Chapter 1571: Chapter 1571: The Second Confession
Ruth Frazer began another version of the confession—
This version was subtly different from the previous version, and these subtle differences led to a dramatic change in outcome.
Moissanite was obsessed with painting, especially with subjects related to culture, history, and religion.
There was once a book that described a painter named Yoshihide, who, in order to perfectly create an image of hell, demanded that a beautiful woman be locked in a carriage and burned alive so that he could observe and learn. Unexpectedly, the woman locked in the carriage that day turned out to be his daughter. His daughter cried out for help amid the flames, and Yoshihide was initially panicked and saddened, but he gradually calmed down. In the end, he did not save his daughter but chose instead to witness her being burned alive for the sake of art.
Moissanite’s obsession with the art of painting was akin to Yoshihide’s.
To achieve the best effect, he spared no expense buying the witch’s ceramic jar, using the corpse oil inside as paint thinner for his oil paintings, creating one masterpiece after another.
He began experiencing hallucinations, with images from that era appearing often in his mind: pedestrians on the street, huge war elephants, ancient capitals, and the color of the earth and the sky’s vastness, all of it intoxicating to Moissanite.
At the same time, he contracted a strange illness.
His hands were like ink stains, growing twisted black markings, which seemed to spread steadily.
Ruth Frazer urged her husband to visit the hospital, suspecting it was some sort of skin disease, but Moissanite refused, worried that if he recovered, he would no longer see those strange visions in his mind.
Ruth suspected the disease might be contagious and ordered all servants not to approach Moissanite’s studio. She herself became cautious and never went to the studio again.
Moissanite painted day and night, and every meeting between the couple ended in an argument. Ruth Frazer consistently believed there was something wrong with his paintings, while Moissanite felt his wife didn’t understand his pursuit of art.
One time, Ruth Frazer went to another city to attend an art exhibition, and upon returning home, she found Moissanite lying motionless in bed.
She took a few steps closer and saw that Moissanite’s body was covered in black markings, densely woven together, like a black spiderweb! It was terrifying!
From his throat came a rasping sound, and although his lips didn’t move, a clear voice sounded: “Finish the painting… want to finish it… complete it…”
Ruth Frazer was terrified, panic-stricken, she ran out of the room, just as a servant approached and asked her with concern what had happened.
Still stunned and unable to speak, Ruth suddenly saw a black creature like a snake emerge from the room, directly dragging the servant inside!
“… Since that time, he threatened me, forcing me to hire servants, or else… he would eat me.” Ruth Frazer’s face was full of tears, her voice choking, “I truly had no choice… I wanted to escape, but he always found me; I could only obey!”
Aria Jackson said expressionlessly: “No wonder all the servants you hired later on were migrant workers from out of town. These people were away from home long-term, and even if they didn’t contact their families for a long time, their families wouldn’t be suspicious… But New Year’s Spring Festival is a time for reunion; if they can’t be contacted then, it’s definitely abnormal, which is why the disappearance reports surged after the new year, and we started watching you and Moissanite because of it.”
Aria Jackson wanted to sigh, her mood heavy, “Tell me, where are the bodies hidden?”
Ruth Frazer was still crying; upon hearing the question, she choked up and said: “I’ll take you to see…”
She got up to go upstairs, stepping onto the first step, and turned back to say to them: “Moissanite… he should be resting now. When you go in, try to keep your voices down, don’t disturb him, or I’m afraid it could be dangerous.”
Aria Jackson tilted her head assessing her, as if pondering something; a moment later, she smiled faintly: “Understood, lead the way.”