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I opened my eyes, expecting to see Keith, but instead, I saw Noah sitting beside me. He gave me a small smile and said, “Sorry for the disappointment. I can see it in your face.”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to ask about Keith–it was none of my business. Georgia had done this to me, and now I was paying the price. I tried to sit up, but the pain shot through my body, making me wince. I clenched the sheets, trying to steady myself.
“I need to tell Keith the truth about what Georgia did,” I muttered, determined. I swung my legs over the bed, ready to stand. That’s when I felt it–something cold and tight around my ankle. I froze. My heart started to race. Looking down, I saw the cuff. A handcuff. My ankle was chained to the hospital bed,
“What is this?” I asked, my voice
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shaking, staring at Noah for answers.
He leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. “You were arrested for attempted murder.”
His words felt like a punch to my stomach. Arrested? Murder? “What?” I managed to whisper. “No, that’s impossible!”
Noah sighed heavily. “Georgia told everyone that she overheard you on the phone, talking about your plan to divorce Keith. She said Pa Greg didn’t agree, so you claimed the only way out was to kill him. She said you hit him with a bottle, knocked him out, and stabbed him with the broken glass. After that, you tried to run, but she caught you, and during the struggle, you fell down the stairs.”
I stared at him, stunned. “That’s a lie,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes. My mind was spinning. “I would never hurt Pa Greg!”
Noah‘ s expression softened a little, but he
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said nothing. My heart clenched. “How is Pa Greg?” I asked quickly.
“He’s alive,” Noah answered quietly. “But he’s unconscious in the hospital.”
Tears spilled down my face. This was all Georgia’s doing. She had hit Pa Greg. She had stabbed him. And now, she had framed me for it. How could Keith not see this? How could anyone believe her lies?
The door suddenly swung open, and Keith walked in. His face was set in stone–cold and angry. Georgia followed closely behind, pretending to look worried, though I could see the triumph in her eyes.
Keith’s eyes landed on me, and his lips curled into a scowl. “I see you‘ re awake,” he said flatly.
“Keith,” I called out, my voice breaking. I didn’t care about my pride anymore. I just needed him to listen. “I‘ m innocent! Please, you have to believe me. Georgia did this! She’s lying to you…
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“Enough!” Keith barked, cutting me off. His eyes burned with anger. “You disgust me, Eden. You tried to kill my grandfather, and now you want to blame someone else? You make me sick.”
I felt like the floor had been ripped out from under me. “Keith… please,” I whispered through the tears that wouldn’t stop falling.
He turned his back to me. “You‘ ll rot in jail for what you did,” he said coldly.
Georgia lingered for a moment, her fake concern turning into a smug smirk. She didn’t say a word. She just gave me a look that said she’d won.
I sat there, cuffed to the bed, my body in pain and my heart completely shattered.
I told him I was innocent, but he didn‘ t listen and told me instead that I would rot in jail.
I would never hurt Pa Greg. We were close, like family. But then Keith accused me,
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saying the reason I didn’t sleep at home last night and instead stayed at his grandfather’s house was to kill him. Hearing those words from him was like a punch to the gut. It hurt more than I expected.
I couldn’t just sit there and let him believe that. “Even though you knew deep down I didn’t do this,” I said, my voice shaking, “you’ll never accept the truth.” It was the painful truth. He was too angry to see it.
Noah, who had been quiet the entire time, finally broke the silence. His suggestion was simple but a nice one. “There’s a CCTV camera in the house,” he said, his eyes sharp. “Why don’t you check the footage? It’ll show you who the real criminal is.” Georgia‘ s face went pale at his words. Her expression changed, and for the first time, I saw something unsettling in her eyes.
Whrn Keith received the clip on his tablet.
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He played it, and we all watched in tense silence. The screen showed a figure breaking a bottle over Pa Greg’s head. The person was wearing the same outfit I had worn last night. I stared at the screen, trying to make sense of it. It didn’t add up. I was wearing that outfit, but I knew I didn’t do it. Now, I was starting to look like the criminal.
“You wasted my time when you‘ re the real criminal,” Keith snapped, his voice full of anger. I could feel the weight of his words. pressing down on me. I tried to explain, but then Georgia asked, “Why did you do it?” Her question was out of nowhere, and it made my blood boil. She was the one who pushed me earlier, and now she had the nerve to accuse me? I wanted to scream at her, but I held it in.
Instead, I defended myself, trying to make Keith understand. “She pushed me,” I said, my voice tight with frustration. “I fell, and I tried to stop it. I didn’t do this.”
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But Keith just shook his head. “Why would Georgia do something like that?” he asked, as if it was impossible. He called her “harmless,” and it made my stomach turn. He couldn’t see what was right in front of him.
It hurt more than I expected to see him protect her like that. But I couldn’t shake the worry that Pa Greg was in serious danger. What if Georgia tried to finish the job while he was unconscious?
Noah, sensing the tension, stepped in. “Why don‘ t we check the time when Eden was pushed down the stairs and the time when your grandfather was ambushed?” he suggested. Georgia immediately shot it down, saying there was no need. But Noah didn’t back down.
“Let’s just check,” I said to Georgia. “If you aren’t hiding anything, we’ll check the times.”
Keith looked at the video again, and for a brief moment, I saw doubt in his eyes.
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Maybe he was starting to question things. Maybe there was still hope for me.
“Alright,” Keith said, his tone cold but resigned. “We’ll check the times.” He pressed play on the video again, his finger hovering over the tablet. This was my only chance of redemption.
