Chapter 239
Estrella had left the hospital earlier that morning, and since then, Jason had been blowing up her phone with calls and texts. To Estrella, it seemed clear that Jason’s persistence was nothing short of harassment, especially since he hadn’t even mentioned the evidence she was waiting for. Fed up, she had blocked him. This left Jason with no choice but to reach out using Drew’s phone.
Hearing Jason’s words, Estrella replied, “I’m spending time with my son right now. I’ll come over once he’s asleep.” She definitely wasn’t keen on Jason coming to the Dorvold
residence.
“You’re still not fully mobile,” Jason insisted. “I’ll send Drew to pick you up.”
Estrella didn’t give him the time of day, abruptly ending the call with a click.
Later, after playing with Isaac and finishing dinner at home, Estrella handed Isaac over to Autumn and stepped out. Sure enough, as soon as she reached the doorway, Drew was already there waiting for her.
Throughout the drive to the hospital, Drew didn’t bring up the fire incident. Instead, he poured his energy into telling Estrella about how tough the past three years had been for Jason, how much he had missed her, and his unwavering fidelity. Drew assured her that there was never anything romantic between Jason and Holly-it was all just one big misunderstanding.
Estrella, only half-listening to Drew’s heartfelt defense, casually dug at her ear and said, “Drew, you’re wasted as an assistant. You should be a comedian.” She had never realized before how skilled Drew was at pleading someone’s case.
“Ms. Estrella, I just don’t want there to be any misunderstandings between you and Mr. Jason,” Drew tried to explain.
“There are no misunderstandings between us, Drew-only facts,” Estrella retorted, leaving Drew speechless. She had a way with words that made it impossible for him to win any argument.
Seeing Drew looking pitiful, Estrella knew she was finally going to get some quiet time.
When Drew attempted to speak again, Estrella preemptively cut him off, “Drew, you’ve seen everything that’s happened between Jason and me over the years. He never came home at night. Not only did he refuse to have children, but he also refused to have a wedding banquet, and he even would not acknowledge me as Mrs. Nelson. These are all facts, aren’t they?”
“Isn’t it a fact that he said he would pick me up at the airport but stood me up? Isn’t it a fact that’I had a miscarriage and was hospitalized at Sandalwood Oasis, and he didn’t even know about it?”
There were too many other incidents Estrella didn’t even care to mention.
Drew nodded in reluctant agreement, “Yes, those are facts, but-”
“Drew, you’re what, two years older than me? Nearly thirty and yet you still can’t see things clearly. Life isn’t filled with ‘buts’ and ‘ifs’. Results are what matter, and I’ve always been about the endgame,” Estrella said. “So stop trying to sell Jason’s sob story to me. I’m only here to find out the truth about what really happened back then.”
With such a significant issue at hand, who could be bothered with anything else? Clearing her name was what mattered most.
Having said her piece, Estrella left Drew with no option but to fall silent.
Soon they arrived at the hospital’s outdoor parking lot in front of the inpatient building. Estrella got out of the car and went straight upstairs. She pushed open the door to Jason’s hospital room to find a desktop computer set up on the desk, surrounded by files and documents.
Jason greeted her as Drew escorted her in. After a knowing glance, Drew quickly excused himself, “Mr. Jason, Ms. Estrella, you two take your time. I’ll go attend to other matters.” It was their chance to be alone, and Drew had no intention of being a third wheel.
Drew shut the door behind him, and Jason guided Estrella with her hand inside, saying, “All the evidence is right here.” Estrella glanced at him coolly before withdrawing her hand
from his.
Jason pulled out a chair for her by the desk, “The surveillance footage and all other relevant evidence- it’s all here.”
Upon hearing Jason’s words, Estrella first glanced at the evidence on the table, then proceeded to open various surveillance videos that Jason had prepared in advance.
As she watched the footage in the sequence that Jason and Drew had arranged, Estrella’s expression darkened.
Though she was trained in law, she was no stranger to technology and could tell t surveillance hadn’t been tampered with. The person in the videos was undeniably he the fire had been started by her hands. If she weren’t sitting right here, and if she did completely lack this segment of memory, she would have suspected herself as the culprit.
It was past eleven when Estrella finished reviewing Jason’s materials, her emotions a tangled mess. In that moment, she understood why Jason had suspected her.
-Can’t believe Jason was two-timing. Estrella, I’ll fix this mess with the lovebirds for you.
-One fire, and it’s all sorted.
The night was silent as she sifted through the evidence, Jason not interrupting once, simply standing by her side. Seeing Serene braving the flames to save him and Holly.
08:35
Estrella also understood why Jason had been looking out for her.
Swallowing hard, Estrella said, “My conversation with Jesse is true, but it was just words said in anger. I didn’t set that fire, and neither did Jesse.” All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.
The questions of why she was at the scene and why all the evidence pointed to her remained a mystery to Estrella.
Before Jason could respond, Estrella continued, “Jason, I’m not trying to weasel out of anything, but I won’t take the fall for something I didn’t do. And I know myself—if I really had it in me to kill, and if I’d actually gone through with it, you and Holly wouldn’t be alive today.”
With Estrella, it was all or nothing. If Estrella had been the one to act, they wouldn’t be alive, and she wouldn’t have left such damning evidence for anyone to find.
With the evidence laid out before her, Estrella couldn’t find a way out of this yet, but she was determined that she would.
Estrella stood resolute, her determination unwavering. From behind, Jason hunched slightly and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace. “I believe you,” he murmured into her ear. “If you say you didn’t do it, then you didn’t do it.”
When Estrella came to see him this morning and vented her frustration, Jason was already certain that there was a problem here. They just hadn’t figured out the reason yet. The surprise hug from Jason allowed Estrella’s heart, which had been suspended in anxiety, to finally find its landing. She was so wrapped up in the muddle of evidence that she’d forgotten to push him away. With his chin resting on her shoulder, Jason turned his face toward hers and asked with a hint of playfulness, “Babe, what made you dive into this investigation all of a sudden?”
After all these years, Estrella had never once spoken of the fire that had scarred the past. Jason’s curiosity about her motives was piqued.