Chapter 3

I wasn’t the only one stunned. Even Harris, who had seen just about everything, looked surprised.

Had you ever seen a crime show where the suspect walked in and immediately confessed?

“Ms. Bennett, this isn’t something to joke about.”

Lily shook her head. “I’m not joking. I killed him.”

“I used a diamond to break the glass.”

She took a small bag out of her purse and poured out several broken pieces of diamond.

“He gave it to me. It was also the murder weapon.”

“I was going to turn myself in if you still hadn’t figured it out after a while.”

“You were faster than I expected.”

“If you planned to turn yourself in, why didn’t you come sooner?” I asked.

Lily gave me a faint, apologetic smile. “I wanted more people to pay attention to this case. Public interest is the best way to spread a story.”

“Officer, I confess. But I have one request. I want a livestream so I can explain what I did in front of everyone.”

She turned to Harris. “And I’d like Graham Whitmore to be there.”

After some thought, Harris agreed.

“Captain, that’s not exactly procedure.”

“Quiet.”

Three days later, the department invited a prominent local news outlet. Graham arrived as promised.

Lily sat in front of the camera in handcuffs. She didn’t look like a criminal at all.

“I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances.”

She was speaking to Graham.

He stared at her, his brow deeply furrowed. “Why did you kill my son? Didn’t he give you enough?”

Lily smiled. “Enough? Of course he did.”

“Be patient. I was just about to tell the officers how it happened.”

“I met Ethan Whitmore a year ago.”

“I was a waitress then. I accidentally spilled some food on him.”

“He didn’t blame me. He even defended me to my manager.”

That accident had brought Lily into the wealthy young man’s life. His gentlemanly behavior had swept her off her feet.

“I thought he was my Prince Charming. The man who would save me.”

“He introduced me to his friends, bought me an expensive diamond ring, and seemed to think of everything I needed.

“I thought we were a couple who didn’t care about the difference in our backgrounds.”

While Lily reminisced, Graham gave a contemptuous snort. “A delusional little gold digger. You actually thought you were good enough for him?”

“No,” Lily agreed calmly. “I wasn’t. I was just an utterly ordinary girl.”

“Only after a year with Ethan did I find out I was one of his many mistresses.”

When Lily arrived to meet him at an upscale downtown bar, she could hardly believe what she saw.

Two women were sitting in Ethan’s lap, competing to feed him drinks.

“Ethan, what are you doing?”

She couldn’t believe the boyfriend she spent every day with could do something like that.

Ethan didn’t care. He gave her an amused smile. “Can’t you see? I’m flirting with my girlfriends.”

He told her he’d grown tired of glamorous, sophisticated women. Meeting someone as plain and innocent as Lily had been a refreshing change.

All those sweet, loving moments had just been a little game of playing house.

“But too much plain food gets boring. Time for something with a little flavor.”

Then he started making out with the woman on his left.

Lily left in tears.

“I hated him. But I couldn’t let him go.”