Stepdad Almost Wins Custody Battle, Then Girl Says Three Words That Change Everything – Story of the Day

Martha, upset and worried, goes to see private detective Ryan Beckett. She thinks her sister's deadly accident was really murder. When Beckett starts looking into it, the sister's daughter says three words that shock everyone at a custody trial. This gives Beckett new clues to follow and takes him into a mystery full of surprises and hidden secrets.

In the heart of the city, the modest office of private detective Ryan Beckett served as a sanctuary where secrets unraveled.

Martha, a woman marred by recent grief, visited him, seeking answers about her sister Emily's suspicious car accident.

"I don't believe it was just an accident," Martha confessed.

"Go on," Ryan urged.

"A few days before her death, she had a huge argument with her husband, Josh. She wanted to leave him, which meant he would be left with nothing. My sister was a wealthy woman."

"Was anyone else involved in the accident?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, my niece, Katie," Martha replied. "She hasn't spoken a word since. She saw her mother die, and if her father gets custody tomorrow, we may never know what happened to Emily."

Ryan, moved by Martha's plight, promised to investigate. Once she left, he opened his notebook and worked with the details she gave him.

At the custody hearing, the tension was palpable. Martha's side seemed to falter until Katie, prompted by the judge, said three words.

"Josh killed Mom."

The courtroom erupted in shock, and Ryan immediately requested the hearing be halted, declaring Josh a suspect in a potential murder.

"I saw Josh put the white powder in Mom's coffee," Katie told Ryan after the hearing. "Mom never had sugar in her coffee. It wasn't sugar."

"Thank you, Katie. I need to talk to Josh about this," Ryan said.

Ryan confronted Josh, telling him about Katie's statement.

"Katie's just a child. She's confused and doesn't know what she's talking about," Josh said.

"This is a serious accusation, Josh. Now's the right time to confess everything."

"I loved Emily, and I would never hurt her. She died in an accident. That's all. Please stop bothering us," Josh pleaded.

Then, Josh turned to Katie, and together they walked away from the courthouse. Meanwhile, Ryan looked at them, telling himself that finding the truth wouldn't be a piece of cake.

After the custody hearing, Ryan delved into Josh's financial records to understand his and Emily's dynamic better. He learned that Josh's struggle with money contrasted starkly with Emily's financial independence. She was the breadwinner, while he spent her money in clubs and bars.

Meanwhile, he also learned that Emily spent a chunk of her money on buying antidepressants, while Josh was involved with someone else. Ryan found a private account under Josh's name. Josh used it to spend money on flowers, jewelry, and a weekly hotel room rental.

Ryan's investigation led him to a grand hotel, where he met Leslie, the receptionist.

"Good afternoon, sir. How can I assist you today?" she asked.

Ryan introduced himself and told her he came to find out about Josh. Upon hearing his name, Leslie's expression changed. Soon, she revealed that she had a personal relationship with Josh.

"We fell in love instantly," she recalled. "He told me about his troubled relationship with his wife, Emily. He wanted to leave her."

"Did he tell you about his financial troubles?"

"He didn't. Emily did," Leslie said. "She contacted me one day, telling me about her plans to leave him. She wanted me to be careful because she thought Josh would move on to another woman who could support him. She told me he would be left with nothing after their divorce."

"And did you tell this to Josh?" Ryan asked, writing everything in his notepad.

"I did. He said he would take care of everything. He said he would start a new life with me," she revealed. "And then… I found out about Emily's death."

"Did you talk to him after her death?"

"Just once. He said it was an accident. He said we need to stay away from each other for a while."

"Thank you for being honest with me, Leslie," Ryan said before leaving the hotel.

Since Ryan had previously worked on a case involving antidepressants, he knew taking those with other drugs could be fatal. As a result, he teamed up with the police to arrest Josh and search his house for such pills.

"You're under arrest!" one of the officers announced when Josh opened the door. He was shocked. He had no idea why Ryan was at his doorstep with the police.

He was handcuffed and led towards the police car, his protests falling on deaf ears.

With Josh in custody, Ryan knew he had a limited window to search the house for evidence to solidify the case against him.

Ryan quickly searched the house, and it was in Josh's bedroom that he found what he was looking for. He found a bottle of sedatives in the bedside drawer.

"Good job," one of the police officers said when Ryan showed them his find.

Soon, Josh was in the interrogation room of the police station, trying his best to prove that his wife died in an accident.

"Everyone's telling me I should get a lawyer," Josh began, his voice shaky. "But I keep saying I'm not guilty. I don't need a lawyer if I didn't do anything wrong."

The police officer leaned forward, his gaze fixed on Josh. "Then, can you explain why Detective Ryan found sedatives in your house? Sedatives that, when mixed with antidepressants, could be deadly?"

