally got hitched, but she was stuck at home, unable to go anywhere. Yet she never complained. She still found happiness.

'How much must Joyce love me to put up with all this?' Sebastian felt a bit moved.

He hugged Joyce tight, his chin resting on her head, his voice muffled. "Joyce, once this is all over, I'll make it up to you double. I'll make you the happiest woman in the world."

Joyce looked up at him and smiled, genuinely and gently. "I already am. I have you, our baby, and so many family members who love me. I feel like the happiest person right now. Sebastian, we'll always be this happy, right?" Sebastian's heart tightened. He was silent for a moment, then said hoarsely, "Yeah, we'll be even happier than we are now."

They hugged a bit longer before heading out.

Benjamin had already set the table. As he served the soup, he smiled and said, "Joyce, try this soup. I found the recipe online. The baby's growing fast now, you need more nutrition."

Joyce smiled and said, "Dad, I've gained weight again. If I keep eating like this, I'll be huge by the time I give birth."

Benjamin replied, "You still look thin to me. You're seven months in and not over 130 pounds. You need to eat more."

Sebastian grinned as he forked a piece of meat into Joyce's mouth. "Dad's right. Putting on a bit of weight will give you strength during labor."

Benjamin nodded. "Sebastian's right. You need strength for labor. Now, drink this bowl of soup, no leftovers."

The three of them sat together, eating and chatting. It was warm and happy. All of Sebastian's fatigue from the day melted away.

After dinner, Sebastian took a walk with Joyce outside, helped her with a bath, and told her a few fairy tales.

Seeing Joyce drift off to sleep, Sebastian slipped into the study. Just then, an email from Dominic popped up: [Mr. Winters, here's the sketch based on Logan's photo. The cops are already on the lookout for this guy.]

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.com is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away! Sebastian frowned at the image on his screen.

Logan had delicate features, and the computer-generated sketch of him as an adult looked just as refined. But how could he who seemed so gentle be so cruel and vicious?

Sebastian quickly shot back a reply to Dominic: [Dig into the backgrounds of all the Black Wind Society leaders. This guy might be hiding among them.]

A month later, Cordelia's trial for Connie's murder kicked off.

The evidence was rock solid, and the trial went smoothly. Cordelia pleaded guilty the whole time. But when the judge brought up the Elise case, she clammed up.

Seeing her unrepentant in court, Sebastian felt a stab of pain. He wished she was not her mom. That way, he wouldn't have to worry every day about Joyce leaving him.

The case involved two lives, and Cordelia should've been sentenced to immediate execution. But since they still needed to dig into the Elise case, she got a suspended death sentence.

After the judge announced the sentence, Cordelia shot a look at Derek and Elise. The hatred in her eyes was clear. "Derek, don't you wanna know who Elise really is? If you killed that bitch Joyce for me, I'll spill the truth." Derek immediately stood up, glaring at her coldly. "Cordelia, I won't let you get another chance to hurt Joyce. I'll find out Elise's identity myself."

Cordelia laughed indifferently as the guards took her away.

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.com is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away! Derek watched her leave and sighed deeply. "At least we gave Connie some justice. I hope Joyce won't blame us for keeping the truth from her."

Sebastian's face went pale, a bad feeling gnawing at him. He quickly pulled out his phone to call Joyce. The phone rang and rang, but no answer. He then called Benjamin.

When the call connected, Sebastian urgently asked, "Dad, where's Joyce? Why isn't she picking up her phone?"

Benjamin was at the market, surrounded by noise. He loudly replied, "She was at home when I left. She should be outside with Baxter in the sun. Don't worry, she'll be fine." After hanging up with Benjamin, Sebastian called the bodyguard at home. The bodyguard reported that Joyce hadn't come out.

Since getting pregnant, Joyce's routine had been pretty regular. With such nice weather today, she wouldn't stay cooped up in her room.

Sebastian felt something was off and immediately bolted out with his phone.

Joyce was holding her phone, playing the video over and over.

The video came from an unknown number. She thought it was spam and was about to delete it when she saw a line of text below: [Wanna know who killed your mom? Then watch the video.] Joyce thought it was a prank and casually clicked on it. But as soon as she did, she was stunned.

The video was the entire trial of Cordelia. She admitted to killing Connie, having an affair with Darren, and giving birth to Isabella. For Isabella, she killed Connie.

At that moment, Joyce's tears fell. She realized the person who killed her mother was Cordelia, Sebastian's mother.