The smile on Vivian Yates's lips widened, her gaze like she was looking at someone struggling on their deathbed. "You killed my child. You're the one who hit me with your car. You pushed me down the stairs. You pushed me into the water. And now you're going to tell everyone that I'm framing you? Do you think anyone will believe you?"
Annabelle Linton froze.
Memories of the past slowly filtered through her mind...
'Vivian Yates had miscarried after drinking the fetus-preserving medicine I brought her. For the car accident, she had deliberately crashed her own car into me. On the stairs, she slipped and fell all by herself. And she lost her own footing and fell into the water.'
'I had clearly just been a bystander, doing nothing, yet somehow, I was bizarrely implicated in everything!'
'I'd never thought about it before, but now that I'm thinking it over... how could there be so many coincidences in the world?'
'And I'm realizing that my life, now ruined beyond recognition, seems to be all her doing!'
Annabelle Linton slowly came to her senses and stared furiously at the woman before her. "You vicious woman! I treated you like my best friend! What did I ever do to you? Why? Why are you doing this to me?"
Vivian Yates's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Who asked you to steal Leona? To steal what belongs to me? Annabelle Linton, I told you a long, long time ago: Leona is mine, and the title of Mrs. Grant is mine, too. You only ended up like this because of your own greed. Who is there to blame but yourself?"
As if that wasn't enough to provoke Annabelle Linton, she added, "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you something. I was never pregnant at all. So, thank you. If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't have known how to explain the whole 'baby' thing to Leona."
"That old bastard has been looking for you every day. He's so worked up he's been hospitalized. Doesn't he just dote on you? What do you think would happen if I... arranged a little something at the hospital? Wouldn't it be nice for you to have some company on your way to hell?"
Annabelle Linton trembled with rage. 'So this bitch was never even pregnant!'
'She killed two birds with one stone, framing me and successfully hiding the fact that she was never pregnant!'
'And now she's going after Grandpa!'
Losing all reason, Annabelle Linton lunged at her, screaming, "Bitch! I won't let you hurt my grandpa! I'll kill you!"
As Annabelle lost her senses and charged forward, Vivian Yates caught sight of a figure in her peripheral vision.
A sinister glint flashed in her eyes, but her expression turned to one of sorrow as she looked at Annabelle Linton. "Annabelle, no matter what grudges we have, the baby was innocent. I love Leona, and that was our child, our flesh and blood. Even if I were willing to let you go free, Leona would never agree, and my own conscience wouldn't be clear. If you insist on blaming me, then you might as well kill me today, too. With my baby gone, I don't want to live anymore..."
In a single breath, she twisted the truth, painting Annabelle as a vicious monster who had not only killed her child but was now trying to kill her, too.
Just as Annabelle Linton's hand was about to reach her, a powerful force gripped her arm and violently threw her aside.
"Annabelle Linton! I never thought you could be so vicious! It wasn't enough for you to kill my and Vivian's child—now you want to kill Vivian, too!"
The cold, ruthless roar was like a blade of ice stabbing straight into her heart.
The face she had loved for over a decade was contorted with a rage she had never seen before—and all because of Vivian Yates's lies.
A tremor ran through Annabelle Linton's heart.
A profound sense of powerlessness washed over her, followed by a suffocating heartache that consumed her senses.
It was a boundless pain, and she could find no way to ease it.
Leona Grant had thrown her with such force that she stumbled all the way to the corner before she could steady herself. Her stomach slammed into the wall, and a piercing pain made her gasp.
But the physical pain was nothing compared to her heartache. Her despair was as deep as her pain.
Bitterness and grief surged within her. Tears streamed down Annabelle Linton's face as she screamed hysterically, "Leona, that bitch was never pregnant with your child! She's trying to frame me! Grandpa's in the hospital, and she's going to hurt him! She admitted it herself just now! Leona, you can't let her get away with this! You have to believe me!"
But upon hearing her words, Leona Grant just let out a cold laugh. The disbelief was written all over his indifferent face.
Vivian Yates simply watched her with a cold expression, as if she were watching a clown perform.
Annabelle Linton squeezed her eyes shut in despair, her heart aching until it went numb.
'It was in that moment, it seemed, that I was forced to admit I had been deceiving myself all along.'
'He had never loved me. And I was just the one shamelessly clinging to him...'
She stood up, resolutely wiped away her tears, and said with determination, "Fine. Since you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you!"
A sharp glint flashed in Annabelle Linton's eyes as she recklessly charged at Vivian Yates again. "Bitch, repeat what you just said! If you don't, I won't let you off the hook today!"
But before she could reach her, Leona Grant shoved her away again in disgust. "Enough, Annabelle Linton! How long are you going to keep up this madness!"
"THUD!"
A jarring impact sound rang out as Annabelle Linton's head slammed hard against the wall. A bloody gash opened on her forehead!
She slumped weakly down the wall. A large pool of blood seeped out from beneath her pants, instantly staining the floor.
Leona Grant was stunned by the sudden turn of events. He froze for several seconds, a strange emotion flashing in his eyes—was it fear? Or was it... heartache?
He scrambled over to her and held her, his voice a panicked roar. "Annabelle Linton!"
Annabelle Linton was barely conscious. Her eyes were vacant, her voice a fragile whisper. "I hate... you both..."