Chapter 132
“Really?” she said, voice ley. “Yo think you can just make up whatever crap pops into your head and everyone will buy it? That reality changes based on whatever comes put of your mouth?”
She took a deliberate step toward Anna, who flinched. “Or did you forget hospitals have cameras everywhere?”
Anna’s eyes widened, her body going rigid. The cameras. In her rush to humiliate Irene, she’d completely blanked on the security system.
She’s bluffing, Anna thought desperately. Nobody gets security footage hot easily.
Her brain felt sluggish, the remnants of stomach pumping drugs still louding her judgment. If she’d been thinking straight, she might have abandoned the plan. Instead, the fear and anger pushed for deeper into her own trap.
She watched warily as Irene pulled out her phone.
Without breaking eye contact, Irene dialed and lifted the phone to her ear. The call connected almost instantly.
In his office across the building, the hospital director glanced at his ringing phone. The screen displayed “Dr. Joy” commanded immediate attention.
a
name that
“Doctor,” he answered promptly. “What can I do for you?”
Irene’s voice carried in the suddenly quiet hallway. “Director, I need the security footage from the east wing corridor. Can you help me out right now?”
“Of course,” he replied without hesitation. “I’ll be right there.”
Anna’s face went white. “Wait,” she blurted, panic obvious in her voice. “I think I got confused. I felt dizzy and lost my balance. Irene, don’t take this the wrong way!”
Her victim act vanished, replaced by desperate damage control. She shot pleading looks at Mike and Jenny.
Irene ended the call, slipping her phone away with deliberate calm. She simply raised an eyebrow at Anna’s sudden change of story, saying nothing as she waited for the director to arrive.
Anna dropped all pretense, shoving away from Mike and Jenny to stand on her own.
“I really did get dizzy,” she insisted, words tumbling out, in a rush. “They just got the wrong idea! They thought you pushed me because they walked in at exactly the wrong second.”
Her eyes darted between Mike and Jenny, silently begging them to play along. The Claires looked lost, caught between their loyalty to Anna and the dawning realization they might’ve jumped the gun.
Irene just watched, silent and cold. Her stare said everything words couldn’t.
Nobody spoke. The hallway had gone cemetery–quiet as everyone waited for what would happen next.
The hospital director appeared, walking briskly toward them. His eyes widened slightly in recognition before he nodded respectfully to Irene. “Security office is ready,” he said simply. “This way, please.”
Mike and Jenny exchanged confused looks, clearly thrown by how the director was treating Irene. Hospital bigwigs didn’t typically bow and scrape to random visitors.
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Chapter 132
“Let’s go,” Irene said, gesturing for Anna and the others to follow.
The small group headed to security in tense silence. By the time they reached the office, Anna looked like she might throw up.
Inside, the footage told the whole ‘story–Anna deliberately blocking rene’s path, then falling backward without Irene ever touching her. There was no misreading what had happened.
Richard’s expression morphed from righteous anger to embarrassment. Nathan’s eyes narrowed as he processed the evidence, mentally rewriting what he thought he knew about the family drama
The footage continued, showing the Claires‘ accusations while Anna played victim. Anna seemed to shrink before their eyes, hatred barely hidden behind her humiliation.
Irene watched the reactions around her with cool detachment. When the video ended, she turned to face the group, her expression giving nothing away.
“Well,” she said softly, “now that we’ve established what really happened, who exactly should be apologizing?”
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