Chapter 4

When the paramedics arrived, Ethan was still curled up with Vanessa on the floor, trembling and incoherent.

Left with no choice, I accompanied Mrs. Vance to the hospital as an old family friend. After emergency surgery, she made it through the critical window and was moved to the ICU.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Ethan never showed his face once. I was the one running back and forth, handling all the admissions paperwork and paying the initial medical deposits.

My parents were furious, calling Ethan an ungrateful beast who abandoned his own mother, telling me to wash my hands of it.

Still, after being neighbors for over twenty years, I felt I owed it to our past to see this one thing through.

Once Mrs. Vance was transferred to a regular recovery ward, I called Ethan to come settle the hospital bill. He agreed over the phone.

But the moment I walked back toward the ward, a swarm of reporters and vloggers suddenly rushed out, cornering me aggressively against the wall. Microphones and cameras were shoved into my face as they barked:

"What kind of grudge do you have to stab a sixty-year-old woman so brutally?!"

"Answer the question! You're not leaving this hallway until you confess!"

My brain short-circuited for a second. Looking over the heads of the crowd,

I caught sight of Ethan and Vanessa standing at the edge of the hallway.

The realization hit me like a bucket of ice water—they had framed me. They told the media that I was the one who stabbed Mrs. Vance.

Forcing myself to stay calm, I spoke clearly: "Vanessa is the one who stabbed Mrs. Vance. It had nothing to do with me."

Nobody bought a single word.

"Stop shifting the blame! The victim's son and future daughter-in-law are eyewitnesses! They saw you gut their mother with their own eyes!"

Before I could respond, a burly cameraman shoved past the crowd and kicked me violently in the ribs. Pain exploded through my chest—I heard a sickening crack.

Struggling to push myself off the floor, I cried out, "Ask Mrs. Vance! Ask her who the real attacker is!"

Immediately, the crowd swung their camera lenses toward the hospital bed.

I looked at Mrs. Vance with a sliver of hope, praying she would clear my name.

Instead, her shaking finger pointed directly at me, her voice dripping with venom:

"She did it... Joanna is the killer!"

My pupils dilated in sheer shock. I couldn't believe my ears. My voice trembled:

"Why are you lying?!"

Growing up, my family had treated the two of them like blood relatives. When she was bleeding out, I stayed by her side and saved her life.

And this was how she repaid me? An unforgivable stab in the back. My heart felt shredded into pieces.

"Joanna has been desperately chasing my son for years, buying him gifts, throwing herself at him," Mrs. Vance whimpered, putting on a show for the cameras.

"But Ethan only loves Vanessa. Joanna went insane with jealousy and tried to tear them apart. When I confronted her, she snapped and stabbed me to get revenge!"

Like mother, like son. She and Vanessa were cut from the exact same poisonous cloth.

I had no time to grieve. I screamed at the top of my lungs:

"Call the police! Let the cops investigate! If any of you lay another hand on me, you're all going to prison for assault!"

That line triggered Vanessa. She sprinted over and slapped me across the face. "You're the monster here, and you dare threaten people?!"

Grabbing a fistful of my hair, she leaned into my ear and whispered viciously: "I already went to your place and wiped your security system. There’s zero proof you’re innocent. You're ruined, you worthless bitch."

My face burned. Then it dawned on me—I had given Mrs. Vance my digital door code years ago.

While I was at the hospital saving her life, these parasites snuck into my apartment and destroyed the evidence.

Pure, unadulterated evil. I tried to pull away.

Ethan strode over, his fingers wrapping tightly around my throat, his face twisted in sadistic glee. "Joanna, you always acted so high and mighty, lecturing me like I was your dog. How does it feel to be stepped on now?"

With that, he drove his fist repeatedly into my stomach.

"You bitch! My mom treated you like a daughter, and you tried to murder her!"

I couldn't fight back. Blood welled up in my throat, spilling past my lips.

Vanessa pointed her phone camera at me, laughing maniacally into her TikTok Live:

"Look closely at this psycho's face, everyone! Because she couldn't steal my boyfriend, she stabbed my future mother-in-law and tried to pin it on me! Pure evil!"

"Thank God we saw through her dirty tricks! Don't you guys think she deserves this?!"

The crowd cheered in disgust: "Beat her! Trash like this deserves to rot!"

Agony racked my body. I didn't know who could save me.

Suddenly, the ward doors were kicked open.

A tall figure charged in, slamming Ethan into the concrete floor with a bone-shattering force.

"Even if you destroyed the hard drive, I can still prove Joanna didn't touch your mother!"