Chapter 50: Evidence and Consequences
Chapter 50: Evidence and Consequences
(Olivia’s POV)
“Victoria Frost, the Academy Awards owe you a statuette.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my voice as I
watched her performance unfold before my eyes.
Victoria clutched her chest dramatically, tears streaming perfectly down her cheeks without disturbing her
makeup. The woman was truly gifted at manipulation.
“How can she be so good at acting?” I asked no one in particular, my patience finally snapping. I held up my hand to interrupt her theatrical sobbing. “Are you done with your performance? I’ll ask again, where’s the
evidence?”
I knew she had nothing. This was just another of her elaborate schemes to turn Ethan against me as if he needed any help with that. She was simply relying on his blind favoritism toward her and Emma.
Victoria’s face transformed at my challenge. Her wounded expression hardened, eyes narrowing dangerously.
“Fine! You want evidence, don’t you?” she spat, suddenly lunging toward the man still lying on the floor.
She grabbed his collar with surprising strength, shaking him violently. “Tell me, who told you my address? Who instructed you to hurt us?”
The man – Derek Savage, I’d heard Maxwell call him–glared at Victoria with undisguised hatred. But he remained stubbornly silent, his jaw clenched tight.
I stood perfectly still, letting my innocent expression speak for itself. I had nothing to hide.
Ethan’s gaze moved from my composed face to Victoria’s desperate one. Something flickered in his amber eyes – doubt? Confusion? It vanished too quickly to identify.
He nodded slightly to Maxwell Chen, who stepped forward immediately.
Maxwell took over from Victoria, roughly pinning Derek to the ground. His foot pressed deliberately into the man’s ribs – the same ribs Ethan had broken moments earlier.
“Talk!” Maxwell commanded, applying more pressure.
“Ah! Ugh!” Derek’s scream was cut short as Maxwell stuffed a nearby towel into his mouth, muffling his cries of agony.
I watched the man’s body tremble, the madness that had animated his features earlier fading rapidly. He’d clearly been putting on an act, and now the mask was slipping.
The pain was evidently too intense. His eyes bulged as he struggled to breathe around the gag.
“Ugh… I talk… I talk…” he stammered when Maxwell finally removed the towel,
Maxwell eased the pressure from his foot slightly, allowing Derek to catch his breath. The man convulsed in pain, his hand shaking as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone.
“…I don’t know who it was,” he gasped, his voice ragged. “They contacted me through an old social media
account.”
chapter ho
My heart began to pound uncomfortably in my chest. Something about this felt wrong deeply, terribly
Wrong
“They used voice calls, a voice changer, Derek continued, wincing as he shifted position. “I couldn’t even tell if they were male or female. They told me they were also a victim.”
His eyes darted nervously around the room, avoiding direct contact with anyone. “They knew I didn’t have much time left. They offered me a million dollars to kill the mother and daughter, so I could leave something for my wife and kids”
A million dollars? For a moment, I was stunned by the amount. Who would pay that much to harm Victoria
and Emma?
“I didn’t want to kill anyone, Derek insisted, his voice breaking. “But I really wanted my family to have an easier life after I’m gone…
His trembling fingers unlocked the phone and opened a social media application. Maxwell snatched the device from his hands and passed it to Ethan,
I watched Ethan’s expression as he looked at the screen. His face darkened instantly, amber eyes flashing with recognition- and rage.
Before Ethan could take a closer look, Victoria lunged forward and grabbed the phone from his hands. She spun toward me, her face contorted with vindictive triumph.
“Olivia Winters, you wanted evidence, didn’t you?” she demanded, thrusting the screen in my face. “Now the evidence is conclusive. What else do you have to say?”
I froze when i saw what was displayed on the screen–my own social media account. My profile picture, my name, my posts… all there, communicating with this stranger about harming Victoria and Emma.
Shock rendered me momentarily speechless. This wasn’t possible. I hadn’t used that account in months, not since…
“Olivia, I never thought you not only wanted to vent your anger, you actually wanted to kill Emma and me!” Victoria’s voice rose hysterically. “How could you be so vicious…”
My mind raced to make sense of what I was seeing. Someone had hacked my account. It had to be that. But arguing that point now, with Ethan’s fury practically radiating heat in the room, would be futile.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to regain composure. “Conclusive? Victoria, if you want to convict me, let a judge decide. Call the police!”
My calm response clearly wasn’t what Victoria had expected. She glanced nervously at Ethan, perhaps worried that my lack of hysteria might make him question the evidence.
“Olivia, you’re terrifying, she pressed on, each word carefully chosen to provoke Ethan. “How can you be so brazen? is it because Matriarch Evelyn is back, you have someone to back you up, so you think you can act with impunity?”
Victoria’s eyes filled with fresh tears as she turned to Ethan, her expression a perfect blend of fear and disbelief.
I was still processing her words about Matriarch Evelyn. The elderly woman had been kind to me once, before. her memory became fixed in the past. Could Victoria be right? Was I unconsciously counting on her
Chimes 50 Evidence and
protection?
My thoughts were interrupted by Ethan’s voice, cold and final.
7 won’t let her off lightly for hurting Emma.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. He believed it. Without question, without investigation, he had already
convicted me.
Ethan looked down at me, his amber eyes glacial. That single sentence had sealed my guilt in his mind.
Victoria seemed momentarily confused, but understanding dawned on her face when Ethan grabbed my arm and began dragging me toward the door that led to the basement.
I saw the flash of satisfaction in her eyes as she realized what was happening. Isabelle must have told her about my first days in the Stone household – how she had locked me in the basement as “punishment” for some imagined slight. How she had instructed the servants to release rats and insects inside, knowing my
terror of them.
That basement had become my personal hell, a nightmare I’d fought to forget.
“Ethan Stone, let me go!” I struggled against his iron grip as he pulled me down the hallway.
My heart hammered against my ribs, panic rising in my throat. I couldn’t believe I had been foolish enough to think, even for a moment, that Ethan might trust me.
“Let me go!” I repeated, digging my heels into the floor, but his strength was overwhelming.
He didn’t even look at me as he dragged me toward my nightmare.
Comments
Watch Ads (0/20) >
106
H
Vote