"Do you know how many surveillance cameras I installed between the front door and the bedroom?"
Ethan’s pupils shrank instantly.
“So, what if you did?” he snapped, trying to sound confident. “What does that have to do with me?”
“It means I’ve got evidence. Evidence of your crimes.”
Even as he tried to talk tough, his body betrayed him. He moved to block my phone, one hand covering the screen, the other trying to snatch it away.
People nearby, their view blocked, grew more curious.
“There’s surveillance footage from before the fire? We have to see it! Let’s judge for ourselves if this woman’s really guilty!”
“Exactly! If there's evidence, she should be in prison already!”
“Strange... why won’t the fire chief let us watch it? Could it be that the video captured something else?”
Voices murmured louder. Online, the livestream chat was exploding with speculation.
Ethan’s face darkened.
Behind him, Claire approached, her face cold and stiff.
Together, they grabbed my phone. Without even looking at the screen, Claire sneered and addressed the crowd:
“Have you all forgotten? Three years ago, this so-called firefighting hero was stripped of her honors and expelled for violating regulations that led to deaths during a fire rescue.”
“That woman… is Rachel, the one standing right here.”
“She lost a leg in that fire and has hated the department ever since. She’s bitter. She even tried to burn the captain’s daughter alive—her own daughter—and now she's trying to drag the fire department down with her. She’s mentally unstable. Don’t believe a word she says!”
Everyone stared at me in disbelief.
Some reporters recognized the story from years back and began shouting:
“So, you’re the one who left a child behind and set off explosives?! That elderly couple is still fighting for justice!”
“She’s not a first-time offender—she has a history of this!”
“She’s spent all these years plotting, even installing surveillance in her home, just to burn her daughter alive. She’s clearly been planning this forever!”
Ethan saw his chance and jumped in, eyes welling with fake tears.
“Rachel… I didn’t know you hated me this much. I supported canceling your title for everyone's safety.”
“But to burn our own daughter and then record her suffering? That’s... that’s unforgivable.”
“But a child deserves dignity, too! I just can’t bear to show such a horrible video to the world…”
As he played the martyr, former fire department comrades stepped up in support.
“Captain, don’t fall for her trap. She just wants to destroy your life and reputation!”
“Exactly! Ethan married her out of kindness despite her injury and reputation. And now she’s getting revenge using our daughter! What an ungrateful woman!”
“I heard she even stole her exam spot from Claire’s younger sister! Ethan was supposed to marry Claire’s sister. She was the real firefighting hero!”
Five years ago, I risked my life to save them in dangerous fires, correcting their rule violations.
Now? I was nothing but a thorn in their side.
The couple from the explosion incident—the girl’s elderly parents—also stepped forward.
Their only daughter was killed. They wanted blood.
They pulled off their shoes and struck my face.
“Give us back our daughter! Give back our precious girl!”
The stirred-up crowd surged forward.
They slapped me, kicked my injured leg, poured drinks and ice water on me...
Ethan and Claire stood back, finally breathing easy, a hint of smug satisfaction flashing in their eyes.
I bent over to delete the video from my phone.
But the moment I unlocked it, a message popped up:
[This link has already been made public.]
I had already shared the surveillance footage the moment I rushed back to the scene.
Now, people in the livestream were starting to realize it.
Messages flooded in.
Even those at the scene began hearing Ethan and Claire’s voices—broadcast from the phones in their own hands.
“Ethan, that’s your own daughter. Are you really going to let her burn?”
“What ‘own daughter’? The one I had with you is my real daughter…”