"I don't know anything about those sedatives. I swear, I've never seen them before," Josh said.

Josh kept saying he didn't know anything about the sedatives while Ryan observed him from afar.

"And what about Leslie? You wanted to be with her, right?" Ryan banged his hands on the table. "Emily was the only one standing between you and Leslie. You needed to get rid of her."

"I didn't kill Emily!" Josh protested.

"Besides, she wasn't perfect either. She was seeing her ex-husband, Tom."

"So, you wanted to get rid of her out of jealousy?" Ryan asked.

"No, I didn't! In fact, we had recently agreed to stop our affairs after learning about Emily's pregnancy. We agreed to work on our marriage."

"Then what did you put in her drink, Josh? What was that white powder Katie saw?"

"I told you it was sugar. Sweets were one of Emily's pregnancy cravings. She asked me to add sugar to her coffee. Katie was right, Emily didn't like having sweetened coffee earlier. But this was an exception," Josh explained.

"What about the antidepressants? Why was she taking them if she was pregnant?" Ryan asked.

"The doctor was slowly reducing the dose. She was about to quit taking the pills."

"Alright, Josh," Ryan said before leaving the interrogation room. His next step was to talk to Emily's ex-husband, Tom.

Before driving to Tom's house, Ryan did his research and found out Tom was struggling with his finances. He needed money, which made Ryan think of him as a suspect.

In no time, Ryan drove to Tom's house, only to see something that completely changed the direction of the case.

He saw Tom sharing an intimate moment with a woman Ryan had met before. Tom had his arms wrapped around Martha.

He was kissing his ex-wife's sister.

Instead of going inside the house, Ryan drove back to his office. A few minutes later, he called Martha from his office.

"I need you to come to my office. There's something important we need to discuss," he told her, while Tom looked at him from right across the table.

"I'll be there soon," she replied and hung up.

Shortly, there was a knock on the door, and Martha entered. She looked around the room, her eyes widening slightly when she saw Tom.

"Thank you for coming, Martha," Ryan smiled. "Please sit down."

"Detective, it's late. I need to go," Tom said, his voice tinged with discomfort.

"Don't worry, Tom. I'll be quick," Ryan said as he rose from his seat. "Earlier today, I saw you and Martha together. It was unexpected. I didn't even think that you two were meeting."

"Tom has always been a good friend of mine," Martha said. "Our relationship only started recently."

"Yeah, it's nothing serious," Tom added.

"But I thought that you, Tom, were planning to rebuild your life with Emily," Ryan said, his eyes fixed on Tom.

"What?" Martha was shocked.

"It wasn't anything serious. Emily and I just talked a few times. That's all," Tom replied nervously.

"So did she know about you and Martha?" Ryan asked.

"No," Tom shook his head. "I didn't want her to know."

Martha looked away, her expression one of discomfort.

Ryan turned to Martha and continued, "Martha, I know about the strong sedatives you take. Were you aware that Emily was on antidepressants?"

Martha's response was guarded. "I don't see how that's relevant, detective."

"I checked the GPS data from Emily's car. It shows that she drove to your place right before the accident," Ryan said firmly.

Martha's reply was quick. "We just talked, that's all."

Ryan pushed further. "If we retest Emily's blood, will we find traces of your sedative?"

Martha tried to deflect. "You found the same pills at Josh's house."

"Yes, but those pills are prescription-only. Josh's doctor confirmed he never prescribed them to Josh," Ryan explained.

"Maybe he bought them from somewhere illegally," Martha replied nervously.

"That would have been possible if they hadn't decided to work on their marriage," Ryan said. "Your sister was pregnant. Josh told me they wanted to fix everything. This means Emily was ending things with Tom."

"Yeah," Tom confirmed. "She told me we couldn't see each other anymore."

Ryan looked at Martha intently. "You wanted Emily out of the picture, didn't you? So you could be with Tom."

Martha's voice was low, filled with regret. "Yes. Emily had it all– money, a husband, a child. I just wanted Tom."

"You also needed money because Tom was bankrupt. You planned everything so you could get your hands on her money," Ryan said firmly.

"I… It wasn't meant to be so complicated," Martha confessed. "I had tampered with Josh's car, expecting him to ask Emily for a ride. I thought they would all be in the same car when Emily would lose control. They were all supposed to die in the same crash."

"But Josh took a taxi, and Katie survived the crash…" Martha continued.

"Martha? How could you?" Tom was shocked.

"You hired me to find Emily's killer. I promised to find the truth," Ryan looked at her solemnly. "Guys, come in!"

The door to the office opened. Two uniformed police officers stepped inside, and one of them spoke, "Martha, you are under arrest for the suspicion of involvement in the death of Emily."

Ryan and Tom watched one of the officers put handcuffs on Martha and take her outside. She was filled with a complex mix of emotions. She knew her fate was sealed.

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