Chapter 131
“Irene, why?” Anna gasped therically, her body already in mid–fall appearance was perfect timing for her play reliable witnesses arriving
Mike and Jenny emerged from the stairwell Their sudden
at the exact moment needed,
“You okay, sweetie?” Jenny cradled Anna protectively while Mike whipped around to face frene.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he shouted, voice bouncing off the walls. She just got out of the ICU because of you, and now you’re shoving her around? Who does that?”
Jenny jumped in, voice sharp enough to cut glass. “After everything did for you! She barely survived, and you’re still going after her? No wonder nobody wants you in their life!”
The words stung. Irene’s back hit the wall as she took an instinctive step back. Twenty years with these people, and this was what it had come to.
Her fingers curled into fists as she bit the inside of her cheek. She’d be damned if she’d let them see they could still hurt her.
Anna pressed a trembling hand to her chest, breathing like she’d just run stairs. “I–I’m sure she didn’t mean it, she whispered, perfectly audible to everyone nearby. Her eyes darted around, checking if the nurses were buying her act.
Nailed it, Anna thought behind her mask of distress. The fake suicide attempt didn’t work, but this will. Let’s see how she likes being the bad guy for once.
She rubbed her arm with a dramatic wince. “Just caught me off guard when I fell,” she murmured, playing the bigger person while making sure everyone clocked her “injury.”
Still foggy from the medication they’d pumped into her system, Anna wasn’t thinking as clearly as usual. Her plan lacked her typical calculation–this was raw emotion taking over, a desperate grab for sympathy while her guard was down.
The commotion pulled in a crowd. Doors opened as patients and staff peered out, with Nathan and Richard appearing among them
“She pushed Anna and won’t even say sorry!” Jenny announced to their expanding audience. “This heartless, ungrateful girl–I don’t know where we went wrong with her!”
Mike planted himself in front of Anna like a human shield. “We sure as hell didn’t teach you to be this cold. No kid of ours would
pull this crap!”
Nathan stepped closer, frowning as he tried to piece together what he was seeing. “What’s going on here?” His eyes bounced between Anna on the floor and Irene against the wall.
Anna looked up with her best wounded–deer impression. “Irene probably didn’t mean anything by it,” she said, voice wobbling just right. “She’s just upset about… you know.” The implication hung in the air–Irene was jealous and lashing out,
Richard couldn’t resist piling on. “What exactly are you trying to prove?” he asked, eyes narrowed. “You shut me down completely, then turn around and attack Anna? What game are you playing?”
Nathan watched Irene carefully. She stood straight as a steel rod, face calm despite being surrounded by accusers. Brandon’s fierce defense of her flashed through his mind, seeding a kernel of doubt.
“Let’s dial it back,” he said carefully. “If there’s been a mix–up, we should probably take this somewhere private instead of creating a scene.”
He wasn’t exactly jumping to her defense, but he wasn’t joining the lynch mob either. Something about this setup didn’t sit right with him.
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Chapter 131
Irene scanned the circle of anery faces, disgust washing over her. She stood alone against the wall, outnumbered as usual. That familiar feeling of isolation hit her hard. But this time, something diferent bubbled beneath the sinface. Not helplessness, but
anger
She’d rolled over before. Not today.
Irene slowly brought her hands together–three sharp, mocking clape that cut through the hallway noise like a knife.
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