Chapter 22
### Chapter 22: The Victim's Confession
"I knew the system would restore the original data," Margaret said, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Nathaniel frowned.
"If you knew, why did you do it? You wanted me to think Vivien pushed you, but you knew the system would clear her name?"
Margaret turned her head to look at her son.
Cruelty wrapped in a maternal shell.
"I didn't need the police to arrest Vivien. I needed to drive her away. And I needed you to make a choice."
A pause.
"If you covered for Vivien, you became an accomplice betraying me. If you handed her to the police, you proved your loyalty."
But she sighed.
"She was one step faster. She manually deleted the logs to force the house to self-repair."
Nathaniel felt sick.
"You used your own life just to test power?"
May you like
"No," Margaret replied, her voice like iron. "I used it to transfer power to you."
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